Richard Debenham in Vienna (A): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics

This is the first of a three-case series. Richard Debenham is an operations manager working for the main Australian licensee of a leading global soft drinks producer. In 1990, accompanied by his family, he is transferred from Sydney to the company's European base in Vienna to develop the soft drinks market in Central and Eastern Europe. With little help from his local Austrian colleagues, Richard sets to work negotiating franchise ownership agreements and witnesses the many political changes that occur after the fall of the Iron Curtain and amidst the Velvet Divorce, the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Over time, the company successfully expands further east. However, due to changes at the headquarters Richard senses increasing difficulties in returning to Sydney until he receives an offer to manage the company's Sydney Olympics program back home. Aware of the temporary nature of this project, Richard has to decide whether or not to accept this offer.