Publications
Publications
- June 2025
- HBS Case Collection
Transforming a Titan (A)
By: George Serafeim and Lena Duchene
Abstract
Dimitri Papalexopoulos, fourth-generation CEO of TITAN Cement, must decide whether to keep leading the 120-year-old, family-controlled firm or hand the reins to new management. Over 26 years he has turned TITAN from a domestic player into an internationally diversified group and championed an AI-driven productivity leap, even while steering the company through multiple economic crises. As TITAN prepared for its next phase of growth, Papalexopoulos faced the most consequential decision of his tenure: should he continue at the helm, promote a trusted insider, or become the first in the company’s history to recommend to the board appoint a non-family CEO?
Keywords
AI; Artificial Intelligence; Digitalization; Digital; Family Firms; Leadership; Succession; Succession Planning; CEO Succession; CEO Role; Decarbonization; Resilience; Innovation; Organizational Transformations; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Family Business; Family Ownership; Climate Change; Transformation; Crisis Management; Industrial Products Industry; Construction Industry; Greece; Europe; United States
Citation
Serafeim, George, and Lena Duchene. "Transforming a Titan (A)." Harvard Business School Case 125-121, June 2025.