Quest International
This case presents the situation of Paul Drechsler, who in 1998 has just become the CEO of Quest International. This global food flavoring and fragrances business, which was a part of Unilever for many years, has recently been purchased by ICI, the British specialty chemical company. Paul’s challenge is to improve its financial performance. One of the first issues facing him is the unusual structure of the business, which consists of two “almost global” businesses; “almost” because Asia is run as a separate unit with a strong dictatorial and protective manager. Paul’s first instinct is to eliminate this geographic division but there are many potential risks. Should this be an early item on his change agenda?
Cranfield University
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Harvard Business School Publishing
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NUCB Business School
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in I by IMD 24 June 2024
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Case reference: IMD-7-2457 ©2024
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Case reference: IMD-7-2546 ©2024
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in MIT Sloan Management Review Summer 2024, vol. 65, no. 4
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