Advanced Leadership Pathways: Inge Skjelfjord and the Cacao Supply Chain

Rosabeth Moss Kanter; Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | March 2016

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Inge Skjelfjord and the Cacao Supply Chain

by Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Abstract

Inge Skjelfjord, with a long career in international finance focused on agribusiness projects, had a vision to build a cacao research center that would help smallholder cacao farmers, who benefited the least from the chocolate value chain. He aimed to support the farmers’ well-being, while meeting the growing demand for cacao and solving the challenges that plagued the industry. Having encountered barriers in establishing an education facility in Ecuador, he had to figure out where and how to focus his efforts for his project to materialize.

Keywords: Agribusiness; Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; research; Farming; farm; education; policy; change management; economic growth; innovation; supply chain; supply chain management; Agribusiness; Education; Economic Growth; Research; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Ecuador;

Language: English

Format: Print

14 pages

Citation:

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone. "Advanced Leadership Pathways: Inge Skjelfjord and the Cacao Supply Chain." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 316-122, March 2016.

Gun violence was a significant problem in America. Three Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellows Christy Wood, Russell Sternlicht, and Gareth Glaser each decided to do something about gun safety. They each used their professional and leadership experience to identify their own solutions to the issue. Wood created a set of principles for investments funds to pressure gun manufacturers and gun sellers within their portfolios to adopt safety standards. Sternlicht designed a membership-based lobbying and advocacy group in order to harness the power of mass movements to create positive change. And Glaser founded a smart-gun company whose product could help reduce certain types of deaths and injuries. Would any of these three innovations move beyond the historical gridlock on gun safety?

This is a teaching note to the original case: Gun violence was a significant problem in America. Three Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellows Christy Wood, Russell Sternlicht, and Gareth Glaser each decided to do something about gun safety. They each used their professional and leadership experience to identify their own solutions to the issue. Wood created a set of principles for investments funds to pressure gun manufacturers and gun sellers within their portfolios to adopt safety standards. Sternlicht designed a membership-based lobbying and advocacy group in order to harness the power of mass movements to create positive change. And Glaser founded a smart-gun company whose product could help reduce certain types of deaths and injuries. Would any of these three innovations move beyond the historical gridlock on gun safety?

From 2008-2010 Anand Piramal ran a series of pilots for his digital healthcare startup, Piramal e-Swasthya (PeS) to “democratize healthcare” in rural areas of India. PeS ran into difficulties so Anand Piramal had to decide whether to continue the organization and if so how. In 2010, an unexpected opportunity emerged that could have significant implications for PeS’s organizational structure and future prospects. Anand Piramal now faced several options for PeS. He needed to weigh the pros and cons of each option to make the best decision to fulfill his vision of providing quality healthcare services to “bottom-of-the-pyramid” populations. This case exemplifies the strategic decisions an entrepreneur must make to ensure that a social impact venture can be sustainable and scalable.

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Advanced Leadership Pathways: Inge Skjelfjord and the Cacao Supply Chain

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