Finance

- September–October 2024
- Article
Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?

By: John D. Macomber

A family-owned and controlled conglomerate in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, has to decide what titles and authority to give to a daughter who is being courted to leave a promising career in Europe to come back and join the business. The choices of role range from an assistant to the current COO all the way to replacing the COO or staying in Europe. The strategic choices include backward integrating this trading company into sugar growing and refining on the continent and/or becoming an independent power producer and selling electricity to the national grid. Based on an HBS field case, anonymized for HBR.
- September–October 2024
- Article
Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?

By: John D. Macomber

A family-owned and controlled conglomerate in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, has to decide what titles and authority to give to a daughter who is being courted to leave a promising career in Europe to come back and join the business. The choices of role range from an assistant to the current COO all the way to replacing the COO or staying in Europe....
- October 2024
- Case
Southern California Industrial: Freezer Drive

By: Arthur I. Segel, Dwight Angelini and W. Matt Kelly

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Boston based real estate private equity firm was seeking to make their very first West Coast investments in hopes of establishing their presence in the strategic region. An exciting property suddenly became available on the market in a submarket of Orange County that was well positioned for future rental rate growth. The property also showed potential for quick wins including an improvement plan for enhanced visual appeal and functionality. However, the property came with significant risks to the overall budget and investment returns, and was dependent on securing and retaining a suitable tenant. How should the firm weigh these potential risks admist the uncertainty of the pandemic, and did the benefits of securing an attractive West Coast property outweigh the potential losses?
- October 2024
- Case
Southern California Industrial: Freezer Drive

By: Arthur I. Segel, Dwight Angelini and W. Matt Kelly

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Boston based real estate private equity firm was seeking to make their very first West Coast investments in hopes of establishing their presence in the strategic region. An exciting property suddenly became available on the market in a submarket of Orange County that was well positioned for future rental...
- September 2024
- Case
Faena: Magic in Mid-Miami Beach

By: Robin Greenwood, Denise Han, Dave Habeeb and Ruth Page

The link to this multimedia case should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion. This multimedia case follows real estate developer Alan Faena as he expanded his luxury development business from Argentina to the United States. The son of Syrian-Jewish textile manufacturers in Argentina, Faena transformed a blighted area of Buenos Aires into a vibrant arts district in the early 2000s. He brought this same vision to Miami Beach beginning in 2011, setting his sights on Miami’s “Mid Beach” an area that had fallen into disrepair with low property values. Faena created a district anchored by hotels, residences, restaurants, an art center, gardens, and a marina. However, the Miami Beach housing market was volatile, known for its booms and busts. The case concludes in 2016, when facing a market slowdown, Faena considered whether or not to push forward with his latest development in the Faena District, a planned 63-unit luxury condominium project called Faena Mar. The case asks students to consider the opportunities and risks posed by the development.
- September 2024
- Case
Faena: Magic in Mid-Miami Beach

By: Robin Greenwood, Denise Han, Dave Habeeb and Ruth Page

The link to this multimedia case should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion. This multimedia case follows real estate developer Alan Faena as he expanded his luxury development business from Argentina to the United States. The son of Syrian-Jewish textile manufacturers in Argentina, Faena transformed a...

About the Unit

Our strategy is to assemble and nurture a faculty whose interests and skills complement each other, and who work well together:

a) to produce a broad range of finance-related research that is published in top-tier scientific and practitioner journals, and that addresses issues of present and future importance to managers (including regulators and policy makers);

b) to develop highly-relevant and intellectually rigorous MBA and executive education courses; and

c) to mentor future academics through the Business Economics doctoral program.

Our applied focus and access to business organizations are major advantages which are reinforced by our students and our case-based approach. We have a faculty with broad expertise, and we have resources, field contacts, and institutional support, all of which we can leverage to do richer work and be more productive than we could at other institutions.

Recent Publications

Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?

By: John D. Macomber

September–October 2024 |
Article |
Harvard Business Review

A family-owned and controlled conglomerate in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, has to decide what titles and authority to give to a daughter who is being courted to leave a promising career in Europe to come back and join the business. The choices of role range from an assistant to the current COO all the way to replacing the COO or staying in Europe. The strategic choices include backward integrating this trading company into sugar growing and refining on the continent and/or becoming an independent power producer and selling electricity to the national grid. Based on an HBS field case, anonymized for HBR.

Keywords: Succession Planning; Power Grid; Family Business; Management Succession; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Côte d'Ivoire

Citation

Find at Harvard

Purchase

LFM Capital: Turnaround at Pratt Industries (B)

By: Ted Berk

October 2024 |
Supplement |
Faculty Research

Citation

Southern California Industrial: Freezer Drive

By: Arthur I. Segel, Dwight Angelini and W. Matt Kelly

October 2024 |
Case |
Faculty Research

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Boston based real estate private equity firm was seeking to make their very first West Coast investments in hopes of establishing their presence in the strategic region. An exciting property suddenly became available on the market in a submarket of Orange County that was well positioned for future rental rate growth. The property also showed potential for quick wins including an improvement plan for enhanced visual appeal and functionality. However, the property came with significant risks to the overall budget and investment returns, and was dependent on securing and retaining a suitable tenant. How should the firm weigh these potential risks admist the uncertainty of the pandemic, and did the benefits of securing an attractive West Coast property outweigh the potential losses?

Keywords: Real Estate Development; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate; Acquisition

Citation

Educators

Brown Capital Management

By: Luis M. Viceira and Sarah Mehta

September 2024 |
Teaching Note |
Faculty Research

Citation

Purchase

Faena: Magic in Mid-Miami Beach

By: Robin Greenwood, Denise Han, Dave Habeeb and Ruth Page

September 2024 |
Case |
Faculty Research

The link to this multimedia case should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion. This multimedia case follows real estate developer Alan Faena as he expanded his luxury development business from Argentina to the United States. The son of Syrian-Jewish textile manufacturers in Argentina, Faena transformed a blighted area of Buenos Aires into a vibrant arts district in the early 2000s. He brought this same vision to Miami Beach beginning in 2011, setting his sights on Miami’s “Mid Beach” an area that had fallen into disrepair with low property values. Faena created a district anchored by hotels, residences, restaurants, an art center, gardens, and a marina. However, the Miami Beach housing market was volatile, known for its booms and busts. The case concludes in 2016, when facing a market slowdown, Faena considered whether or not to push forward with his latest development in the Faena District, a planned 63-unit luxury condominium project called Faena Mar. The case asks students to consider the opportunities and risks posed by the development.

Citation

Educators

Purchase

Progyny

By: Malcolm Baker, Elisabeth Kempf and Philippe van der Beck

September 2024 |
Supplement |
Faculty Research

Citation

Purchase

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners: Leading the Energy Transition

By: John Macomber and Maxwell Nii Laryea

September 2024 |
Case |
Faculty Research

A leading global infrastructure fund debates whether and when to become engaged in the electrolysis and distribution of hydrogen, as part of the hydrogen economy and the global transtion to a net zero energy world. The proposed billion dollar project consists of wind and solar resources to generate electricity, as well as an electrolyzer component that could use that electricity to convert water to its base gases, hydrogen and oxygen. Obstacles in the program include both the usual risks and uncertainties of large project finance and public private partnerships for infrastructure, a gamble on future market prices for both electricity and hydrogen, and also the technological challenges of isolating, transporting, storing, and converting hydrogen back into useful energy. Considering the current and future capital and operating costs in the levelized cost of hydrogen, should the developers go ahead with the entire project, only build the wind and solar component, or scrap it and wait for technology to advance and more stable market prices to be discovered?

Keywords: Energy; Infrastructure; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Project Finance; Energy Industry; Spain

Citation

Educators

Revenue Solutions, LLC (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

September 2024 |
Supplement |
Faculty Research

Pre-abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details. Abstract: This (B) case supplement is designed for use by faculty only to support classroom instruction in conjunction with "Revenue Solutions, LLC" (HBSP Product #: 213032-PDF-ENG (99N)). Ari Wasserman and Nick Esayian were both dissatisfied with their future prospects in their current careers. Wasserman, who managed an infomercial business for a direct response consumer marketing company, wanted more flexibility and ownership. Esayian was the CEO of his own company that specialized in telemarketing but recognized that new limitations on telemarketers would dramatically reduce the profitability of his business. Both were considering a change in their careers. One alternative was to become partners and start a new marketing company together. This (B) case supplement should not be assigned to students.