Business failures, costly decisions and the lessons they leave behind.
The full archive, in the appIn 2017, Kobe Steel admitted falsifying quality data for aluminum and copper products for up to 50 years. Parts went into Boeing planes and Toyota cars.
Read the caseIn 2019, Suzuki admitted using unauthorized software to manipulate emissions and fuel economy tests on 2.1M vehicles in Japan. The stock fell 10%.
Read the caseIn 2017, Toray Industries admitted its subsidiary falsified tire cord strength data for 10 years. The affected tires were sold by major manufacturers.
Read the caseAirbus invested $25B in the A380 superjumbo. Airlines wanted efficient twin-engine jets, not 550-seat giants. Production ended in 2021.
Read the caseBayer acquired Monsanto in 2018 for $63B. Within a year, juries awarded billions to plaintiffs who said Roundup caused their cancer. Bayer's stock fell 40%.
Read the caseFacing tens of thousands of talc claims, J&J split off the liabilities into a new entity and filed it for Chapter 11. Courts dismissed the case — twice.
Read the caseFor two decades Wasendorf forged the bank statements auditors checked. The shortfall was $215M: PFG claimed $220M in customer funds and held $5.1M.
Read the caseRefco IPO'd in August 2005. Ten weeks later, CEO Phillip Bennett was arrested for hiding $430M in uncollectible debts. The firm was bankrupt by October.
Read the caseIn 2018 a Philadelphia Starbucks called police on two Black men who hadn't ordered. The viral video forced the chain to close 8,000 stores for bias training.
Read the caseTyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski looted the company of $600M+ for personal luxury: a $30M apartment, a $6,000 shower curtain, a $2M birthday party. Convicted in 2005.
Read the caseKweku Adoboli built $23B in unauthorized ETF positions at UBS, hiding them with fictitious trades. The $2.3B loss was the UK's largest rogue trade.
Read the caseAmaranth's Brian Hunter built massive natural gas futures positions. When prices moved against him in September 2006, the fund lost $6.6B in days and collapsed.
Read the caseAmazon's 'time off task' tracking and 300-item-per-hour targets created conditions where workers reported urinating in bottles. Unionization efforts followed.
Read the caseOn May 6, 2010, the Dow Jones fell ~1,000 points in minutes, then recovered. A single large sell order and algorithmic trading caused the Flash Crash.
Read the caseAlberto Salazar coached Mo Farah and Galen Rupp at Nike's elite Oregon Project. In 2019, he was banned for 4 years for doping violations. Nike shut the program.
Read the caseYasuo Hamanaka controlled up to 5% of the world's copper trade for 10 years, hiding $2.6B in losses. When exposed in 1996, copper prices crashed.
Read the caseNivea's 2017 ad for men's deodorant showed a white shirt with the caption 'White Is Purity.' It was pulled within hours after being called racist.
Read the caseSK-II's 2016 'Marriage Market Takeover' ad played on China's 'leftover women' stigma. It went viral, but critics said it exploited anxiety to sell cream.
Read the caseSony Ericsson (2001-2012) made the Walkman and Cyber-shot phones. But the 50:50 JV slowed decisions, and both parents were trapped when smartphones arrived.
Read the caseVine's 6-second looping videos had 200M users. Twitter bought it, neglected it, and shut it down in 2017. TikTok launched the same year.
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