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  • March 2023
  • Case
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Azenta Life Sciences: The Road to Transformation

By: Gary P. Pisano and Catherine Piner
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:17
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Abstract

When the Board brought Steve Schwartz in as President of Brooks Automation in 2010, they gave him a clear mission: strengthen the company’s core semiconductor equipment business and find a new industry to enter. Over the course of the next decade, Schwartz and the Board did just that. By 2020, Brooks Automation housed two distinct businesses under one roof—a semiconductor equipment firm and a life sciences company. This case explores the challenges that Schwartz and the Board faced during this transformation: In determining what market to enter, they needed to assess the company’s core competencies and what gap it could fill. They had to decide how to balance investments in their core business with their new business. How could they retain investor support? Eventually, faced with the challenge of running two very different companies under one roof, they had to determine if they should sell a business segment or separate into two companies.

Citation

Pisano, Gary P., and Catherine Piner. "Azenta Life Sciences: The Road to Transformation." Harvard Business School Case 623-066, March 2023.
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About The Author

Gary P. Pisano

Technology and Operations Management
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  • Woven Planet - Designing Software for the Car of the Future By: Gary P. Pisano and Catherine Piner
  • Diversification as an Adaptive Learning Process: An Empirical Study of General-Purpose and Market-Specific Technological Know-How in New Market Entry By: Dominika Kinga Randle and Gary P. Pisano
  • Ed Catmull: Lessons from Leading Pixar Animation Studios By: Francesca Gino, Linda Hill, Gary Pisano and Ruth Page
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