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Case Study

Green Motion: From entrepreneurial pioneer to multinational powerhouse

By Jim Pulcrano

10 pages

August 2023

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Reference: IMD-7-2456

Entrepreneur François Randin was successful, but searching for his next venture, wanting to build something sustainable. Suddenly he sees an all-electric sports car and decides to create an electric vehicle (EV) charging station company, even though the number of EVs on the road at the time is minuscule. He starts with software, moves to hardware, and launches… And then grows slowly until the day he discovers a new business model. He is successful in funding the start of the scaleup, but realizes that to really get to hyperscale (and fund his next idea), an adjacency, he needs really deep pockets. Raise more money, go for an IPO or accept one of the three acquisition offers he has in front of him?

Learning Objective

The case puts the reader in the shoes of the entrepreneur, from founding to sale of the business.
New markets are rarely obvious at the beginning.
Scaling likely requires a new business model.
Turning customers into partners.
Expansion via fundraising, public listing or acquisition by a major player?

Keywords

Business to Business, Disruption, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Sustainability, Electric Vehicle, Pivoting, Electrification, Affordable Energy, Clean Energy, Industry Infrastructure, Industry Innovation, Sustainable City, Sustainable Community, Climate Action

Settings

Europe, Switzerland
Green Motion, Energy, Automotive, Automobiles
2009-2022

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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Indian Hotels Company Limited: Fast track to structured sustainability via Paathya

By Florian Hoos Manojkumar Selvaraj Harsha Doddihal and Peter Damyanov
Case reference: IMD-7-2648 ©2025

Summary

In late 2021, Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Indian Hotels Company Limited IHCL, found himself grappling with a new challenge beyond the impressive growth numbers the company had achieved since his tenure began in 2017 sustainability. Having led IHCL, the hospitality arm of the Tata Group, through one of its most transformative periods, including a turnaround from losses to profitability and the addition of over 100 hotels, Puneet now faced rising stakeholder and regulatory demand for measurable ESG impacts. The case explores IHCL's journey to embed sustainability in all its hotels including those under development through Paathya, its comprehensive ESG framework. Paathya, derived from Sanskrit meaning 'path,' symbolizes IHCL's commitment to structured sustainability by setting ambitious goals, including eliminating single-use plastics, adopting renewable energy and certifying all hotels under global sustainability standards by 2030. The case explores the organizational challenges IHCL faced and examines how the company formalized sustainability in every aspect of its business from financial decisions and design to engineering and daily operations. A key focus is placed on the cultural shift that Paathya required, ensuring buy-in from employees at all levels, including general managers of individual hotels, who were pivotal in driving green initiatives. IHCL's rapid growth and vision of expanding to 300 hotels under an asset-light model, raises crucial questions: Can the company balance its aggressive expansion with its sustainability commitments? Will Paathya continue to resonate with the core of the company's operations amid changing global standards and leadership? The case concludes by examining Paathya's early successes and the challenges ahead. How can IHCL sustain its hospitality leadership while leading the charge on sustainability?

Reference IMD-7-2648

Organization Indian Hotels Company Limited

Industry Travel and Leisure, Hospitality

Available Languages English

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