Innovation
Case studies on innovation.
Align Technology — Choosing the Next Growth Lever
You are an outside strategy adviser preparing a recommendation about Align Technology’s 2024 growth priorities. Use only information available by 1 February 2024. Recommend which of two publicly disclosed levers Align should emphasize, or whether it should stage both: Read case
Altria: Funding the Next Step Beyond Smoking
Altria had invested $2.75 billion to acquire NJOY in June 2023. The company expected the acquisition's return on invested capital to exceed its weighted average cost of capital by 2027. That was a management target, not a reported result. Read case
Arista Networks — Where to Place the Next Bet?
On 4 August 2026, Arista Networks reported its first quarterly revenue above $3 billion and announced new 1.6 Tbps AI fabric platforms. The following day, its Form 10-Q described demand for networking as strong while warning that the long-term trajectory of AI networking remained unknown. Read case
Axon Enterprise — Scaling the AI Era
Axon’s second-quarter 2026 results showed rapid growth across its connected devices and software businesses. The company reported that AI Era revenue had grown nearly 700% year over year. Yet the release did not provide an absolute AI Era revenue base, product-specific margins, customer usage, or renewal data. Read case
Brown & Brown — Choosing the First AI Workflows to Scale
On 23 July 2026, Brown & Brown announced that it was moving toward an AI-first enterprise. Its plan included deploying Anthropic’s Claude across approximately 23,000 teammates, working with Anthropic, McKinsey and Accenture, and establishing a value management office (VMO) to monitor adoption, impact, return on investment and controls. Read case
Schwab’s Two AI Front Doors
On September 30, 2026, Charles Schwab announced Charley, a generative AI assistant for eligible U.S. retail clients. The planned October rollout would bring Schwab information, tools, and service into a voice- or text-based conversation on Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile. Read case
Church & Dwight — Can Hero Grow Beyond the Patch?
At the start of 2024, Church & Dwight was positioning Hero Cosmetics as a growth brand. Hero had become known for Mighty Patch acne patches, and CHD's February 2 earnings release said Hero would continue patch innovation while adding Dissolve Away Daily Cleansing Balm, a planned product for acne-prone skin. Read case
Ciena — Governing Ciena Ventures
On September 14, Ciena announced Ciena Ventures, an initiative with an initial $200 million commitment to invest in early-stage companies and technology-focused venture funds. The company described the program as a way to complement organic research and development and strategic acquisitions, broaden its view of emerging technologies, and strengthen the innovation ecosystem. Read case
Clorox — How Much of Nutranext Should It Integrate?
One month after closing its $700 million acquisition of Nutranext, The Clorox Company faced an implementation choice. Nutranext brought four supplement brands and retail, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels. Clorox said it could contribute brand building, innovation, digital marketing and retailer relationships. Read case
CME Group — Should Energy Trade Around the Clock?
On October 2, CME Group said it was withdrawing the filing for its proposed 10-Barrel WTI Crude Oil futures contract. The company attributed the decision to discussions with industry participants who were concerned that continuous energy trading without further due diligence could create unintended consequences and additional risk. Read case
Danaher — Integrating Masimo Without Diluting Its Edge
Julie Sawyer Montgomery had become Danaher's President and CEO two days earlier. She had spent years in Diagnostics, first leading Beckman Coulter Diagnostics and later serving as the executive responsible for the Diagnostics platform. She had also led Danaher's acquisition of Masimo. Read case
Edwards Lifesciences — Where to Place the Next Structural Heart Investment?
On July 23, 2026, Edwards Lifesciences reported second-quarter sales of $1.741 billion, up 13.6% on a reported basis and 12.5% in constant currency. TAVR, the company’s largest platform, generated $1.26 billion, up 11.3% reported and 10.5% in constant currency. TMTT, its transcatheter mitral and tricuspid portfolio, generated $195.9 million. Read case
Evommune: Funding the Next Clinical Evidence
Evommune, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing medicines for inflammatory diseases. Its September 8, 2026 update reported that EVO756 did not meet the primary or secondary endpoints in a Phase 2b atopic dermatitis (AD) study. Read case
Strategy Case: GE HealthCare — Turning Precision Care into a Portfolio
On February 13, 2025, GE HealthCare reported its 2024 results and filed its annual report. The company described a year of product launches, acquisitions, margin improvement, and continued investment in its “precision care” strategy. It also reported only 1% revenue growth, a 15% decline in its China region, and free cash flow below the prior year. Read case
Gilead Sciences — Where Should the Next Pipeline Inflow Come From?
Gilead Sciences develops medicines in areas including HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer. At the end of 2023, HIV products accounted for approximately 67% of Gilead’s product sales. Biktarvy, a once-daily HIV treatment, generated $11.85 billion in 2023 sales, up 14% from the prior year. Read case
GoDaddy — Where Should Airo Sit?
GoDaddy's Airo product was expanding from AI-assisted website creation into a broader set of tools for small businesses. On July 30, 2026, the company reported a $50 million annualized bookings run rate for Airo, five times the $10 million figure it had reported one quarter earlier. Read case
HP Inc.: Sequencing the AI-PC Portfolio
On March 1, 2024, a hypothetical HP product strategy team is preparing for the next stage of its PC roadmap. HP has introduced its first laptops using Intel Core Ultra processors and says additional products with silicon and software partners will come in the following quarters. Read case
IDEXX inVue Dx — How Fast Should the Rollout Grow?
At 6:30 a.m. Eastern on October 31, 2024, IDEXX Laboratories reported nearly 700 pre-orders for its new inVue Dx cellular analyzer and said shipments were expected to begin later in the fourth quarter. An earnings call was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. . Read case
Illinois Tool Works: Scaling Customer-Back Innovation
Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has spent years using its 80/20 Front-to-Back approach to simplify product lines and focus on important customers and products. The company’s current Enterprise Strategy places greater emphasis on organic growth and Customer-Back Innovation (CBI): identifying customers’ important problems and developing solutions starting from those needs. Read case
Kenvue — Where to Place the Next Growth Dollar?
Kenvue had recently become an independent consumer-health company with three segments: Self Care, Skin Health & Beauty, and Essential Health. Its third-quarter 2023 results showed a strategic tension. Organic sales grew 3.6%, but reported volume declined 3.5%; 7.1% value realization offset that decline. Read case
Kimberly-Clark: Choosing how to compete in North American tissue
Kimberly-Clark Corporation (K-C) entered 2024 with a familiar consumer-products challenge: how to defend branded value when shoppers can choose a lower-priced retailer brand. In its 2023 Form 10-K, the company identified increasing private-label share in tissue as a competitive risk. It did not disclose the size, timing, geography, subcategory, or retailer mix of that increase. Read case
KLA Corporation: How Much to Commit to Advanced Packaging?
KLA Corporation sells inspection, metrology and process-control systems used in semiconductor manufacturing. In its fiscal 2024 third quarter, ended March 31, 2024, revenue was $2.360 billion, down 3% from a year earlier. Product revenue fell 7%, while service revenue increased 12%. Read case
lululemon — Who Owns the Product?
In May 2024, lululemon announced a new structure for its product and brand teams. It would not replace its Chief Product Officer role. Design, Innovation, and Product Development would sit with the Global Creative Director, reporting to CEO Calvin McDonald. Read case
Merck & Co. — Replacing Growth Before the Keytruda Transition
You are an outside strategy adviser preparing a confidence assessment for an investment committee. Merck says its “One Pipeline” strategy combines internally generated research with external science obtained through licenses, collaborations, venture activity and acquisitions. Read case
Motorola Solutions — Where to Place the Next Technology Dollar?
Motorola Solutions (MSI) entered 2024 with a broad public-safety technology portfolio: land mobile radio (LMR), Video, and Command Center. On February 8, 2024, management described accelerating cloud adoption in Video, announced cloud and manufacturing partnerships, and forecast growth across all three technology areas. Read case
Nike: Balancing Direct and Wholesale
On March 1, 2024, Nike’s marketplace leadership is reviewing how to support consumers through NIKE Direct and wholesale partners. Fiscal 2023 results showed growth in both channels. In the second quarter of fiscal 2024, NIKE Direct grew while external wholesale revenue declined. Read case
One Stop Systems — From Design-In to Delivery
One Stop Systems, Inc. (OSS) designs and manufactures rugged, high-performance computing, switching, and storage systems for edge applications such as sensor processing, autonomy, and AI. Its products operate in demanding environments on aircraft, ships, vehicles, and mobile command systems, as well as in commercial applications. , Note 1, lines 525–533; MD&A, lines 1068–1076. Read case
OnKure Therapeutics: how fast to advance two programs?
OnKure Therapeutics was preparing two preclinical programs for planned Investigational New Drug (IND) submissions in the first half of 2027. At June 30, it reported $176.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, and management expected that balance to fund operations into 2029. Read case
Onto Innovation: Turning a Strategic Stake into a Product
On August 10, Onto Innovation completed its purchase of a 27% minority stake in Rigaku Holdings Corporation for approximately $720 million. Onto had announced the purchase in April at an estimated $710 million, alongside a collaboration to combine Rigaku’s X-ray measurement platform with Onto’s analytics software. Read case
PepsiCo: Finding the Right Mix of Value and Demand Investment
PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America (FLNA) business entered its next planning cycle with a difficult combination of signals. In the third quarter, convenient-food volume declined, organic revenue was lower, and segment operating profit fell more sharply. Effective net pricing remained positive. Read case
Pfizer and Seagen — Governing the Oncology Platform
Pfizer completed its acquisition of Seagen on 14 December 2023. By 27 February 2025, Pfizer had reported a year of commercial results from four acquired oncology medicines, described a new company-wide R&D structure, and continued large cost and manufacturing programs. Read case
Philip Morris International: Sequencing the U.S. Smoke-Free Portfolio
In July 2026, Philip Morris International (PMI) reported a mixed first-half record for ZYN in the United States. First-half shipments declined year over year, while second-quarter shipments edged higher and management described offtake as flat to slightly growing. Read case
Qualcomm: Where to place the next engineering dollar?
On the afternoon of November 1, Qualcomm Incorporated released results for fiscal 2023 and filed its annual report. The company had just reported a sharp contraction in its handset business, while automotive revenue continued to grow. Read case
Salesforce — Funding the Next Layer of the Customer Platform
At 4:05 p.m. on November 29, Salesforce made its third-quarter FY2024 results public. Revenue had grown 11% year over year, subscription and support revenue 13%, and current remaining performance obligation 14%. The company also reported a 17.2% GAAP operating margin and a 31.2% non-GAAP margin. Read case
Tesla, Inc. — The Next Vehicle, or the Autonomous Future?
Tesla’s October 23, 2024, quarterly update placed two ambitions side by side. The company remained on track to begin launching more affordable vehicles in the first half of 2025. It also described autonomous transport as a long-term goal and had unveiled a purpose-built Cybercab concept earlier in October. Read case
Trane Technologies — Scaling Autonomous Building Controls
On 18 December 2024, Trane Technologies announced an agreement to acquire Montreal-based BrainBox AI. Trane expected the transaction to close in early 2025. It did not disclose the consideration and described the transaction as not material to Trane. The acquisition decision had been made; the operating model for the combined capability had not been set out publicly. Read case
Travelers — Scaling AI Without Losing the Judgment
By the end of June 2026, Travelers had launched an AI voice assistant for auto claim intake, an AI claims-intelligence feature for commercial risk managers, employee assistants developed with Anthropic, and an insurance-focused large language model trained on internal documents. Read case
Verisk Analytics: Who should own the next layer of insurance AI?
Verisk sells data, analytics, and software to insurers. Its products support decisions in underwriting, claims, catastrophe risk, and related workflows. Verisk says these products combine proprietary and contributory data, insurance expertise, statistical models, analytics, and software, often embedded in customers’ workflows. Read case