Hi,
I recently did an interviewer case interview, unfortunately I did not receive the offer. I would like to post the question here to gain an insight on how others would answer the question. (Hopefully this can also help others who are practicing for cases)
Background info:
Company A is an investment bank providing a range of securities trading services. It has recently acquired Company B, a 2-year-old financial data provider that offers real-time market data and AI-driven financial research.
Company A’s technology infrastructure has largely remained flat over the years. This often results in data inaccuracy and delays, thus impacting traders’ ability to make sound and prompt financial decisions. It is believed that this acquisition would allow Company A to benefit from the innovative data technologies that Company B has to offer and lead to £50 million in annualised benefits. However, Company A's CEO is getting increasingly concerned due to a number of disagreements between the two entities.
A key challenge is around the integration of the IT systems of the two companies. The Chief Technology Officer hopes to embed Company B’s cutting-edge technology into Company A’s systems. However, the CTO is facing resistance and under pressure from various Business Leads not to proceed with this, as this could mean a change in their core processes to be based solely around the Company B model. On the other hand, Company B’s Technology Director has also expressed concerns about the difficulties in technical implementation. He also believes Company A’s systems to be very antiquated and therefore would not benefit much from the integration.
Company B was part of a Fintech thinktank and had accumulated strong expertise in process automation. Company A has many fragmented processes and siloed data systems. Therefore, Company A’s CEO hopes that they can leverage Company B’s capabilities to help improve their operational and data management processes. However, he is unsure where to start.
Company B had a very informal atmosphere, flat hierarchy and believed in fostering individual entrepreneurs rather than adhering to rigid reporting lines. This does not seem to be perceived well as several former Company B employees have received complaints from Company A’s management team regarding their behaviours. Company A’s CEO has considered imposing stricter controls and management lines; however, he is also concerned the negative impact this could have on the levels of innovation and creativity.
Company A has a highly onerous functional structure, with many divisions providing different services internally and externally. The CEO is not sure how Company B can be integrated into the current organisational structure of Company A. He needs help in deciding whether to have some Company B representation in each division, or to set it up separately as a shared utility.
Company A places a strong emphasis on operating on an ethical basis. They claim to have increased numbers of customers by demonstrating their global concern for social and environmental issues. Their Head of CSR has in several occasions raised the issue of how Company B could remain faithful to Company A’s customer-base and their ethical priorities in a senior leadership meeting. She feels that CSR is not a topic that has been taken seriously by former Company B employees.
Questions:
Q1: What are the top 3 issues for Company A?
Q2: How can each of these issues be resolved?
Q3: How can [consulting firm] work with Company A to resolve the issues?
