Jean-Marc Frangos, Managing Director of Products & Services Research and Open Innovation at BT Group is looking to optimize the London-based telcom company’s external innovation process – scouting for new technologies from Silicon Valley, Israel and Asia.

The telecommunications manufacturing industry has seen massive consolidation in the past 10 years. This is the story of how two major telecom providers, Alcatel and Lucent, merged and positioned themselves for the future. It focuses on the leadership challenges of the final years, just before the company was sold.

This case focuses on the topic of strategy making at GI. The case write-up includes information about GI, AT T, the cable telecommunications industry, Ed Breen, the strategy making process at GI, and the Kiawah Meeting that the management team held in 1998.