Public - Private - Public: The Transformation Imperative

Public, Private, Public is an inspiring case study of a company that went through a bankruptcy, overcame the odds, and emerged triumphant.

Author and former CEO Kevin J. Kennedy presents a detailed account of a good company with a profoundly constrained balance sheet. Avaya, a leading telecom company based in the Silicon Valley, found itself in the crosshairs of three tectonic forces: a newly fashioned debt profile associated with privatization, the adverse and prolonged economic cycle of the Great Recession of 2008, and the need to drive business model transformation while the march of competition and technology commoditization hastened.

This fascinating book places you in the cockpit to absorb the history, challenges, choices, and the outcomes of an incredible operational transformation. The results boosted profitability by 200% and enabled this private company to return to the public equity market. With compelling charts and supporting data not typically found in a corporate memoir, you will learn about the frameworks for navigating complexity, assessing debt leverage, and maintaining alignment with a long-term transformation.

Public, Private, Public challenges company leaders, business professionals, and any student of business to think about risk-adjusted outcomes and imperatives amid the current environment of changing capital structures.

About the Author

Kevin J. Kennedy is a Senior Managing Director of Blue Ridge Partners, a Silicon Valley-based consulting firm. He previously served as the CEO of Avaya and JDS Uniphase during key periods of transformation following the bursts of two economic bubbles. In his role with Blue Ridge Partners, Kennedy puts his extensive operational expertise into practice, helping companies accelerate revenue growth.