Innostate Case Study
www.hbr.org
H BR C A SE S T UDY
What should
Stephanie do: institute a basic reorganization, or re-create the Jack
Donally model of strong leadership?
Big Shoes to Fill by Michael Beer
•
Reprint R0605X
A larger-than-life CEO left Innostat with larger-than-life problems.
The new boss knows the company needs fundamental change, but the image of her predecessor hovers.
HBR CASE STUDY
Big Shoes to Fill
COPYRIGHT © 2006 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
by Michael Beer
The memorial service was a sellout. Jack
Donally had been a colossal figure who commanded a lot of respect, if not affection. He’ll be a hard act to follow, Stephanie Fortas thought as she strained to make sense of the eulogy, delivered in a thick Irish accent by the same priest who had married Jack and Moira
Donally 40 years ago. Moira must be feeling especially lost, Stephanie thought. A deferring, uncomplaining woman, Moira had apparently taken second place to Innostat all her married life, and just when it seemed that she would soon have Jack all to herself, he up and died.
But it wasn’t just Moira and her five children who looked lost, Stephanie thought. Everyone seemed bewildered. As the CEO appointed by the board to succeed Jack just before his untimely death, Stephanie knew that a lot of people would be looking to her for answers. She edged forward to pay her respects to Moira, aware that a lot of curious eyes were fixed on her.
“I’ve heard so much about Jack,” Stephanie said, offering her condolences to Moira. “I’m going to do my best to protect his legacy.”
A One-Man Show
That legacy was formidable. Boston-based Innostat was very much Jack Donally’s creation.
He had transformed the company from a small local manufacturer of scalpels and other surgical equipment into the world’s best-known maker of prosthetic limbs and surgical implants. Sales had reached more than $2 billion, with the company
H BR C A SE S T UDY
What should
Stephanie do: institute a basic reorganization, or re-create the Jack
Donally model of strong leadership?
Big Shoes to Fill by Michael Beer
•
Reprint R0605X
A larger-than-life CEO left Innostat with larger-than-life problems.
The new boss knows the company needs fundamental change, but the image of her predecessor hovers.
HBR CASE STUDY
Big Shoes to Fill
COPYRIGHT © 2006 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
by Michael Beer
The memorial service was a sellout. Jack
Donally had been a colossal figure who commanded a lot of respect, if not affection. He’ll be a hard act to follow, Stephanie Fortas thought as she strained to make sense of the eulogy, delivered in a thick Irish accent by the same priest who had married Jack and Moira
Donally 40 years ago. Moira must be feeling especially lost, Stephanie thought. A deferring, uncomplaining woman, Moira had apparently taken second place to Innostat all her married life, and just when it seemed that she would soon have Jack all to herself, he up and died.
But it wasn’t just Moira and her five children who looked lost, Stephanie thought. Everyone seemed bewildered. As the CEO appointed by the board to succeed Jack just before his untimely death, Stephanie knew that a lot of people would be looking to her for answers. She edged forward to pay her respects to Moira, aware that a lot of curious eyes were fixed on her.
“I’ve heard so much about Jack,” Stephanie said, offering her condolences to Moira. “I’m going to do my best to protect his legacy.”
A One-Man Show
That legacy was formidable. Boston-based Innostat was very much Jack Donally’s creation.
He had transformed the company from a small local manufacturer of scalpels and other surgical equipment into the world’s best-known maker of prosthetic limbs and surgical implants. Sales had reached more than $2 billion, with the company