Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
September 2018
(Revised November 2018)
From Beirut With Love (A)
Christina R. Wing, Esel Y. Cekin and Samer Al-Rachedy
This case describes how Robert Fadel, CEO and chairman of ABC, one of Lebanon’s leading retail and real estate groups, professionalized the family business. Robert was the second son of the company’s founder, Maurice Fadel, who had run it single-handedly. Concerned that the business might be affected by rivalry between his four sons after he died, Maurice set up a trust in 2002 that designated Robert as his successor, and in May of 2009, Maurice revised the trust, granting Robert full control of the board as well. In June 2009, Maurice Fadel passed away, and according to the provisions of the trust, Robert became the chairman and CEO of ABC for a period of five years, with the possibility of extending his term by an additional three years on condition that he had the support of at least one of his brothers. In his new role, Robert set two main goals for the company. First, he wanted to turn ABC into a professionally managed organization at all levels. Second, he wanted to invest in long-term projects that would expand the business. Actualizing his vision was not an easy task given the family conflicts and Lebanon’s economic and political environment. However, Robert achieved both of his goals by the end of his eighth year, in 2017, when he stepped down as ABC’s CEO. The dilemmas at that point were whether he should appoint someone from outside the Fadel family as ABC’s new CEO, and whether he should step down from the board chairmanship.
Keywords: family conflicts;
sibling rivalry;
second-generation;
foundation;
trust;
work-life balance;
succession planning;
corporate culture;
shareholders;
board of directors;
retail;
department store;
shopping mall;
real estate;
Growth;
non-executive chairman;
sustainability;
Family Business;
Conflict Management;
Management Succession;
Governance;
Leadership;
Transformation;
Leading Change;
Organizational Structure;
Management;
Growth and Development;
Retail Industry;
Real Estate Industry;
Lebanon;
Middle East;
