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CASE STUDY ON

SUCCESSION

GROUP-10
Mr S.K.Khan 60
Mr Atul Sinha- 19
Mr Anirban Bhattacharya-11
Mr Vinayak Siddhi - 67
Mr Vishal Rai- 69
MrShwet Kashyap- 57
Mr Samadarshi Sarkar- 46


OVERVIEW OF THE CASE :
Lew Cirne is the founder of Wily Technologies
Wily pioneered self diagnostic systems
Its flagship product , a self diagnostic system for servers running on Java
has been received well in the market.
For scaling up business Cirne sought funding from VCs
M/s Greylock and M/s Accel have provided the most significant
investments in lieu of board positions .
As part of the scaling up process Lew Cirne also created an organisation
structure and brought in experts to head Product development ,Finance,
Marketing . In this he was guided by the VC board members.
In the new structure Cirne does not retain any significant function
but he retains the positions of CTO; CEO & Chairman .
VC board members insist on replacing Cirne with an experienced CEO to
which Cirne agrees with reluctance since he will retain the position of
the Chairman
The consensus candidate for the post of CEO is Mr. Richard Williams who
has a track record of making start up companies grow and prosper. He is
also strongly backed by a VC who is a major investor and expected to
invest more
However Mr. Williams wants Lew Cirne to give up the post of
Chairman. Should Mr. Cirne agree ?

Lew Cirne : Objective, Strengths & Weaknesses
Objective :
To become a successful businessman by creating innovative
products

Strengths
Innovative
Good contacts among technical community
Can raise small amounts of capital
Holds a strong equity position in Wily
Has a number of pending patent applications

Weakness
No experience in managing large operations
No contacts in financial community

Lew Cirne is good at creating innovative products and creating
start up businesses but to succeed as manager of a large business
he has to acquire new attributes .

Against the decision:-


1. Cirne had worked hard to build the skills necessary to lead his start-up. He had
developed Wilys early technology single-handedly, had hired 50 employees to
help him build his company, and had successfully spearheaded a strategic
transformation of his company. He had led Wily to the point where several
important customers bought its flagship product and had successfully raised two
rounds of financing from top investors.

2. He being the founder ,is be the most dedicated person towards the values,
missions and vision of the company. He was worried about his employees and
well being of his colleagues which is the sign of a great leader. [In the beginning,
he was worried abut his partner (a friends husband) who took a substantial cut in
the pay in order to join Wily. Lew transferred some of his founder shares and
transferred them to him]
3. He is a very innovative person. Most of the products (self-
diagnostic Java program) of the company were the result of Lews
innovative idea . The company might need his innovative ideas
during times of need. He can be called a visionary in his field .
Though he is being placed as a CTO he hold no power over the
team to implement the ideas

4. The employees who joined the company because of him, might
get a wrong message and leave the company which in turn might
affect the companys performance.

5. It gives a wrong message regarding the policies of the company
to strip the founder himself of all powers and hiring someone else
over him.

6. Cirne was bold enough to leave the position of CEO for the
Companies growth.

7. Also William was a success story on his own but was more self
centric ( Hunger for power and monetary benefits )
For the decision :-

1. Exhibit 4 shows there was evident loss under Cirne. So Cirne
cannot be called a perfect leader in terms of business.

2. Lew had never focused on the profitability he was more tech
oriented . Also towards the end he had lost the focus on R&D
and product development the organization was stagnating

3. Lew did not have proper control over the VCs as a result he was
overpowered . This is a weak managerial skill for the CEO of a
company .

4. William had a track record of making good business while
leading small companies . He was a master to take early stage
technology companies and define , create and develop new
markets in which they can flourish.


Conclusion:
Lew Cirne was actually stagnating the
organization . He had capabilities but not
the ones to lead the group. Hence he
should step down from the CEO post .
Thank
You !!!

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