Latest news with #HarvardBusinessSchool
Mint
15 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Who is Maziar Mike Doustdar? Novo Nordisk names new CEO to tackle ‘market challenges'
Danish drug-making company Novo Nordisk has named Mazir Mike Doustdar as its new Chief Executive Officer on Tuesday. The company, known for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, made this announcement alongside lowering its earnings forecasts again. Doustdar, an executive in the company for over three decades, has been given the responsibility to tackle "recent market challenges". Maziar Mike Doustdar has been working with Novo Nordisk since 1992. He started working in the company as an office clerk. However, he quickly rose through the ranks and became a key figure in the company's core business. He holds a BA in International Business from Webster University, Vienna (1994), and later went on to pursue an executive education from the Harvard Business School, specialising in Leadership & Strategy for Pharmaceutical & Biotech (2012). Doustdar currently lives in Switzerland with his wife and younger son who are both Dutch citizens. He also has an elder son who lives in Scotland for his higher education. Novo Nordisk announced the departure of its chief executive Lars Fruergaard in May this year, citing "market challenges" as the reason. Fruergaard's position will be replaced by Maziar Mike Doustdar, who is currently serving as the company's vice president for international operations, reported AFP. In his current role, he leads almost 20,000 employees across five regions. Other than being an executive at Novo Nordisk, Doustdar also serves on Orion Corporation's board and the International Community School in Zurich's Board of Trustees. "We are confident that he is the best person to lead Novo Nordisk through its next growth phase," board chairman Helge Lund said. Further explaining the 'market challenges,' which prompted the departure of the former CEO, Lund added that "The market is developing rapidly, and the company needs to address recent market challenges with speed and ambition."
Harvard Business Review
17 hours ago
- Business
- Harvard Business Review
Assessing the Offers for Seven & i Holdings
MSRP: Was: Now: $11.95 (USD) Quantity price applied Format information (No reviews yet) Write a Review Item: # 225108 Pages: 30 Publication Date: June 30, 2025 Publication Date: June 30, 2025 Source: Harvard Business School Related Topics: Summaries and excerpts of the latest books, special offers, and more from Harvard Business Review Press. Loading shopping cart, please wait...
Associated Press
a day ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Snow Jiang and Cheerful Music: Reshaping Pop Music in the Short Video Era
BEIJING, July 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- From radio and television music charts more than a decade ago, to viral singles on domestic and international social media; from a pop music performer and creator, to a hitmaker and entrepreneur……Snow Jiang's journey is rare in China's pop music industry. As a serial entrepreneur, she has repeatedly reinvented herself at turning points of industry upheaval, and founded Cheerful Music, a 'hit song-generator' whose distinctive Chinese-style melodies have broken out globally, even reaching out to Harvard Business School's classrooms and being included in its case collection. In June, Snow was invited to Harvard Business School as a special guest speaker, sharing Cheerful Music's business model and entrepreneurial journey with 137 students from over 80 countries. Her presentation, which vividly included recent international business partnerships and cross-country music collaborations, was met with enthusiastic applause. Students from around the world were impressed by Snow's story—one French student planned to write about it for readers back home, while others praised her role as a young female entrepreneur, calling her an inspiration for future generations. Behind its tens of billions streaming data lies Cheerful Music's unique methodology of creation, management, and operations. In a recent exclusive interview with the Chinese edition of Harvard Business Review, Snow shared the fast-paced logic of viral music in the social media era, how to build a creativity-driven agile team, and how to keep exploring a unique development path in the global market. Cheerful Music was founded in 2019 in Shenzhen, China, and in just a few short years has produced a string of viral songs including YI XIAO JIANG HU (Subject Three), TA SHAN HE, BAN SHENG XUE, MO WEN GUI QI, XIAO CHENG XIA TIAN and XIANG SI YAO. These works have not only gone viral on Chinese social media, but have also repeatedly appeared on international short video platforms and dance challenge playlists. Snow admits that her bond with music came purely from passion. In 2010, she used her personal savings to produce and release her first album, which continued to generate steady royalty income for years, giving her a sense of the music market just as China's copyright environment was gradually improving. In 2014, Snow joined Haikoon Music as a singer, but kept pursuing entrepreneurship: over five years, she tried ventures ranging from cafés to skincare and e-commerce, but each ended in failure. In 2019, the lead of Haikoon Music suggested she return to a field she knew well, and she started her music copyright entrepreneurship. Cheerful Music's early days were anything but easy. Snow at one point relied on signing distribution deals with platforms to secure cash flow, even selling her only house at a critical moment. She admits that if it weren't for her knowledge of the music industry and her own personality, she might never have dared to take such an all-or-nothing leap. 'I like to challenge myself. I'm the type of person who, even after hitting a brick wall, won't turn back — I'll keep going and even try to tear down the wall,' she says. Looking back, Snow believes that her early entrepreneurial failures strengthened her resilience and business skills, making her more pragmatic and cautious when running Cheerful Music later: not blindly chasing speed or scale, not depending on external capital or library acquisitions, but moving forward step by step with original works, maintaining a core competitive advantage. Today, after seven years, Cheerful Music has steadily grown, and Snow has fully transitioned from a singer to the head of a music publishing company. 'I hope there won't be just one Snow Jiang, but that I can cultivate ten or twenty Snow Jiang, truly turning the company from a personal IP into a sustainable enterprise in the music industry chain.' The Underlying Logic of a 'Hit-song Generator' From the outside, it seems like Cheerful Music can generate hit songs endlessly. Snow openly admits that although luck plays a part, it fundamentally depends on the company's content creation and operational methodology. Internally, the company's A&R team concentrates daily on reviewing demos submitted by songwriters and composers. Sometimes they listen to hundreds of songs a day but may not pick a single one. However, if they discover a promising new work going viral on social media in the middle of the night, Cheerful Music will immediately contact the creator and finish signing the contract overnight, ensuring it secures a first-mover advantage. Cheerful Music's 'hit logic' consists of three elements: keen market intuition, rapid execution, and flexible promotion mechanisms. Most potential works will first undergo small-scale, low-cost testing to verify their prospects on social media and spark mass imitation or secondary creation before moving into large-scale, phased investment for promotion. But if there is a work Snow deems a high-potential hit from the outset, she will go 'all in' immediately. Snow requires that the company must produce at least one 'viral hit' each year to secure that year's cash flow and brand exposure. In addition, Cheerful Music maintains a diverse layout across instrumental music, traditional-style Chinese music, live performances, and commercial licensing, constructing a sustainable moat through diversified content and business lines. Managing Creativity with 'Magnetism and Flexibility' Today, the Cheerful Music team has about fifteen members, mostly born after 2000. Snow is keenly aware that music is an industry heavily reliant on emotion and creativity. Traditional management style with young employees would only sap their creativity and motivation. Cheerful Music maintains simple hierarchy, with a large chat group where all employees can report to her directly at any time. When selecting singers and songwriters, Snow prioritizes personality first, and only then looks at skills and other 'hard' factors. If an artist or creator's values do not align with the company's, they will inevitably encounter friction later in project execution. 'Only if our values and working styles match can we attract excellent and creative talent. Too much complicated social maneuvering doesn't suit me,' she says. Snow believes women's greatest leadership advantage lies in their acute perception and empathy. For example, in managing her team, she can sense when someone's mindset is wavering even before they formally resign, allowing her to proactively encourage and communicate. If an employee's decision still cannot be changed, she can then adjust and reassign promptly. 'Female leaders can switch naturally between rationality and sensitivity, which is especially important in music and the broader entertainment industry — this kind of flexible management is crucial.' A flat structure and flexible leadership have supported Cheerful Music's agile responsiveness in the short video era, becoming an organizational advantage for producing hits. Building an International Bridge As an important part of its international strategy, Cheerful Music established a branch office in London in 2023. Unlike focusing on creating viral hits, the UK office was entrusted with the long-term mission of serving as a bridge for cultural exchange between Eastern and Western music. In Snow's view, shaping pop trends in China is like tossing a pebble into a lake, where you can see visible ripples. But overseas markets are more diverse and fragmented, like throwing a pebble into the sea—even if you throw in ten times as many, it is hard to create large-scale ripples. Therefore, rather than trying to replicate China's hit-generating model overseas, it makes more sense to first build a bridge, so that more global musicians can understand Chinese music, while giving Chinese musicians more opportunities and inspiration for co-creation abroad. XIANG SI YAO is a classic case. This song initially received a positive response in China, and during its promotion, various versions were tested. A Southeast Asian choreography team created a new dance version and released it on TikTok, triggering massive imitation. Ultimately, it achieved a 're-import' success by returning to China and reaching new heights, becoming a new trend in Chinese-style dance. Snow believes this model may become a sustainable path for Cheerful Music's future internationalization. Against the backdrop of increasingly integrated global music cultures, Cheerful Music is also exploring new cross-industry collaborations, including with brands, film, games, and cultural IP licensing. She mentions that in the future, while continuing to prioritize good content, Cheerful Music will actively embed its work into more commercial and cooperative scenarios. Regarding the rise of artificial intelligence in music, Snow remains cautious. AI can provide inspiration or even initial production for melodies and lyrics, but true human vocal emotion and the connection between music and the human spirit are irreplaceable. 'Even the same singer's voice will change with different emotions. I once spent three days unable to pull myself out of the emotions of recording a sad love song — AI cannot achieve that kind of authentic investment,' she says. 'AI tools are more like assistants, it is impossible to rely entirely on them to produce high-quality content.' When talking about the next five years, Snow laughs and says the hot trends in the music industry change so quickly that 'I don't even dare make plans for next year.' But she is certain that within three years, she hopes Cheerful Music will have broad brand recognition globally: 'When people mention Chinese music, they'll think of Cheerful Music first.' View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Cheerful Music
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
America Should Travel Fast
Regarding Allysia Finley's 'California's Bullet Train Is a Model of Progressive Governance' (Life Science, July 21): Every highway and airport in America is subsidized—by billions more than we've ever given to high-speed rail. The $6 billion private line in Florida isn't high-speed, which costs more. But the benefit of true high-speed rail is that more people ride it because it's more convenient than driving or flying. Dozens of other countries, even those with far fewer resources than America, such as Morocco, build it because it's a better return on investment. I conducted a financial analysis of the California high-speed rail with some Harvard Business School colleagues more than a decade ago, and we came to two conclusions: It will cost more than they say, and it will still cost less than expanding highways or airports. The rail project should be reformed, not tanked.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Malaysia's new US ambassador pledges stronger bilateral ties
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's new Ambassador to the United States, Tan Sri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob, has reaffirmed his commitment to enhancing Malaysia-US relations during a credentials ceremony with President Donald J. Trump at the White House. The Embassy of Malaysia in Washington, D.C., confirmed in a Facebook post that Muhammad Shahrul Ikram presented his Letter of Credence to Trump on July 24, officially marking his appointment as Malaysia's 18th Ambassador to the US. During the ceremony, Muhammad Shahrul Ikram briefly exchanged pleasantries with Trump, expressing his dedication to deepening bilateral ties. He also thanked the US President for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's participation in the recent 48th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, which reinforced US engagement in the region. Malaysia-US relations have evolved over six decades into a broad partnership covering political, economic, defence, security, and educational cooperation. Muhammad Shahrul Ikram, a seasoned diplomat with over 35 years of service, previously served as Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology from Universiti Malaya and completed Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Programme in 2009. His diplomatic career includes postings in Qatar, Austria, and as Malaysia's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York. He has also served in diplomatic missions in Vienna, Washington, D.C., and Beijing. - Bernama
