Ted Amyuni and Carrier Eto (a)

Abstract

Ted Amyuni, newly appointed president of Carrier ETO, reflects on the leadership challenges he faces as he assumes responsibility for the ongoing transformation of some 50 offices, R&D centers, and manufacturing offices throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The A case describes the global Carrier organization, the parent corporation (United Technologies), the style of the key executives, and the culture, performance, and competitors of these various units. The A case centers on how to go about formulating priorities, the B case (UVA-OB-0749) focuses on how to communicate the vision and guiding principles, and the C case (UVA-OB-0750) describes Amyuni's leadership activities in translating his vision into extraordinary results over an 18-month period and the challenges of a global downturn. The D case (UVA-OB-0751) provides the epilogue for the case series.

Excerpt

UVA-OB-0748

TED AMYUNI AND CARRIER ETO (A)

In November 1999, Ted Amyuni learned that he would become president of Carrier Corporation's European and Transcontinental Operations (ETO) and would gain responsibility for fifty offices, R&D centers, and manufacturing facilities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Amyuni had most recently joined Carrier in 1992, after leaving the company in 1978, and had quickly risen to one of the top posts in the company. Reflecting on the role he would fill the following month, Amyuni found he looked forward to the leadership challenges that ETO presented. The organization had seen declining market share for several years and faced severe price pressure. Despite this, ETO and the larger Carrier organization had been under pressure to improve margins and increase earnings. A recent restructuring begun by Amyuni's predecessor included reductions in staff, switches to global product lines, and a plant closing in Spain. In this organization, known for its diversity and fast-paced change, Amyuni knew he would have to unify operations and motivate people with strong leadership and solid objectives. When asked about how he felt about his new role, Amyuni replied:

This is a perfect time to take over the reins of ETO…Three years ago, I could not have contemplated some of the entrepreneurial ideas I want to introduce—the company simply was not strong enough. Now our foundations are rock solid and the time is perfect to put some “out of the box” thinking into practice and take ETO onto the next plateau—fast!

Carrier Corporation

Carrier Corporation, headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, and operating in 145 countries, was the recognized global leader in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. Carrier held approximately 11% market share in this industry and garnered annual revenues of $ 6.9 billion in 1998.

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Keywords: managing change, leadership, corporate transformation