The first cohort of the Global Executive MBA program visited Shanghai on the past month of February, for the first time with the new program structure and design. This unique, innovative, and highly-demanding program recently extended its international educational partnerships in 2011, thus including modules in Brazil (Insper, Sao Paulo) and the USA (Brown University, Providence), to enrich our students’ educational experience and, in combination with our continuing partnership with Fudan School of Management in Shanghai, provide students with a truly global vision of business:
- An Asia Perspective – developed in Shanghai with Chinese and Western business leaders, experienced management consultants and entrepreneurs, as well as Fudan University faculty.
- An Emerging Markets Perspective – developed in Sao Paulo through Insper faculty and local business leaders, with particular emphasis on the twin challenges of sustainable development and overcoming social inequality.
- A Beyond Business Perspective – developed in Providence with Brown faculty who will draw on liberal arts fields such as psychology, political economy, the humanities, and the arts to shape more rounded global leaders, ready for today’s challenges.
On this past February 2012 module in Shanghai, our Global Executive MBA students participated on a lively discussion about Talent Management in China with a panel of experts in the field including experienced executives and consultants coming from organizations such as Gallup and McKinsey, as well as HR executives and Talent development directors from various companies and industries. The panel and discussions also explored, in-depth, the current representative case and success story of a specialties chemical multinational company, examining how their company grew from a modest 1M USD sales with 50 staff in their first year in China to currently 250M USD and over 800 staff (all growth organic). Equally impressively, 70% of the staff in their first year in China 17 years ago are still with the company, and all in senior leadership roles. The key matter explored was: how did they do it, especially in such a challenging market, where HR management is at the forefront of the key problematic issues for so many companies in all industries? Students and panel members discussed, with the company’s former China GM and current president and talent development director, what problems they faced and how they overcame them.
Company Visits in this module included a diversity of industries (FMCG; energy & technology). On one of our visits, students learned from Cisco executives about their latest initiatives and business challenges in Asia, and the group participated in a Tele-Presence call, with Cisco´s San Jose (California), Madrid and Shanghai offices.
IE Alumni participated in the module, networking with our current students, and sharing some of their experiences to them, as current business managers or entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region.
Our Global Executive MBA students also had the opportunity of learning from Fudan University faculty about how Internet is changing China, as well as understand the fast-moving marketing situation in China as an immature market and an emerging market as well. Going even deeper into the complex Chinese market environment, students discussed and got insights from a seasoned strategy consultant regarding multichannel strategy executions and the challenges particular to this market.
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Sawubon’ everyone!
So I just got back less than 2 weeks ago from Johannesburg, South Africa and what an experience it was! Sawubon’ is Hello in isiZulu – a language spoken throughout South Africa and neighboring countries. Spoken by around 10 million people, it’s readily understood by almost everyone in South Africa. The trip was organized by IE Business School in conjunction with Wits Business School. The week long certificate program “Doing Business in South Africa” organized by WBS and IE – meant a packed, busy schedule but we did manage to have some fun. Colleagues from our Global MBA class were also joined by a few colleagues from the International MBA program.
Our first day was an in-depth look into Johannesburg and Soweto. Our guide for the day was Garth Klien, a lecturer from WITS Business School who showed us around Johannesburg from the shacks of Alexandria to the skyscrapers in Sandton to the new communities in Soweto. This allowed us to get an in-depth glimpse into how cultures, people, landscapes have transformed Johannesburg as a city. South Africa is still recovering from a long period of apartheid and this is readily visible across the city – in people, in neighborhoods and work places. One word that stuck out to me as I the day progressed on was thriving. Jo’Burg really is a thriving city with people from all avenues trying to make a living. We even came across a job board ala Craiglist, except this was hundreds of pamphlets with job listings on the side of a supermarket. Thriving. 
The next couple of days involved lectures at WITS and visits to local companies. One of the lectures that really stood out was on the issue of HIV/Aids in South Africa led by professor Murray Cairns. It was moving and informational to learn about the epidemic which is prevalent in a little over 20% of the population in South Africa. We had a good discussion of management challenges when trying to manage people with HIV and the effect on productivity. We visited companies like Nando’s, the Wilderness Safari Group, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Rand Merchant Bank and AngloGold Ashanti – a mining company. At Nando’s we witnessed firsthand the global success of entrepreneurship from Robert Brozin one of the founders. Johannesburg Stock Exchange demonstrated the immense potential of South Africa. JSE, with market capitalization of 898,407M USD (March 2011) was ranked 20th in the world – a testament to South Africa’s growth and growing investor confidence. We learned from the visit to Rand Merchant Bank – a large investment bank in Africa, the resiliency demonstrated by the South African financial markets during the Global Financial Crisis. Banks in South Africa escaped unscathed from the GFC – a strong case for the effective regulations the banks adhere to.
We also had a chance to network with current WITS Business School students and professors. One of the mornings was dedicated for a live negotiation session based on case study about SuperGroup – and whether the company should be liquidated or resuscitated. The effectiveness of sessions like these can’t just be summarized. Here’s what a couple of my Global MBA colleagues had to say about the negotiation and networking sessions – Collin Lee “The negotiation session was a great opportunity to meet and network with other MBA students from a new and exciting economic environment and further our experience in the practice of negotiating and bargaining. The real benefit I found comes not from winning a negotiation (since the case was actually a pre-negotiation meeting context) but from being introduced to a new set of personalities in which to develop my own interpersonal skills as well as my ability to function positively with varying degrees of cooperation or competition”, Tony Tabet – “Negotiation session was good IMO. Although the topic was complex, it was efficiently handled by the mediator who focused on the negotiation process and organization, and the different teams who expressed complete willingness to listen to each other and ability to make suggestions and to find areas of agreement”. All in all, a learning experience that cannot be replicated – you had to be there, I know it sounds cliché – but that’s the truth. The week ended with a lecture about the strategic challenges of doing business in South Africa (led by Mark Peters from WITS) followed by a visit to SAB, the beer behemoth – a fitting end after a very busy week.
This short exchange really exposed me to the last frontier that is Africa. Africa’s collective GDP and Consumption is projected to increase 60% over the next 8 years. What’s astonishing is that on the labor side the number of eligible Africans for employment is slated to number 1.1Billion. South Africa as a regional hub has an ever increasing educated, youth population with an emerging middle class. The market in South Africa has a strong regulatory framework with financials being one of the biggest sectors next to telecomm, mining and energy. South Africa now is a strong influential member of BRICS and has a definitive comparative advantage when it comes to mining and along with its strong financial sector the country is poised for a very prosperous future. Sub-Saharan Africa is poised for immense growth and according to the IMF 6 out of 10 of fastest growing global economies are African. Sure there are social, political and racial hurdles to overcome but Africa the once dark continent is perhaps the only bright light of hope in the midst of the global economic slowdown.
Presential programs like these from IE Business School help you learn first-hand the economic environment of a country. You meet new people, get exposed to new cultures and learn the crucial work-life-MBA balance (yes, we still had to keep with all our regular classes and associated workload during this trip!). It’s meant to transform you into global citizens. You form new relationships and deepen the already existing ones. Throughout the program we also made time to have dinner together at different places in Jo’Burg and enjoy the culinary options Jo’Burg offers. My only regret was that I only had 8 days to spend. Next time, it might just be for longer considering the abundant opportunities.
Special thanks to Charisse Drobis (WITS Business School) & Louise Amoedo (IE Business School).
The Financial Times has just launched its Special Report focusing on Online Learning.
While most of schools are struggling to stand out of the crowd, IE Business School is proud to lead the challenge with its Blended Education model.
Prof. Álvaro García Soto, executive director of the Global MBA analyzes this educational trend in one of the articles published in this special report.
Prof. Álvaro García Soto
Congratulations, IXMBA Class of 2011…
Here you are the compilation of your happiest moments at the graduation day on December, 22nd.
We wish you all the best and we hope you keep your bonds with IE Business School from now on!
Welcome, IXMBA Students!
Here you are a little sneak-peek of how amazing was the face-to-face period in Shanghai, China, for the current IXMBA Students.
During these two weeks of hard work with their mates, our students had the great chance of meeting exchange students from Fudan University (where the face-to-face period was hosted) and the very first Venture Day celebrated outside Madrid campus.
Well-renowned panelists in the jury were invited to the Business Plan Competition at the Venture Day: Here, local and international VC investors and CEOs had the chance to meet and assess our IXMBA students with their Entrepreneurship projects.
In fact, one of the IXMBA teams achieved funding from a VC just after their presentation!
Just take a look at the pictures and see for yourself!
Hello again folks!
Sorry its taken me 2 months to update. Its been a very hectic 2 months to say the least – from demanding coursework to navigating team dynamics. Since my last posting – we at the Global MBA are almost done with 4 classes. Marketing Management, Financial Accounting and we’re in the last stages of Cost Accounting and Strategy. The professors have been absolutely brilliant in challenging us everyday, making us think exhaustively and adding value to our discussion, that truly facilitates learning. I cannot tell you the amount of “Aha!” moments I’ve had in the past 2 months. The amalgamation of our diverse and intellectual student group, case methodologies and blended platform makes for a very powerful learning experience. Its not just the student group that’s diverse, the professors contribute to the diversity as well. For example the current professors in Strategy & Cost Accounting – teach from Cartagena and Amsterdam! Every strategy session we learn little tidbits about Cartagena and doing business in Colombia. Talk about Global!
In addition to being exposed to concepts from leverage ratios, branding, target costing and national diamonds, the program also manages to focus on ethics and corporate responsibility. All the courses so far have integrated topics about ethics and CSR quite seamlessly. Now this is key. IE, manages to make CSR an underlying factor in these courses. This is designed to make us better global citizens with astute awareness to the CSR and ethics problems that plague the society today. And did I mention its interesting? Analyzing the pitfalls of Enron and Worldcom is nothing short of fascinating.
So, what’s next? South Africa! Yes, the first presential session after Madrid is being held in Johannesburg, the the last week of February. Its a one week exchange program between IE Business School and Wits Business school. We’ll be exploring a variety of issues from marketing/doing business in South Africa to the role of eco-tourism. In addition to balancing the curriculum in South Africa, we’ll also be juggling our next classes Quant and Economic Environment. I’m certainly looking forward to the challenge and I’m excited re-connect with my classmates. So, look forward to some pictures and other interesting tidbits in the next post.
Cheers!
Ajay
Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies (24th January)
IE Business School invites you to participate in an actual Online Master Class that will be brought to you and other standout professionals via live video conference streaming. The discussion will be led by Newton Campos, professor of “Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies“, who will introduce and analyze the challenges of the subject in question with joining participants.
Professor Newton Campos has been studying the phenomenon of entrepreneurship over the past 10 years and has contributed to the start-up of several companies in Brazil. In this session, Professor Campos will discuss the paradoxical impact that obstacles can play on the development of new businesses in these growing regions all over the world. Subsequently, he will host a debate and stimulate the reflection on how people can generate benefits from these obstacles by identifying business opportunities and putting ideas into practice in some emerging markets that will soon become the largest players in the world.
Please register below to one of our Online Master Class sessions:
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: NEWTON CAMPOS, PhD
Academic Background
• Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship, FGV-SP
• MBA, IE Business School & IIM Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
• Bachelor in Accounting, PUC-SP
• Information Technology, ORT Institute of Technology
Professional Experience
• Professor of “Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets”, IE Business School
• Admissions Director, IE Business School
• Country Manager, Brazil, IE Business School
• Extensive participation in successful and failed start-ups in Brazil
• Marketing Expert, Telefonica
ADVANCE PREPARATION
For a better simulation of a debate generated under the case method, we suggest you to take a look at the Master Class video of Hans Rosling on Global Population growth and try to find answers to the following question: What kind of business opportunities arise with the phenomenon observed by Rosling?
Looking forward to your participation at the event,
Warm regards,
Blended Programs Admissions Team
The IE Venture Day , hosted for the first time outside our Campus in Madrid, has been a GLOBAL success !
On January 10th, the IE Venture Day competition kicked-off very early in the morning at Fudan University in Shanghai, where aspiring IE entrepreneurs presented their business plans to a world-renowed panel of VC and Angel investors.
Our Global Executive MBA students have risen the bar again, challenging the Jury with innovative, sustainable and “out of the box” pitches.
In this very first international edition of the IE Venture Day, there was a tough competition between Business Plans but we would like to send our warmest congratulations to the winner team Medsynch , a new concept for health monitoring system.
Moreover, all the Business Plans from our students were truly representative of the IE Business School approach to entrepreneurship and of its commitment to supporting new and disruptive ideas among the investors.
In fact, during the event, we have been confirmed that one of the teams, XXBB (a social platform for chinese mothers) has received a proposal from one the investors in the panel!
Such good news to share with the audience!
Keep updated and follow us these days through our blog and social media networks!
IE Business School is proud to host its next IE Venture Day in Shanghai on January 10th, 2012 at the Fudan University Business School.
For the first time, the IE Venture Day takes a step further delivering its entrepreneurial spirit abroad by launching the project in the Asian “hub”.
During the Venture Day in Shanghai there will be two business model presentations, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, including a lunch and an evening networking event with Fudan students.
This group of business models include projects in micro finance, renewable energy, tourism, electric cars, theme parks, medical devices, biotechnology, agriculture, education, internet platforms and social media.
Theses pre- selected business models are presented by IE students and IE Alumni to Jurys of potential investors and local Entrepreneurs.
Our guest speaker, as well as a Jury member for the event will be Mr. James Tan, a well-known Angel investor based in Beijing and Singapore who will address the group on Startup Activity in China. Mr. Tan is Co- Founder of 55tuan and Managing Partner of QuestVC.
QuestVC is a venture capital firm with offices in Beijing and Singapore that invests and incubates companies at the seed and angel stage. James is co-founder and former COO of 55Tuan, the largest social e-commerce site in China with 5,000 employees across 200 cities. Prior to this, James was in the technology and financial sectors with companies in the Singapore Technologies group and JPMorgan Chase.
The IE Venture Lab is the vehicle for preparing IE Business School student and alumni startups for Venture Days in different VC and Angel investor locations.
Follow us these days through our blog and social media networks!
After 15 months of hard work, our Global MBA students from the September 10 intake have finally made it!
Here you are a brief sneak-peek of the last week here in Madrid during the last face-to-face period: your final exams and the Graduation Ceremony.
From the Blended Team, we wish you all the possible luck because the best is yet to come… and we hope you may share it with us and don´t loose your bonds with IE Business School.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU!
Consultation
