Lendlease’s big lesson about international expansion

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Frequent flyer Lendlease’s first international expansion came when its founder, Dutch engineer Dick Dusseldorp, created a US property trust in 1977. It lasted just 13 years. The next push was under executive chairman Stuart Hornery, who rejected the vision of chief executive John Morschel of a company that balanced its cyclical property business with a less-volatile financial services arm. A bruising period followed. In March 1995, Morschel, CEO for just nine months, laid out a plan for then property head David Higgins to push Lendlease into financial services in Asia. He had also reportedly intended to replace corporate financial services...