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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2019 (Revised July 2019)

  Building a Meritocracy at Alghanim Industries

  Paul M. Healy, Susanna Gallani and Esel Çekin

  Building on his father’s legacy, Omar Alghanim (MBA 2002) had been working on strengthening a performance-driven culture based on meritocracy in the family business, Alghanim Industries. The task had been particularly challenging because of traditional Middle East practice of relying on relationships and influence to conduct business. Omar’s vision attracted and empowered like-minded employees who were rewarded on merit and who delivered on the firm’s mission of providing excellent service to its customers. Together, they revamped the company’s performance and compensation system and established a well-structured control and compliance mechanism. The next challenge for Omar was to transform the workforce from a mono-culture, male-dominant expat community to a diverse mix of people, cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints. In particular, he needed to find a way to attract talented women and local Kuwaitis to become part of his organization.

  Keywords: meritocracy; Social Norms; Family Business; Organizational Culture; Performance; Diversity; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Middle East; Kuwait;

  Citation:

  Healy, Paul M., Susanna Gallani, and Esel Çekin. "Building a Meritocracy at Alghanim Industries." Harvard Business School Case 119-019, June 2019. (Revised July 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2019 (Revised July 2019)

  Aperture Investors

  Krishna G. Palepu, George Serafeim and David Lane

  Aperture Investors is a startup investment firm that seeks to disrupt the asset management industry through competitive differentiation by charging investors primarily when its portfolio managers outperform the marketplace. Headed by Wall Street veteran Peter Kraus and backed with substantial and patient seed capital, Aperture seeks to attract both star portfolio managers and assets from mutual funds and hedge funds. Kraus believes that his innovative business model addresses the current dysfunctional fee and incentive structures in the industry, which have led to long-term market underperformance, and that Aperture will address the reasons that are motivating investors to shift to cheaper, passively-managed index and exchange-traded funds.

  Keywords: Business Model; Talent and Talent Management; Investment; Investment Funds; Asset Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Marketing Channels; Emerging Markets; Partners and Partnerships; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry;

  Citation:

  Palepu, Krishna G., George Serafeim, and David Lane. "Aperture Investors." Harvard Business School Case 119-053, April 2019. (Revised July 2019.)  View Details

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• Article | Harvard Business Review | July–August 2019

  How to Scandal-Proof Your Company

  Paul M. Healy and George Serafeim

  Despite efforts to crack down on illegal activity, crimes like fraud, bribery, embezzlement, and money laundering are rampant in corporations. What steps can leaders take to fix this growing problem?

  Keywords: Organizations; Crime and Corruption; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Ethics;

  Citation:

  Healy, Paul M., and George Serafeim. "How to Scandal-Proof Your Company." Harvard Business Review 97, no. 4 (July–August 2019): 42–50.  View Details

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