Silvio Napoli Schindler Case
Silvio Napoli at Schindler India
Schindler is a Switzerland based elevator manufacturing company founded by Robert Schindler in 1874. Since its inception, the company has generated billion dollar revenues and is regarded as the technology leader in elevator manufacturing. Alfred N. Schindler, who is the 4th generation of the family to lead the company, has seen growth potential for the company in India and is attracted by the growing demands for elevators in that particular part of the world. After negotiations for a joint venture with a local Indian firm BBL has failed, Schindler decides to establish its wholly owned subsidiary in India. To lead the implementation of this plan Schindler has appointed Silvio Napoli, a Harvard MBA graduate as the head of the Indian subsidiary project. With the appointment of Silvio Napoli as the Head, several issues come up as the reality of starting up a new subsidiary in a country that is culturally different proves to be more challenging than what was initially anticipated. From having to deal with the newly formed management team taking orders for customized elevators, which is not part of the business plan written out by Napoli emphasizing the sale of standardized elevators only, to not getting full support from the European plants in regards to the request for parts and design specifications for the elevators, implementation of Napoli’s business plan is proving to be more perplexing than initially planned. Such issues raise the questions of whether appointing Silvio Napoli as the Head of the project is the right decision and how Luc Bonnard, who is the vice chairman of Schindler, would evaluate Napoli’s performance on the project thus far.
Was Silvio Napoli the right choice for general manager of Schindler’s India operations?
Assessing whether Silvio Napoli was the right choice for general manager position will require looking at his strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments, as well as his compatibility with the new
Schindler is a Switzerland based elevator manufacturing company founded by Robert Schindler in 1874. Since its inception, the company has generated billion dollar revenues and is regarded as the technology leader in elevator manufacturing. Alfred N. Schindler, who is the 4th generation of the family to lead the company, has seen growth potential for the company in India and is attracted by the growing demands for elevators in that particular part of the world. After negotiations for a joint venture with a local Indian firm BBL has failed, Schindler decides to establish its wholly owned subsidiary in India. To lead the implementation of this plan Schindler has appointed Silvio Napoli, a Harvard MBA graduate as the head of the Indian subsidiary project. With the appointment of Silvio Napoli as the Head, several issues come up as the reality of starting up a new subsidiary in a country that is culturally different proves to be more challenging than what was initially anticipated. From having to deal with the newly formed management team taking orders for customized elevators, which is not part of the business plan written out by Napoli emphasizing the sale of standardized elevators only, to not getting full support from the European plants in regards to the request for parts and design specifications for the elevators, implementation of Napoli’s business plan is proving to be more perplexing than initially planned. Such issues raise the questions of whether appointing Silvio Napoli as the Head of the project is the right decision and how Luc Bonnard, who is the vice chairman of Schindler, would evaluate Napoli’s performance on the project thus far.
Was Silvio Napoli the right choice for general manager of Schindler’s India operations?
Assessing whether Silvio Napoli was the right choice for general manager position will require looking at his strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments, as well as his compatibility with the new
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