Case Name :      Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case)

Authors :           Christopher A. Bartlett, Benjamin H. Barlow

Source :             HBS Brief Cases

Case ID :            4199

Discipline :        General Management

Case Length :    12 pages

Solution sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

Clayton Industries, a sixty-year-old U.S.-based firm in the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) industry, with nearly $1 billion in revenues, has gradually built a presence in a number of countries, including several in Europe. Peter Arnell, previously Clayton’s successful country manager for the U.K., has been asked to take over the Italian subsidiary, which has recently been struggling on several fronts. Arnell must juggle the strategic objectives of his manager (the head of Clayton Europe) and of the firm’s Wisconsin-based CEO while overseeing the day-to-day activities of the business in this new setting. Many of Arnell’s challenges derive from his dual responsibilities of handling manufacturing as well as sales of Clayton products in his new home country.