The Master Corporate Connector: A New Win-Win-Win Model for Growth Markets

By Andrea Kates, Entrepreneur in Residence, MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship

A Fresh Mindset for Growth Takes Corporate Expansion to the Next Level

It used to be that corporate expansion strategies focused on beating the competition, dominating the market, or acquiring innovative small companies to amp up the suite of product offerings.

But today, at MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, we're shining the light on models for corporate growth built on a fresh mindset where a large company tackles big challenges - like sustainable solutions - through collaboration. 

To kick off a new webinar series “Perspectives from Corporate Leaders on How to Scale Across Growth Markets”, I talked with Florian Schattenmann Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Innovation and R&D at Cargill about how their company is investing in innovation and growth in non-traditional ways. 

Zooming out on larger challenges, Cargill landed on a novel opportunity to reinforce market leadership for their own cooking oil brand called Liza, while at the same time establishing a tightly-knit network of small businesses that thrive as independent collaborators. 

The Liza initiative offers universal insights on how to rethink conventional strategy and bring win-win-win expansion to our own companies, to innovative businesses and to the local communities.

The Master Connector expands the whole playing field

Cargill is a global leader in food and agriculture with close to 155,000 employees working in 70 countries. Their Liza brand in Brazil is a consumer favorite, with a wide variety of cooking oils in the market for almost 50 years. About a decade ago, Liza’s team recognized that there wasn’t an organized system to deal with the used cooking oil, and set out to solve the challenge.

According to Florian Schattenmann, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Innovation and R&D, the Liza team reframed the fundamental question, looking beyond immediate sales targets to unlock a new, powerful model for shared prosperity and long-term brand loyalty. They resisted the temptation to answer The Traditional Question: How might we sell more cooking oil?

Instead, they posed The Master Connector Question: How might we create a more sustainable approach to deal with used cooking oil—that also establishes a deep connection to our brand?

This shift in perspective led to a novel decision: Cargill would not solve this problem alone. Instead, it pioneered the ReaLiza Program to create a closed-loop, consumer-facing circular economy model for used cooking oil. This model involved:

• Developing an end-to-end traceable system for collecting recycling used cooking oil—from households to schools to retail and foodservice organizations.
• Creating a proprietary online management platform to track each liter of collected oil for transparency and traceability.
• Partnering with 25 specialized logistics operators to transport and process oil into biodiesel and other bio-based products. 

As Schattenmann puts it: “It’s ok to have hero stories where the company does everything to solve problems and create great products. But those stories don’t typically have the same impact as the stories where we’re a connector. The new corporate hero creates partnerships where everyone thrives.”

This long-running program is now one of the largest used cooking oil (UCO) recycling programs in Brazil. It has signed up partners to service more than 7,700 collection sites in 268 cities and has converted over 15 million liters of used cooking oil.

How the Model Works

The process is designed to be simple for both consumers and commercial partners, creating a virtuous cycle:

• At Home and at Foodservice Restaurants: Consumers are encouraged to let their used cooking oil cool down.
• Store: They pour the cooled oil into a sealable container, typically a plastic PET bottle.
• Return: They bring the sealed bottle to one of the thousands of collection points, which are usually large bins located in partner establishments.
• Collect: The program's independently operated logistics partners retrieve the collected oil.
• Transform: The oil is transported to a processing plant, where it is filtered and converted into high-demand biodiesel.

Scale, Impact, and Key Partnerships

This is a massive, long-running initiative with a wide-reaching network:

• Vast Network: The program establishes an efficient, locally managed supply chain operating in over 20 Brazilian states with more than 7,000 collection points.
• Key Partners: The model embeds the brand within the community's commercial and civic fabric. Collection points are strategically placed in high-traffic locations through partnerships with:
  • Supermarket Chains (e.g., Grupo Carrefour Brasil, Tenda Supermercados)
  • Restaurants & Fast Food (e.g., Burger King, Outback Steakhouse, KFC)
  • Shopping Malls
  • Schools and cooperatives
• Significant Impact: The program creates a reliable supply for the growing biodiesel market. Since its launch in 2010, it has collected over 15 million liters (3.9 million gallons) of used cooking oil.

The Triple-Win Outcome

The "Master Connector" approach generates value across three dimensions:

• Financial & Economic Growth: It establishes a profitable, scaled infrastructure for independent logistics and processing SMBs, driving local economic activity.
• Sustainability & Compliance: It significantly reduces household pollution, keeping millions of liters of oil out of the sewage system, and addressing a major environmental challenge.
• Strategic Brand Equity: By solving a real community problem, the Liza brand builds trusted, long-term relationships with both commercial partners and consumers—just as valuable as transactional sales.

As highlighted by MIT’s Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, the Master Connector is a prime example of shared prosperity: a model where a major corporation scales in growth markets while simultaneously supporting a thriving network of independent business owners and serving community needs.

Actionable Principles for the Corporate Master Connector

The Master Connector strategy shifts the focus from market domination to ecosystem cultivation. For corporate teams looking to apply this model, the key principles are:

• Platform Strategy: Design the platform to eliminate bottlenecks.
• Profit Alignment: Make sure every independent partner operates profitably.
• Knowledge Flow: Share information quickly.
• Build Trust over Time: Avoid the temptation to assert central control. 

Apply the Master Connector Model

The principles of the Master Connector can be applied to growth challenges across industries and markets.

• Learn More: Explore the corporate programs at the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship.
• Watch our corporate webinars…(links etc.)
• Join the Conversation: Register for our upcoming April Summit to connect with leaders and learn how to build shared prosperity in your organization.
• Partner with Us: Would you like to explore how to apply this framework to a specific growth challenge? Contact us to learn about our workshops and advisory programs.