Ascend Tech Facing Market Headwinds

Executive search and leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds utilizes fictional but realistic scenarios and role-playing as part of its CEO-candidate evaluation process. As Project Writer, I create the identities, background and situational context for industry-specific scenarios. Below is an example of an article included in the materials given to a CEO candidate.

Boston-based Ascend Technologies (NYSE:ASND) is a once-admired player in the $1 trillion consumer electronics market with a portfolio of brands that includes everything from toasters and refrigerators to computer tablets and smart phones. The company made headlines earlier this year with CEO Karl Anderson’s ouster by the company’s Board of Directors and then again when Wall Street analysts issued a series of “sell” ratings. What does all this drama mean for investors? Does Ascend have its act together? How well is Ascend positioned to succeed it an incredibly competitive and fast-changing industry?

Better, Smarter, Faster

To try and answer those questions, let’s start with a look at some market trends in mobile information technologies and consumer electronics because these two industries are increasingly interconnected. All the sector-leading companies are feeling pressure to meet the growing consumer demand for smart devices and appliances that leverage the collective networking power represented by the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT integrations are becoming standard and while some Ascend products have features like voice-assistant-enabled controls and speech recognition, the majority trail their competitor’s latest offerings. Ascend won’t be able to tap into this well of high-performance connectivity without some series upgrades to its line.

New Products + New Partners

The leading brands in consumer electronics are focused on IoT-enabled product development plus M&A strategies geared toward growing capabilities as much as increasing global presence or revenue share. For example, Panasonic acquired American software company Blue Yonder to improve its autonomous supply chain management through that firm’s expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Don’t be surprised is Ascend has an appetite for aggressive deal-making as it seeks to shore up and strengthen its internal design team.

Emerging Markets in Asia

Increased urbanization and rising disposable income has propelled the use of consumer electronics across Asia. Ascend has said in the past it wants to move more of its manufacturing to global facilities and expand its Asia Pacific operations to help seize this growing market. But, this shift has encountered delays and in the meantime, new regional manufacturers have surfaced and some of the major players have adopted low-pricing strategies to introduce audiences and jump-start sales. Market growth seems certain while Ascend’s ability to capitalize is less clear.

Bottom Line: Potential investors should wait and see what moves new management makes as it tries to re-energize and redefine the Ascend brand. The company is facing some serious headwinds on its journey back to relevance.

Evaluating Opportunity through the Prism of Crisis

Duke Corporate Education provides tailored executive development programs to business leaders at all levels. Programs may include immersive training scenarios (ITS) to give participants a chance to wrestle with the complexity of a corporate strategy by engaging in fictional but realistic scenarios.

As Project Writer, my content development begins with company, industry and trend research including interviews with subject matter experts from each client company. Scripts are finalized and actors cast to play the role of scenario protagonist, introducing strategic dilemmas for participants to evaluate and solve. ITS are staged early in the training program to encourage collaboration and interaction while introducing key themes. I have developed dozens of these scenarios.

A supply chain crisis creates dangers to evaluate and opportunities to consider for company leaders.

Scenario Example: Amgen is an American multinational biopharmaceutical company. In this hypothetical, the operation of one of Amgen’s key suppliers has been compromised because of a failed source validation test. The break in the supply chain will soon impact Amgen’s own production schedule.

Scenario Protagonist: Robert Parker is the CEO of Adaq BioScience. He and his partners and founded the company in 2018. Adam is a contract development and manufacturing organization serving the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. They focus on materials science, formulation development, engineering, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The company has roughly 50 employees – mostly scientists - and last year showed $25M in revenue.

Amgen contracts for raw materials and supplies from multiple sources including specialty chemical manufacturers who can create the customized chemical catalysts Amgen uses in its compound synthesis process. Parker has learned that one of Amgen’s key suppliers has been fined and placed under review after failing a source validation test. While that supplier is scrambling to address the issues, it’s clear the interruption will negatively affect Amgen’s production schedule over the next two to three quarters. Since Amgen is working to nail down other sourcing options, Parker intends to pitch Adaq as a new supplier. 

Parker believes his company has the in-house catalyst screening, development, and production capabilities Amgen is looking for to offset the loss of the original supplier. He’s confident Adaq can help in this time of crisis, but he has an even bigger idea on his mind. Would Amgen be interested in investing in his company?

Adaq is looking for $10 to $20 million to help continue to build their employee base, expand the service line and double its clean room capacity. In return, Amgen invests in greater control of its supply chain plus greater flexibility towards creating modality agnostic, customized solutions as the Amgen portfolio continues to grow. Parker wants the participants’ help in evaluating the opportunity to make his case as compelling and persuasive as it can be by responding to the following questions:

• How would Amgen structure a deal with one of its suppliers?

• What concerns would you have about creating this kind of relationship?

• What areas of the supply chain would be best suited for this kind of partnership?

An unexpected departure creates an opportunity for appraisal and reflection by company leaders.

Scenario Example: Kraton Corporation is a producer of bio-based chemicals and specialty polymers. The company merged with DL Chemical in 2022 in a deal valued around $2.5 billion. The transaction strengthened Kraton’s global presence and expanded its R&D capabilities. It also brought disruption to the existing corporate culture. In this hypothetical, the unexpected departure of a long-time employee opens the door for a discussion around career development and human resource issues.

Scenario Protagonist: Taylor Jordan is a high-performing, mid-level operations manager at Kraton. She’s holding a team meeting to review the latest polymer segment forecasts. As she moves through standard metrics of revenue and operating income as well as trend data for raw materials and energy prices, she stops herself. Jordan had hoped to find a better time to share her news, but she can’t wait any longer.

She’s been offered the Senior Operations Director job at Ravenwood, a specialty catalysts and services company with a focus on inorganics. Ravenwood is much smaller than Kraton with roughly 1,000 employees and $700 million in annual revenue. But, Jordan finds it attractive because of its focus on innovation and customer collaboration. Sustainability is at the forefront of their growth strategy and they are undeniably more nimble and responsive than Kraton to changes in the market.

Jordan believes management is clear about the direction the company is headed and her recruitment process has included a clear path for her own professional development and growth at Ravenwood. Jordan’s motivation for change is less about salary or perks and more about responsibility, decision making, authority, and a sense of clarity about what she can do to make a difference at the company.

Despite her success, she has become increasingly uncertain about her future with an uneasy feeling that the current version of Kraton isn’t what she expected. While she acknowledges the significant amount of recent change at the company, her anxiety is not simply about the fallout from the merger. It has more to do with a sense of confidence in how her role fits into the bigger picture and confidence about where her career at Kraton is heading. The past year has been overwhelming and exhausting. She wonders how many others at Kraton feel the same way.

Jordan wants the participants’ help in making an argument for why she should stay. She asks them to evaluate the the current corporate culture by responding to the following questions:

• What could Kraton do to ensure its good intentions are backed up by ownership and accountability?

• What aspects of Kraton’s culture are the most essential to maintain and what aspects are putting us at risk? 

• What needs to be done to ensure that conversations like these don’t come as a surprise?