Pre-Abstract: This multimedia case should be assigned to students in advance of class. Instructors should consider the timing of making the B videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details. Abstract: This multimedia case follows the career of Chief Catalyst Officer for the Lane Crawford Joyce Group (LCJG), Cristina Ventura. After beginning her career in luxury in Europe and Asia, Ventura was recruited in 2011 to open Apple’s flagship stores in Hong Kong and South China. Not long after, Ventura was introduced to Jennifer Woo at LCJG—a private, family company with a 170-year history in Asia. Attracted by Woo’s vision and leadership, and eager to work for a local Chinese company, Ventura came on board as Senior Vice President for Joyce, LCJG’s edgiest business with a long-standing luxury clientele. From there, she was promoted to Chief Catalyst Officer, a role that combined her expertise in luxury and technology and her talent for bridging people. The case documents how Ventura went about building an ecosystem, connecting corporates, entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and government stakeholders, to help catalyze innovation for LCJG and the industry as a whole.
Headquartered in Singapore, DBS Bank, one of Asia's leading financial services groups, embarked on a multi-year digital transformation under CEO Piyush Gupta in 2014. It was then that DBS also began experimenting with AI to drive value for the business and customers. As the bank scaled the use of AI, it developed an internal P-U-R-E framework for ethical AI governance. In 2022, DBS started experimenting with Generative AI use cases. It had to consider how best to leverage its existing capabilities and adapt its governance frameworks in deploying Gen AI to drive additional value while managing emergent risks.
This case explores the fundamental challenges and accounting issues arising from the integration of blockchain technology into traditional business models. It features Wemade, a South Korean online gaming company that has staked its future on blockchain-based games. These games are designed for players to explicitly earn cryptocurrency rewards, which can be converted into cash or in-game non-fungible tokens. At the heart of this venture is the exploration of trust—a critical element that blockchain technology promises to enhance through transparency, security, and decentralization. The launch of the MIR4 Global game on WEMIX, Wemade’s blockchain platform, turned the company from a minor force into a pioneer; within a few months of its release, the company’s market capitalization rose tenfold. However, operating in a developing regulatory environment, Wemade suffered a series of scandals that resulted in the undoing of almost all of its growth the following year: it failed to disclose that it had sold its WEMIX cryptocurrency to fund an ambitious mergers and acquisitions strategy; it misclassified WEMIX coin liquidation proceeds as revenue, leading to a restatement; and every major South Korean crypto exchange delisted its WEMIX coin, claiming inadequate disclosures about the coin by the company. How could Wemade’s chief executive, Chang Hyun-Guk, rebuild the trust that was lost? What lessons should he take away about the benefits and challenges of introducing blockchain technology and crypto to the business?
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