Vidya Mani

When disaster occurs in conflict-prone regions, the main objective is to create a safe space for the people in the region, usually by evacuating them. When a country is completely cut off, all basic infrastructure and services within the country are down, there is an outbreak of disease, and the government is run over, how do you reach them?

Innovation, supply-chain disruption, strategy and hot competition: Are there just too many meal-kit cooks in the industry’s kitchen? Blue Apron provides a case in point on all of the above.

Pursuing plastic neutrality, the Plastics Solution Alliance in Timor-Leste works to minimize the use and improper disposal of plastic and establish an inclusive recycling value chain. This will expand the small manufacturing base, diversify an oil-dependent economy and provide employment opportunities. It is a leading public-private partnership.

Mining activities support the functioning of society but their benefits are usually seen far from the area of extraction. One public-private partnership leverages the value chain to strengthen the economic ecosystem in resource extraction communities, focusing on both responsible production and creating opportunities for women and young people.

Lean principles have helped successful companies optimize operations and eliminate inefficiencies. Used as a tool, the methodology can create significant value for multiple stakeholders, including consumers. But the COVID-19 pandemic brought into stark relief the vulnerability of food supply chains in major shocks.

Around 90 percent of the cases of blindness in Ethiopia are avoidable. Restoring and maintaining sight frequently depends on corneal transplants, but those require access, and the global demand is greater than the supply. One partnership created a system to meet 100 percent of the current demand for quality corneal tissue in Ethiopia.

Traditional retail remains in a period of widespread transformation. Many suburban malls have shuttered, or limp along with few tenants. The rapid transformation even has its own doom-and-gloom shorthand: the Retail Apocalypse. Amid the turmoil, there is also transformation and growth. Darden Professor Vidya Mani shares what's next.