Background
As you walk into the Executive Suites, Kellie Onn, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EDS, greets you with a warm smile and a firm handshake. She ushers you to a chair next to a dark cherry wood table with several snowboarding magazines arranged neatly next to a server with coffee and tea. As you look around her office, you think to yourself that you could get used to an office like this.
Kellie offers you some coffee or tea and settles into the chair across from you. She pours herself a cup of tea and begins to tell you about Extreme Descent Snowboards.
EDS was founded by Matt Brandy and Kellie Onn about five years ago. Matt and Kellie became good friends while attending college together in Colorado. Kellie is an expert skier who earned an alternate spot on the 1992 Austrian Olympic team. Matt, an avid skateboarder rider and builder, became interested in skiing as a result of his friendship with Kellie. Kellie laughs and says it was only natural that their mutual interests would lead them to try snowboarding. As their passion for snowboarding began to grow, Matt and Kellie became interested in building snowboards as a way to make some extra spending money. Soon, word of mouth led to more and more requests which eventually convinced them to start their own company. The company has developed a strong regional sales base but there is a desire to expand their sales globally using the Internet
A knock on the office door interrupts the conversation. Kellie's administrative assistant pops her head in the door and announces that Kellie must leave soon if she is to catch her afternoon flight to Zurich. Kellie apologizes and tells you that she must end her meeting with you since she has to be in Switzerland for the EDS team's European exhibition. She hands you a folder and bids you goodbye and good luck on your first assignment. As you walk out the door, you open the folder and begin reading the contents.