2009 Autumn : CEMS Magazine by CEMS

ON campus

Think Tank

school takes a bow.

research report paints a dynamic picture.

KoĂ§ university AN international orientation 7 Future Turkish member

Portrait of a cems generation 9 CEMS - L`OrĂŠal Fellowship

FEATURE

the financial crisis - lessons & opportunities 24 Corporate Partners and alumni give the CEMS angle on the crisis.

CEMS Magazine Official Magazine of the CEMS Alumni Association & Student Board

AUTUMN 2009

Comment

Global alliance, world leader!

The CEMS MIM ranked number one

by the Financial Times

in the world

IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial

Words from

the Student Board President and the CEMS Alumni Association Executive Committee

CEMS Magazine About CEMS

Dates for the diary

Founded in 1988, CEMS is a strategic alliance of 28 member schools from 4 continents and over 50 prestigious corporate partners. The CEMS Master's in International Management provides a unique blend of top-level education and professional experience for multilingual, multicultural postgraduate students.

Career Forum and Annual Events

www.cems.org

CEMS Magazine Steven has just returned from a year’s exchange abroad with lots of memories and having mastered a new language. He’s now in his last year of studies and is wondering which sector to choose to start his career. However he knows what he wants: to join a large company that will provide him with daily challenges and one that will help him grow professionally. So...

who will give Steven the opportunity to fulfil his potential?

contacts

Focus on the upcoming

Comment

The CEMS MIM

now ranked n°1 Master’s in Management in the world by the FT!

Network Events

News on recent student

and corporate events from around the CEMS community

Editor-in-chief: Kevin Titman Communications Manager, CEMS Head Office

Editorial committee:

On campus

News from the schools,

in the schools, about the schools!

Robert Hackl President, CEMS Alumni Association

Julie Ranty CEMS student, HEC representative on CEMS Student Board

CEMS magazine delivers

Agata Rundo Secretary General, CEMS Alumni Association

Design & layout: WordAppeal

WWW.wordappeal.com

Printing: Ciaco

www.ciaco.com

Photos:

Cover photo © Image Source/Corbis Photo page 41 © Image Source/GettyImage

Société Générale recruits on careers.socgen.com

Contact the editorial team at cemsmag@cems.org

Feature : Dealing with the reality of the financial crisis

the corporate, student and graduate perspectives on the economic downturn and its consequences

Think tank

The CEMS-L’Oréal Fellowship

report provides a picture of a generation

Student & alumni focus

Student prizes, graduate success stories, alumni on the move

CMY

editorial

Your CAA Executive Committee Team

The stars have aligned

A global league of leaders, CEMS brings together top academic institutions, leading multinational companies and outstanding students from around the world to deliver the most internationally and culturally diverse M.Sc. on the market.

Dear Members of the CEMS Community,

Jonathan Hostens

Welcome to the autumn 2009 edition of CEMS Magazine, which is coming out towards the end of a year marked by many firsts for the network: The CEMS MIM degree is number one in the FT Ranking for the first time. A big thank you to the graduates of 2006 who participated in the ranking survey. We have enhanced our modes of communication with the launch of the CEMS video newsletter (www.youtube.com/user/ CAAnewsletter). The first edition has been watched more than 900 times and feedback has been very positive. The CEMS Alumni Association will host its inaugural professional events at the annual meeting in Cologne! And, together with CEMS Head Office, you have the newly designed CEMS Magazine in your hands, which not only reflects the new CEMS Corporate Identity but has been reinforced in professional content quality. Finally, let’s reach another high in the number of supporting members of the CEMS Alumni Association! We, the CAA, continuously strive to improve all services for you. This is only possible through the commitment of a network of volunteers, namely the Local Committees and Executive Committee. We also need your support to grow even stronger! So become a paying member now.

President, CEMS Student Board

Dear CEMS Students and members of the CEMS Community, In the past year we have seen CEMS going through some fantastic evolutions. The 20 th anniversar y of CEMS, the alliance going global, and… the CEMS MIM rising to first place in the world in the FT ranking. Without doubt these enormous achievements would not have been possible without the efforts of all stakeholders. Reaching the top was possible through the dedication of each and every one of us, and the professionalism visible throughout the alliance.

CONTACT I www.cems.org I info@cems.org

Created by WordAppeal

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

Enjoy reading the latest issue of CEMS magazine. Agata Rundo, Andrée Egloff, Line Sahl, Robert Hackl and Stefan Siroky Your CAA Executive Committee Team.

One of the clearest examples of this professionalism is now in front of you. Strong collaboration between Alumni and Students, with the great support of the CEMS Head Office and valuable contributions from Corporate Partners, has brought the CEMS Magazine to a new level. Built around a central topic and managed with dedicated resources, we are proud to present you the new CEMS Magazine. Learn how CEMS Corporate Partners, Students and Alumni have dealt with the realities of the crisis, and many other topics about and for the Alliance. Enjoy reading, and looking forward to seeing you at one of the upcoming global CEMS events! Jonathan Hostens President, CEMS Student Board | 9 |

DATES for the diary

Student Party O

14th November 2009, from 10pm CEMS student entry: 20€, 2 drink vouchers included Others: 30€ http://cems.org/cf-studentparty

A38 boat, Petofi Bridge Buda side, Budapest

Tickets can be purchased during the CEMS Career Forum on Saturday 14th November only, subject to availability.

A mainstay of the CEMS Annual Events for many years, the Career Forum will become a stand-alone event for the first time this November. CEMS magazine looks forward to the now second “annual event” in the alliance’s calendar… Traditionally one of the central parts of the CEMS Annual Events, the Career Forum is something of a victim of its own success. The Paris 2008 edition welcomed a record 1600+ students, alumni and Corporate Partners. Impressive though this statistic was, it was clear that the event was growing and growing, hence the need for it to become an individual one in its own right. This year’s forum, to be hosted by Corvinus University of Budapest, will be no exception in terms of popularity and importance, as the event’s coordinator Denisa Zichackova confirms: “Interest in the Career Forum remains undiminished, from both a student and corporate point of view. Crisis or no crisis, the new concept has received positive feedback from all across the CEMS network”. Statistics at the time of writing confirm recent trends – CEMS corporate partners are continuing to recruit and are targeting future graduates of the number-one Master’s in Management in the world as before, but with a strict preference for quality over quantity.

The Career Forum goes it alone Writer: Kevin Titman CEMS Communications Manager

38 CEMS corporate partners are participating in the 2009 Career Forum

378 students are due to receive pre-scheduled interviews from

27 companies

16 CEMS MIM-accredited skills seminars are being offered to 400 students

For further information please visit http://www.cems.org/general/career_forum | 11 |

The attendance at this year’s event is very much in line with recent editions of the forum. Just as encouraging is the number of skills seminars being offered by companies and academics. A further 300+ applications for the seminars were turned down, with the blend of practical and theoretical competencies due to be dispensed quite clearly a major draw for the CEMS student and graduate community. This is a point not lost on CEMS Corporate Relations Manager Stefano Gnes, who will be convening a meeting with all member schools Corporate Relations Coordinators at the same time in order to further advance synergies between CEMS member schools and companies: “The Career Forum is not just a high point from a recruitment point of view but also a golden opportunity to share ideas, benefit from the expertise of the very best and build up your personal network. We feel that we have come up with a comprehensive package that answers all these needs.” Given that the Career Forum is no longer a part of the other main, annual event in the CEMS calendar, the social networking side has not been neglected. A large-scale party is being hosted on the river Danube as a fitting close to what promises to be a watershed event.

dates for the diary

Talent in motion

SHOPPING CENTRES ///////// OFFICES //////// CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRES

Cologne 2009 the Annual Events on the banks of the Rhine

Writer: Sven Scheid Cologne 2009 Annual Events Manager

The Cologne Annual Events team introduces you to the venue of the forthcoming CEMS Annual Events, to be held on 3rd - 5th December.

The Gürzenich, the venue of the graduation dinner and gala evening

The Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne is honoured to host the CEMS Annual Events 2009 and cordially extends its invitation. The 2000 year-old history of the city of Cologne reads like a continuous story of international encounters at the crossroads of Europe’s major trade routes. As Cologne residents take pride in this multicultural heritage, the relaxed and tolerant atmosphere and the city’s focus on culture, we will strive to enhance the different CEMS meetings with this special local flavour and charm. The CEMS Global Alliance in Management Education will be welcomed in a highly interactive place: the largest German university, which plays a dynamic role in society - as an institution and by means of its successful alumni.

Not to be missed in Cologne: a vibrant student and cultural life Arts and culture city

Young graduates: turn your talent into spectacular achievements! Unibail-Rodamco, the leading listed European commercial property operator, investor and developer opens the doors to a fast-moving and highly rewarding career. With a clear focus on high-quality European assets and a property portfolio valued at �22.8 billion, our company is a outstanding workplace in which young graduates will quickly be given the opportunity to manage very large scale projects and to acquire and develop cutting-edge knowledge in investment, asset management, marketing, business development and sales. Our group implements innovative, best-in-class strategies to constantly raise the value of our portfolio. We offer new graduates a one-year European Graduate Programme, international mobility, varied responsibilities, and an accelerated career across multiple fields of expertise. To find out more, visit our website.

www.unibail-rodamco.com

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

Since the construction of the Philharmonic Concert Hall in 1986, Cologne has become an international music city with some 400 performances annually, world-famous orchestras, conductors and ensembles, as well as jazz, pop and folklore musicians, are able to share their art with music lovers of the entire region.

Nightlife

Almost 1000 bars, pubs and restaurants are waiting for you within the City of Cologne!

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German tradition: the Christmas markets

Advent magic spreads throughout Cologne’s Old Town when seven idyllic Christmas markets open their brightly-illuminated gates in late November. The most famous one is the Christmas market next to Cologne Cathedral. Don’t miss the chance to indulge yourself in typical German culinary delights: the famous “Christstollen” yeast cakes, “Lebkuchen” soft gingerbread cookies and Marzipan almond confections. Also try the mandatory “Glühwein”, a hot spiced wine in mugs to warm chilly hands.

Not to be missed during the CEMS Annual Events 2009… Corporate Partner & Student Event

Designed to provide corporate partners and students with the opportunity for meaningful encounters UoC is organising a special corporate event… Amongst others, Haniel and Novartis will participate in this event and the embedded rotation lunch.

Further details can be found on: www.cemscologne2009.de

Comment Writer: Kevin Titman CEMS Communications Manager

Global alliance, world leader

The CEMS MIM

Say it loud — you’re CEMS and you’re proud. The CEMS Master’s in International Management is now ranked n°1 in the world by the Financial Times.

In the recent past, the CEMS MIM was branded as the “ultimate degree”. This was not viewed as an overly-bold statement but just a confirmation of the quality of the programme, the professors and companies who contributed to make it possible and its students and graduates. In case there was any doubt, this opinion has now been ratified by one of the main organs of the international business press, the Financial Times. After 4 years of top-three finishes in the now global ranking, the CEMS MIM has this year been rated the number one pre-experience Master’s in Management in the world. The icing on the cake comes in the form of 13 CEMS academic members appearing in the top 50. Considering that the ranking results are always based upon the graduating class of three years previous, the recent expansion of the CEMS network offers promise of even better results to come in the near future.

The first supra-national M.Sc. now recognised as the best in the world

This year’s ranking confirms once more the multinational, multicultural essence of the CEMS alliance, with a first-place finish for combined international criteria for the fifth consecutive year. Just as gratifying are the category-by-category breakdown results, with the CEMS MIM considered the number-one General Management and the number-two International Business programme of its kind in the world. François Collin, CEMS Executive Director, sees this result as both a resounding endorsement of the CEMS mission since its foundation and also confirmation of the excellence of the organisation today:

n°1 Master’s in Management in the world N° 1 overall N° 1 programme in General Management, N° 2 in International Business “We have never been in doubt as to the originality and excellence of the Management model the CEMS alliance offers. This year’s number-one place in the world and the omnipresence of CEMS member schools within the ranking confirms two things: that we look for and accept only the best, high-potential students, and that the strength of our academic members and direct involvement of corporate partners in the programme are amongst the main reasons behind the excellence of the alliance today”.

A B C D E F G

Rank in 2009 Average of rank over 3 years1 School Name Country Weighted salary (US$) Employed at three months (%) International course experience rank

CEMS, member schools C

Cems

See footnote2

61,003

95 (46)

HEC Paris

France

72,105

89 (56)

ESCP Europe

France, U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy

65,542

90 (65)

London School of Economics and Political Science

U.K

71,262

93 (70)

Essec Business School

France

62,395

95 (81)

EM Lyon Business School

France

54,300

98 (83)

Grenoble Graduate School of Business

France

57,449

94 (69)

Mannheim Business School

Germany

72,702

93 (84)

Esade Business School

Spain

55,302

89 (94)

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

Netherlands

55,485

100 (69)

Edhec Business School

France

55,409

86 (75)

Stockholm School of Economics

Sweden

62,191

98 (67)

Audencia Nantes

France

50,100

86 (73)

Solvay Business School

Belgium

51,903

91 (96)

City University: Cass

U.K.

54,289

84 (46)

WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business)

Austria

52,728

94 (72)

ESC Lille

France

47,106

84 (90)

ESC Toulouse

France

51,201

90 (58)

Reims Management School

France

49,145

96 (64)

Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School

Belgium

53,163

95 (100)

IAG-Louvain School of Management

Belgium

51,074

94 (89)

Copenhagen Business School

Denmark

58,073

91 (93)

Rouen Business School

France

48,694

90 (69)

_ N° 1 for international faculty

Ceram Business School

France

48,268

88 (61)

HEC Montreal

Canada

54,980

91 (76)

Euromed Marseille Ecole de Management

France

43,690

90 (81)

Universiteit Antwerpen Management School

Belgium

47,309

97 (83)

University of Strathclyde Business School

U.K.

44,064

90 (44)

Maastricht University

Netherlands

55,847

87 (25)

_ N° 1 for alumni international mobility _ N° 3 for students’ international diversity _ N° 4 for international course experience

Professionally mobile alumni equipped to succeed

Closer analysis of the results of this year’s companies from the very start of the MIM is ranking confirms recent positive trends and instrumental to this as they graduate with the reveals new ones. The diversity of the alliance, skills and tools required to succeed. its students, faculty and governors remain a strong, defining aspect of the MIM. This will They are taking diverse continue to grow as the globalisation strategy adopted in 2007 takes increasing effect. The career paths, are actually CEMS MIM therefore emerges as a clear winner on better pay conditions across international criteria.

than in previous years and have the international profile to be able to change and adapt to change with greater ease than most.”

Needless to say, the entire CEMS alliance is both enormously proud of this achievement and extremely grateful to its alumni, on whose success this ranking position rests.

Aston Business School

U.K.

48,308

67 (65)

Helsinki School of Economics

Finland

53,892

96 (83)

Bem Bordeaux Management School

France

48,091

92 (43)

Imperial College Business School

U.K.

51,143

82 (65)

University of Bath School of Management

U.K.

42,147

93 (66)

NHH

Norway

54,161

99 (33)

Kozminski University

Poland

41,568

86 (89)

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Antai

China

43,036

100 (98)

University College Dublin: Smurfit

Ireland

46,164

100 (94)

University of Cologne, Faculty of Management

Germany

59,037

72 (91)

Nyenrode Business Universiteit

Netherlands

50,200

71 (50)

ICN Business School

France

44,439

72 (64)

ESC Tours-Poitiers

France

42,579

97 (62)

Durham Business School

U.K.

44,087

82 (83)

Corvinus University of Budapest

Hungary

42,278

94 (61)

Manchester Business School

U.K.

40,617

78 (75)

ESC Clermont

France

40,416

83 (67)

National Chengchi University

Taiwan

42,301

100 (100)

BI Norwegian School of Management

Norway

52,382

91 (83)

National Sun Yat-Sen University

Taiwan

42,042

100 (98)

Bradford University School of Management

U.K.

37,193

90 (34)

for the complete version please visit www.ft.com

Table notes

Footnotes

Although the headline ranking figures show changes in the

9th to joint 23rd, a range of some 51 points in total. Differences

1. These data are for information only

data year to year, the pattern of clustering among the schools

between schools are small within this group. The 11 Schools

and are not used in the rankings.

is equally significant. Some 190 points separate the top pro-

within the third group are similarly close together. The Euromed

grammes, CEMS, from the school ranked number 50. The top 8

Marseille Ecole de Management, which heads this group, is some

2. The CEMS programme was taught

participants, from CEMS to Mannheim Business School, form

30 points above Kozminski University, the last school in the third

in 17 different countries in 2006.

the top group of Masters in Management providers. The second

group. The remaining 14 schools make up the fourth group.

group, headed by Esade Business School, spans schools ranked © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. “FT” and “Financial Times” are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd. This PDF created on 19th October 2009.

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N° 1 on combined international criteria

N° 2 for value for money

A logical consequence of the global nature of CEMS and the CEMS MIM is the sustained high rate of international mobility for graduates, bolstered by a number one result this year. Just as pleasing is the professional dynamism indicated by the results breakdown. François Collin sees corporate curricular involvement and the diverse career paths taken by CEMS alumni as the main explanations for this: “Our alumni continue to evolve in a range of sectors, from Consumer Goods and Consulting, through to Banking, Industry and High Technology. Their contact with multinational

Masters in management 2009 _ Business School Rankings _ selected rankings table

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Network events Siemens Management Consulting Event & Ironman 2009

The Siemens Management Consulting Event & Ironman required both brain and brawn. The programme started with a skill seminar hosted by Siemens Management Consulting, designed to introduce CEMS students to Siemens, SMC, and the consulting life. This was followed by a two-day trip to Palfau, filled with rafting and ropes courses. Ultimately, the event was a great way for CEMS students from different schools to learn real world skills, make new friends, and have a great time. The first stop on the agenda was the Siemens Mobility production plant in Vienna,

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

CBS Humanitarian Project 2009 Writer: Franziska Mair CEMS Club Copenhagen

Writer: Scott Breitenother CEMS-LSE student, class of 2008-09

Let’s put the puzzle together! This year’s CEMS Club Copenhagen Humanitarian Project was built upon the success of previous years. Ideas from previous years were combined and developed every piece put together for the main UNICEF and Nelson Mandela Foundation-run “Schools for Africa” project. Just like a puzzle game – where the collection and combination of different small pieces is important to get the whole picture. Three major projects were organized during spring 2009, which resulted in a contribution of more than 20,000 DKK.

Siemens Management Consulting Event & Ironman 2009 was held on 28th-31st May. This exclusive Pan European Event for CEMS Students from Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, St. Gallen and Vienna was organised by CEMS Club Vienna.

NEtwork events

Humanitarian Week 2009 where our group learned how to build a train – well, not exactly. The large complex is home to the production of Siemens trains for clients around the world, including Vienna’s own tram and subway wagons. The guide led our group through the production process. In between, the group saw some of the advanced technology that goes into making the trains people ride in everyday. The next day’s skill seminar, “A day in the life of a consultant,” started with training on core consulting skills, including data gathering and analysis. After lunch our newly learned consulting skills were put to the test when the group received a real consulting assignment – Greenville, a major city, needed to reduce its carbon footprint. The teams needed to use consulting skills to gather information from Siemens subsidiaries to formulate a proposal for the mayor. Ultimately, the three teams had to present their proposals to the “mayor” and his advisors. With our brains exhausted, the group headed to the caravan of cars and drove toward Palfau. It started raining the next morning, which meant high water levels, faster current,

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and an exciting day of rafting. After suiting up head to toe in neoprene, putting on the life vests, grabbing the paddles, and learning how to raft from two of the toughest rafting guides you will ever meet, the group was ready to go. For the next three hours the two rafts twisted their way through fast moving rapids, with only the occasional need to pull someone out of the water. Somehow the entire group managed to gather enough energy to visit a Zeltfest in the neighbouring town to celebrate the day’s accomplishments. The next day began much like the last; after an equally complicated process of putting on the harness and hearing instructions from another tough guide, the group was divided into pairs and the climbing began. Over the next few hours, the teams of two worked together to safely cross ropes, bridges, and beams all while hanging 15 meters in the air. By the end of the two day trip to Palfau the entire group was exhausted and everyone’s muscles were hurting. However, as a result of teamwork intensive activities, trust and friendships that will last a lifetime were formed.

We were present at the main CBS building with a stand on 4th-7th May. The goal was to involve as many students as possible in the project. Every participating student could acquire a puzzle piece for 25 DKK and add it to our puzzle wall, consisting of 6 different images of children. With every puzzle piece that was bought, each individual contributed both to the creation of a puzzle and to the wider CEMS Humanitarian effort, illustrating that small donations can indeed make a big difference.

Humanitarian Fundraising Party

Collection of refund bottles

CEMS students and alumni were invited to the Irish Pub “Dubliner” in Copenhagen. During the evening we raised money for the cause by selling drinks, lottery tickets and by auctioning our puzzles, collected during the Humanitarian Week. During this evening we raised the biggest amount for this year’s project.

By strategically placing bottle collection people as possible, including a professional bins around campus, the aim is to encourage photographer making CV pictures for 50 DKK the CBS students to donate their refund bot- and a nail design offer for 100 DKK under the tles after use. The plan is to let the project run banner of “Pretty for a purpose”. for at least one year in order to make this a In conclusion the humanitarian events continuous fundraising project. So far we have organised in spring 2009 have produced excelbeen collecting about 80 DKK each week, an lent results. We all hope the efforts made will amount we are looking forward to increasing indeed make a difference for the children in via a better-organised collection system con- Africa and we are looking forward to seeing nected to the Danske Retur System. Additional the schools in Rwanda and Mozambique built small events were organised to involve as many in the near future.

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CEMS Magazine | november 2009

CEMS NORDIC FORUM 2009 NHH

NEtwork events

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

Writer: Alison Avery PR and Communications Manager, USYD

Writer: Marco Proto CEMS Club Bergen

Carbon Challenge Academy (CCA) and the energy companies and CEMS Corporate Partners Statkraft, Shell and Vestas.

for the evening consisted of two talented girls playing the Harding fiddle, a Norwegian music instrument, and dancing a Norwegian folk dance. On the last day, a three-course dinner was After the official opening of the Nordic served to mark the end of the event. Moreover, Forum 2009 by Dean of NHH Jan I. Haaland, this last dinner was consumed in bare candle the floor was left to Statkraft to run their light, to symbolically contribute to the Earth show. A company presentation and a lecture on Hour, which was very appropriate and consistent th th their activities and challenges with respect to with the Forum’s theme of sustainability. To sustainable energy production were followed by complete he day, all dinners were succeeded by a skills seminar which challenged the students’ nice opportunities to experience Bergen’s small, critical thinking and presentation skills. but none the less vivid nightlife. Shell and Vestas ran their own shows on the Friday and Saturday respectively, stimulating Most of the participants from abroad left creativity, knowledge and reasoning. on the Sunday, but in order to give visitors a chance to see more of Bergen, a hiking trip up All three days were followed by lovely the city’s most famous mountain, Fløien, was dinners in the university building. On Thursday arranged. Participation all but scarce! And with 26th, pizza was served in an informal setting, this trip ended the CEMS Nordic Forum 2009, and Statkraft hosted a pub quiz which gave an event that met with great success, which The theme of this year’s event was everyone the opportunity to get to know hopefully contributed to opening the minds “Opportunities for Sustainability during an each other better. On Friday 27th, dinner was of many future managers towards the issue of Economic Downturn”. Represented at the Forum preceded by a football tournament which turned sustainable development. were 13 CEMS Schools, the organising partner out to be a great success. The entertainment

CEMS Club Bergen (NHH, Norway) arranged on 25 -28 March the CEMS Nordic Forum 2009. The Forum is arranged every year at one of the Nordic CEMS Schools NHH, SSE, HSE and CBS, and this is the fifth Nordic Forum to have been arranged this far.

Management students learn how to succeed in tough times 35 new Master of Management and CEMS exchange students from the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Sydney commenced their studies with a high-powered networking event addressing the issue of “How to succeed in tough times.” More than 40 corporate representatives from 15 different organisations attended the event, which included presentations from senior executives about the current challenges facing graduates and how to harness opportunities.

than they were five years ago. One of the ways we can help students understand the challenges is by facilitating networking opportunities with business leaders currently working in the industry who encounter these challenges every day,” he said.

Stuart Osborne, Partner Corporate Taxation at professional consulting firm, Deloitte, spoke about the importance of innovation in the current economic climate.

This bi-annual event also included strong representation by a number of corporate partners from the Not-For-Profit Sector including the Smith Family and Habitat for Humanity.

“We are constantly looking for people who can attack new Head of People and Culture at the Smith Family, Gordon problems in innovative ways and it is terrific that programmes Wilkins, said “We’re going through some tough times in the like the Master of management expose students to this concept world economy at the moment and people that can adapt to early in their career.” change are going to be much better off in their ability to cope in all aspects of business.” Osborne also took the opportunity at the event to launch Deloitte’s new 12-week week programme called The Fast Track Nick Wailes said: “It is terrific to have the insights from Innovation Challenge. All of the new students will undertake senior managers from the Not-For-Profit Sector which is a this programme which sees the Master of Management students speciality area of business that many of these students haven’t work with Deloitte employees to build their own idea into considered entering. These organisations approach the subject something that can eventually go to market. of succeeding in tough times from a completely different angle and really put issues of hardship into real context for “As a result of the change in global financial conditions our students.” there has been a very big shift in the kind of graduates that employees are looking for,” said Master of Management Programme Director, Nick Wailes. “The skills that management students require to succeed in business are very different

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ON CAMPUS

CAMPUS

WRITER: Marianne Schouten Media & PR Manager, RSM

WRITER: Xun Liu LSE CEMS student, class of 2009-10

A “luxury” Block Seminar at HEC…

The CEMS Block Seminar is an important bonding and learning experience. CEMS Magazine hears from a selection of those to have taken place at the beginning of the CEMS year. Writer: Jody Wren HSE, CEMS Programme Coordinator

The St. Petersburg Graduate School of Management and the Helsinki School of Economics were proud to host CEMS’s first joint Block Seminar, on 31st August-4th September. A total of 34 CEMS students from 13 different CEMS member schools took part in the Seminar on “Corporate Responsibility in Managerial Practices”, which took place both in St. Petersburg and Helsinki. On the seminar side of the programme lectures were given on corporate responsibility by Professors Yuri Blagov (GSOM) and Minna Halme (HSE). One of the purposes of hosting the Block seminar in two different countries was precisely to demonstrate how CR perceptions and practices vary from society to society. In addition, Professor Sandor Kerekes from Budapest presented an overview of 40 years of Environmental Protection and PriceWaterhouseCoopers’s in Russia gave a practical insight into the state of CR within the company. HSE researcher Galina Kallio generated a lively debate on issues of sustainable tourism

student perspective

which was continued on the train ride from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. The Helsinki part of the programme was aimed at providing the students with an experience of the Finnish nature. Once the participants were settled, the seminar continued with further lectures from Professors Minna Halme and Yuri Blagov, supported by presentations from Kesko’s VP of Corporate Responsibility, Ulla Rehell on implementing CR. Moreover, HSE Researcher Arno Kourula introduced the multi-faceted NGO-corporate relationship. From a coordinator’s point of view everything seemed to go smoothly and, based on the student evaluations, the Block Seminar was an unforgettable journey and a quick introduction to the CEMS community. While probably more work, having a joint seminar in two locations added to the experience both in the sense that it emphasised two very different cultural CR perspectives and that the two varying locations maintained the students’ interest and catered for all tastes.

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RSM “turns space technology into business”

For the fifth time, the European Space Agency hosted the CEMS kick-off seminar, giving the opportunity to students to learn about technology transfer and see what it takes to turn space technology breakthroughs into viable non-space business. Organised in cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Centre of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), students were given an exciting space technology patent, this year offered by Dutch Space, that they had to commercialise through a non-space application and create a spin-off venture for that purpose. They were requested to prepare a feasible business plan and present the results at the end of the week to a professional jury. During the whole week, the seminar was complemented with lectures on entrepreneurship, technology transfer and new venture creation, with supported from RSM faculty, ESA staff and experts from industry, including business developers from Dutch Space. The CEMS students clearly enjoyed the project. Elmy Sarruco from the winning team said “it was a lot of hard work, but we had a great team. Although we met here for the first time, we quickly noticed we complemented each other well for this WRITER: Charlotte Hamilton Oom Saldanha collaborative project. We had several good ideas, but we were NOVA CEMS Executive Coordinator eager to make a successful business case. I’m happy we succeeded, even in view of the enormous time pressure.” NOVA’s first ever MIM Block Seminar RSM alumnus Niels Eldering, Technology Transfer Officer The Block Seminar held as part of NOVA’s MIM program at ESA and member of the jury, commented that space business took place in two locations 31st August-5th September. is very international, as well as entrepreneurial. The European Students were welcomed to the Palacete Henrique Men- space community requires business and technical professionals donça, Lisbon, home to the preferential and mandatory MIM to work together on a daily basis. Especially when it concerns courses where they began classes on the theme “Corporate exploitation of space-based technologies in new markets. These Sustainability and the Triple Bottom Line”. CEMS students prove to be capable of doing just that. “You see After lunch they were transported to Santa Cruz, near them quickly progress during the week, and they really come Torres Vedras, one of Portugal’s most popular surf locations. up with bright, unexpected ideas.” From Monday afternoon until Friday morning students attended a variety of classes taught by Prof. Clara Costa Duarte (Environmental Economics, NOVA), Prof. Miguel Pina e Cunha (Organisational Behaviour, NOVA), Prof. Paulo Pinho (Entrepreneurial Finance, NOVA), Prof. Rolf Wustenhagen (Energy and Sustainability Management, HSG), Prof. Susana F. Pinheiro (Visiting Professor, Social Entrepreneurship) and Prof. Sérvio Túlio Prado Júnior (FGV). A variety of teaching techniques were used including presentations, group work, debates and games! Students had time to visit the local museum, enjoy a wine and cheese-tasting evening, take a dip in the ocean, hike, and visit a vegetable auction and industrial greenhouses, as well as a guided tour of NOVA’s Corporate Partner EDP’s wind installations in Praia d’El Rei. The first-ever group of 25 MIM students included students from CBS, CUB, GSOM, HSG, NHH, NOVA, RSM, SGH, UB and UoC. The week ended with an exam followed by an Awards Ceremony and a weekend of student events organised by the NOVA CEMS Student Club.

The HEC block seminar provided a friendly and diverse cosmopolitan community. The seminars were international in focus and had business relevance, particularly given the collaboration with LVMH. These exclusive and integrative seminars were presented by academic lecturers and insiders from the top luxury companies, providing a real sense of fashion and luxury and also enabling participants to combine theory with practice. The block seminar was deemed practical enough, while the integration weekend at Lajoux offered not only an opportunity to relax, but also a chance to actively learn and foster character development and social skills outside of the classroom. The outdoor activities including rafting, “accrobranche”, team building, paintball and hiking, not only encouraged engagement, team working spirit and leadership, but also pushed the students to explore their interpersonal skills, ability to communicate, collaborate, plan and solve problems. This made for an unforgettable weekend for all that strengthened friendships.

Block Seminar round-up

GSOM and HSE join forces

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

“The CEMS Block Seminar was a perfect start to one of the most exciting and challenging years for me as a student. Despite the fact that the seminar was split into two parts, one in St. Petersburg and another one in Helsinki, the flow was seamless. The topic “Corporate Responsibility in Managerial Practices” was really intriguing, especially at this time of an economic downturn. The intensive format provided the students with the theoretical understanding from academic practitioners’ point of view which was well complemented by in-depth insights of practical approaches in aiding managerial decision-making by the corporate professionals.” Writer: Rohit Gupta HSE CEMS student, class of 2009-10

”You see them quickly progress during the week, and they really come up with bright, unexpected ideas.”

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ON CAMPUS

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

Writer: kira Alexandra rose

Koç University: An International Orientation Kira Alexandra Rose takes a detailed look at Koç University, due to be ratified as a CEMS full academic member at the Annual Events in Cologne in December of this year. The CEMS-Koç University partnership is not only the result of Turkey’s burgeoning industries and socio-economic progress; it reflects changes in CEMS’s overall strategy. “I initiated the Koç application process in 2003 when I wrote to CEMS explaining our desire,” says Dean of CASE and GSB Director Barış Tan. “Since then,” says Tan, “CEMS has become an international network that welcomes diverse and developing countries.” CEMS MIM will be Koç University’s only other specialised programme besides the MS in Finance programme and, as a member of the CEMS strategic board, Tan is dedicated to helping it expand. Diversity in practice A private, non-profit institution, Koç University has witnessed significant increases in student body, academic and corporate affiliates, and programmes with an international orientation since its founding in 1993. The university’s growing reputation – supplemented by its recently-acquired EQUIS accreditation in March 2009 - is mirrored by İstanbul’s position as a cultural and corporate hub and the city’s location at the

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intersection of two continents, Europe and Asia. According to Associate Professor of Marketing and Academic Director for CEMS Turkey, Ayşegül Özsomer, the resulting mélange of tastes, habits and cultural anchors equips Turkish managers and longterm expatriates with “a unique understanding and ability to manage in diverse conditions.” CEMS MIM’s focus on promoting cross-cultural collaboration and cultivating future leaders of multinational companies will benefit the institution and its programmes. In turn, programme graduates that experience Turkey’s fast-changing business environment will further the goals of the alliance and of companies with international operations. Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders

Koç University’s sustained goal is to be part of the international community. “Joining the CEMS network will allow us to get to know new partners, strengthen our existing relationships and enhance our international stature,” says Corporate Relations Coordinator, Ebru Tan. “Because CEMS corporate partners know what to expect, they will help us implement and formalise a new framework.” In addition to bolstering corporate relations, the partnership with CEMS will let alumni draw on Koç University’s expanded network. “I can use the CEMS network as a new discussion platform, to hire new talents and to contact other professionals,” says 2008 Executive MBA graduate and Nestlé Brand Manager, Yasemin Gürleroğlu. Koç University’s dedication to providing its Graduate Business School graduates with skills vital to global leadership aligns with CEMS’s objectives. “Educating the leaders of tomorrow that understand the implications of individual responsibility and maintain the highest ethical standards is part of our mission,” confirms Dean Barış Tan. Becoming a member of the CEMS alliance will ensure that these values continue to be passed on to future leaders with a global vision.

ON CAMPUS

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

ON CAMPUS

A History of Achievement UCD 100 years in Business Education

Corvinus, Vienna and A.T. Kearney break the mould

CEMS Magazine takes you back over the 100-year history of one of its member schools – University College Dublin. Writer: Cathy Timlin Marketing Manager, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Relations Coordinator

The year 1908 was the year UCD students, for the first time, filed with eager anticipation through the doors of the brand new Earlsfort Terrace building. The move from Newman House on St Stephen’s Green marked a bold new direction for UCD. For the first time, the national university was setting out to educate a new generation of business leaders. From the outset, UCD captured an emerging mood, in an Irish people who realised they had a fundamentally important role to fulfil in the direction of their nation. 100 years later, UCD School of Business graduates remain critical to the growth and success of Ireland’s society. One commerce graduate in particular was to have a profound effect on business education in UCD and, in turn, on the nation. Michael MacCormac completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1947. In the 1950s, Willie Norton, then minister for industry and commerce, nominated MacCormac to tour business schools in the US along with a group of American academics. It was here that MacCormac saw the potential for the higher education sector and businesses to work together. He recognised that academia and business could play a vital role in the development of the Irish economy.

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In 1964 UCD was launching the part-time MBA Programme. It was a milestone, not just for Ireland, but also for Europe: the first postgraduate degree to be aimed at professionals working in business. In 1970, a new chapter opened in the story of business at UCD, with the Faculty of Commerce moving from Earlsfort Terrace to a new campus in Belfield. Then, in 1991, the business school took another radical departure. For the first time, MBA students could complete the course on a full-time basis in one year. UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School made a break with the undergraduate faculty, and relocated entirely to a new campus at Carysfort in Blackrock. In 2000, the business school became the first to receive triple accreditation from MBAawarding bodies in North America, Europe and the UK. Today, it remains Ireland’s only world-ranked business school. Cutting-edge studies continue to emerge from UCD School of Business, with prolific research and innovation centres within the schools including the Centre for Information, Technology and Systems, the Centre for Corporate Governance and the Global Finance Academy. From humble beginnings with low student numbers, UCD School of Business has grown into an institution of national significance, with more than 3,000 students and 30,000 alumni. It will undoubtedly continue to play a key role as the Irish economy steers out of recession.

Two schools, one corporate partner, the first international CEMS business project… WRITER: Zsuzsa Krista Corvinus CEMS Academic and Corporate Relations Coordinator

In recent years business projects have become a core competence of CEMS and a unique way of cooperation between the membership network of top business schools and corporate partners. We see various practices among countries, but the nature of the assignment and the resources dedicated by the corporate partners show a clear trend towards the global character of these engagements. The expansion of the CEMS community to new continents is another step of this strategy towards becoming a truly global organisation. In addition to the geographical expansion, there are some new opportunities within Europe as well in the form of stronger cooperation across countries. This year the Corvinus University of Budapest and WU, Vienna University of Economics and Business together with the leading global strategy consulting firm A.T. Kearney have conducted the first ever international business project of CEMS. The team of students was recruited from both universities and worked jointly on the same project assigned by the team of consultants from A.T. Kearney’s Budapest and Vienna offices. The consulting company did not only dedicate time and resources to the project, but one of the key components was to make sure the team has an opportunity to travel between the 2 locations, meet in person

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

and use all the collaborative tools that are available on the market right now. Weekly meetings in Budapest and/or Vienna combined with weekly conference calls hosted by the A.T. Kearney project manager Istvan Maklari were a key to success. The students were assigned to look at the market of broadband entertainment in the context of the “fight for the living room” concept. After the analysis of the market for available products and services they focused on categorising the entertainment types looking for future trends and potential business opportunities. The team had also a special focus on identifying business opportunities for the European SMEs in an industry where traditionally the Japanese and American companies dominated the market. Since the final presentation of the project’s deliverables in May in Budapest there have been two European companies from the IT sector already showing interest in the results of the project and willing to discuss those with the students in person. Quick facts about the project:

The 6 students and 1 A.T. Kearney consultant represented 4 nationalities They spent in total more than 32 hours on the conference calls and as a result of more than 130 posts on the team’s collaborative workspace created 61 versions of the final presentation. To make this all happen 4240 km had to be travelled and a dozen of different gadgets had to be tested.

New CEMS Academic Director at SSE It is the pleasure of the Stockholm School of Economics to announce the arrival of the new CEMS Academic Director, who starts his duty officially in January 2010. | 25 |

Magnus Mähring is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Organisation at SSE. He is also an Affiliated Professor at Ecole de Management Strasbourg and a Research Associate at the Institute of Business Process Development. He recently completed an assignment as Programme Director for the SSE fulltime MBA programme. The current Academic Director, Associate Professor P-O Edlund, has been appointed Dean of the Bachelor programme at SSE.

The CEMS-team at SSE

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

Dealing with the reality of the financial crisis

    

PART ONE the corporate perspective

PART two The CEMS STUDENT / ALUmni perspective Private Banking • Investment Banking • Asset Management

feature

        

Thinking New Perspectives.

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CEMS Magazine | november 2009

feature | part one

dealing with the reality of the financial crisis

CEMS Magazine | november 2009 dealing with the reality of the financial crisis

the corporate Perspective

From massive recruiting to selective recruiting – opportunities in times of crisis João Godinho Duarte

In light of the current financial situation, we were forced to abandon the massive recruitment strategy pursued in recent years. So, once again it would seem that opportunities have been reduced as well. This, though, isn’t necessarily the case… Lower massive recruitment is not synonymous with a strict reduction in hiring, but rather represents a significant change in the paradigm of the whole recruiting policy in our group. We changed from recruiting new employees from the great amount of applications we receive yearly to recruiting candidates from a more selective pool of applicants. Given some restrictions imposed by the current economic setting, our recruiting policy is now more demanding and rigorous. Only the very best graduates are taken on and they then benefit from genuinely personalised career monitoring. To be more specific, we have two different fast-track development programmes, the Young Specialist (YS) programme and the People Grow (PG) programme. Both consist of two years with strong monitoring and training sessions. Crisis, recession, dismissing and unemThis new recruitment segmentation policy ployment are words that we are all too familiar makes it all the more logical and necessary that with at present. Many people complain that job Millennium privilege relations with top manopportunities are much lower than two years agement schools in the world, institutions that ago, or even compared to last year. Furthermore, belong to the CEMS community. We recognise students graduating this year face competition top academic achievers, with developed soft from those who were fired during the crisis and skills and a great potential to grow profeshave more work experience on their CVs. This sionally and personally, that are able to adapt is a realistic analysis of the situation today. in a demanding international setting such as However, the picture is not as dark as it ap- the financial sector. Partnership with CEMS parently seems. provides us with just this profile.

(Specialist, Investment Relations) and Paula Guedes (Head of Human Resources Development) of CEMS Corporate Partner Millenium BCP explain how the bank has had to adapt its recruitment policy in light of the crisis.

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Alternative opportunities in the economic crisis

Alex Snelling (Director, Sourcing Europe at CEMS Corporate Partner L’Oréal) offers practical tips for graduates in tough times. The message? Keep your finger on the pulse and use your job-seeking time wisely. Graduates in 2009 are starting their job hunt in one of the toughest climates for years. With graduate positions in major marketplaces being cut by around 25% getting a place on a traditional scheme has never been more difficult. Despite this, making smart and original choices can get your career off to a flying start. The fact of having to think outside the obvious choices is extremely healthy. Many graduates join large employers almost by default and spend a long time regretting it. Taking time to discover what you really want from your career might lead you to consider alternatives. To find your future direction, talk and network with as many people as possible. Tutors and careers professionals are helpful but also try to reach people you are connected to in business. If you need to maintain an income, you will of course need to work. A job in a local shop or restaurant is better than nothing but will not add true value to your CV. Try to secure flexible hours and balance a low responsibility job with other experiences or your job search. If you can secure an internship or work experience in a relevant firm this is ideal and employers will understand a longer chain of internships than usual during an economic downturn. There is no problem in joining a family firm, as long as you can explain your contribution and learning clearly at an interview. Work experience is valuable if you can afford to give your time for free and getting a foot in the door with an interesting business is priceless! Volunteering or other work outside the business sector can provide you with a great CV. The key here is to secure experience which will really stretch your skills and also make a contribution to whatever organisation you are working

with. Many voluntary organisations need support with finances, HR issues or event planning and can offer you a chance to really shine. As a highly international student, you can build the value of both of these options through undertaking them abroad. Alternatively, you can of course “backpack” or simply holiday but these options are much less compelling from an employer point of view. The most effective approach is to combine your options. Generating cash through working full time can give the option to travel or volunteer. Work experience can lead to an internship in a related firm. Above all stay flexible, positive and open to new opportunities. Throughout all your experiences, keep a close eye on the marketplace. Nobody can say when the job market will take off again so be ready. Make the internet work for you through establishing a profile on sites such as LinkedIn, keep in touch with recruiters and add experiences to your CV so as to be absolutely ready when the right opportunity comes along. I wish you good fortune in making the most of these difficult times – remember that fortune favours the brave!

ALEX SNELLING Director, Sourcing Europe at CEMS Corporate Partner L’Oréal

“I wish you good fortune in making the most of these difficult times – remember that fortune favours the brave!”

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CEMS Alumna at Siemens Cornelia Villa, Consultant

Activate your Future. Siemens Management Consulting is the internal top management consultancy of Siemens. With ofﬁces in Munich, New York, and Beijing, we support Siemens businesses around the globe.

What attracted you to SMC? After 3 years in various roles within Reuters I was looking for a more strategic job and wanted to work in a top management consultancy. SMC offered me the opportunity not only to do exactly this but also to continue working in an international environment doing projects around the globe. As its focus is on sustainable project results that create impact or can easily be implemented by our clients, I can use my “operational” know-how from my previous jobs. Moreover, SMC puts a strong focus on people development, continuous training and mentoring, things that I was missing in my career up to that point. In the end a major deciding factor was also the cultural and value ﬁt – SMC has a unique open, dynamic and international culture where I felt “at home” from the very start.

With about 160 consultants in three ofﬁces (Munich, New York, Beijing), we support Siemens businesses worldwide in competition for market leadership – from power stations, microelectronics, and automation technology to healthcare goods and services. We always take a global, integral view of our business. Alongside the delivery of consulting projects at the highest level, the second equally important part of our mission is the development of top management talent. While working on global strategy projects for Siemens’ Industry, Energy, and Healthcare Sectors in the Regions or Corporate Units, our consultants gain in-depth knowledge of Siemens and its businesses. SMC offers its employees a concrete and attractive career path into one of the world’s most innovative global companies.

10 reasons to join SMC

How do you see the CEMS MIM Program having helped you in your career? I believe that the CEMS Masters degree is the unique selling proposition in my CV besides my practical experiences. It gave my CV a strong international orientation both from an educational and practical perspective. Both of my employers were exactly looking for this kind of proﬁle, a candidate that has a proven international record, language skills and intercultural soft skills. SMC is working for Siemens globally so these skills are essential.

1. World-class

World-class is the yardstick for everything we do.

2. Impact for our clients

Impact at SMC means making quantum leaps for our Siemens businesses.

3. People development

Individual people development is our most important leadership task.

4. Fast track into Siemens top management

Beneﬁt from the fastest development path to enter Siemens top management.

What is the best thing working for SMC? This is deﬁnitely SMC’s culture – it is great to work in young, ambitious and dynamic teams. Colleagues are very supportive, always having an open ear for your questions on all levels and openly giving you feedback crucial for your personal development. It is a very personal environment and a lot of my colleagues are also close friends. Being on projects mostly outside Munich, I ﬁnd it important to get along well with my colleagues on the team. Moreover, ensuring a good work-life balance is an important topic within SMC, a focus that is quite unique in the consulting world.

5. Variety of challenges worldwide

Shape a global company by consulting our clients in a range of businesses, industries and project types.

6. Diverse teams

Work with a group of great people from diverse backgrounds.

7. Team spirit

Nobody is perfect, but a team can be.

8. Work-life balance

We recognize that you cannot ﬂy with a single wing.

9. Network building

Build a global and company-wide network.

10. Responsibility

We treat clients and colleagues with respect and handle resources responsibly.

Do you excel in everything you do? Then join our team! As graduate from university with outstanding grades, you’ll start with us as a consultant. In this role, you’ll be part of a close-knit team focused on advising senior management of Siemens operating companies on international projects around the globe. Since our consultants are responsible for working closely with internal clients on a day-to-day basis, they play a pivotal role in delivering value.

Activate your Future.

We’re looking for motivated, open-minded individuals with dynamic personalities and skill sets who see themselves as team players.

Activate your Potential. Contact us.

Siemens Management Consulting

www.siemens.com/smc

Join our team.

We look forward to hearing from you ! www.siemens.com/managementconsulting

feature | part TWO

CEMS Magazine | november 2009 dealing with the reality of the financial crisis

The CEMS STUDENT / ALUmni perspective

Six Ways to Boost Your Career in the Crisis

Writer: Kristina Georgieva

3. Get work experience

Having A hard time finding a job? Sick of the constant referrals to the financial crisis as an excuse for companies not hiring? Worried your career might become an innocent victim of the unfavourable developments in the world economy? Exclusive CEMS Club Copenhagen advice provides you with an immediate inspiration of how to be proactive and learn to benefit from the current situation.

MODELLING When you think of modelling do you think of sophisticated mathematical analysis in fast-moving global markets? We do. BNP Paribas Corporate & Investment Banking is an innovative provider of sophisticated financial and strategic solutions to large companies and financial institutions around the world. Creativity, entrepreneurialism and a relentless focus on our clients’ goals have allowed us to grow into a leading European bank with a strong global presence. With strong risk management and financial stability we have continued to grow – and helped our clients to grow – even in the most challenging of times. We have a tradition of doing things differently here, pursuing our own ideas and working collaboratively to achieve exceptional results for our clients. If you’re interested in joining an international team and launching an exciting career in the fast-moving financial markets, then find out where you could fit in at BNP Paribas.

Careers in Corporate & Investment Banking

www.graduates.bnpparibas.com

Pimp your CV

If you are irritated by the unusually long time periods needed for getting a job during the financial turmoil, enrol for additional courses in a university or start a specialisation that would enhance your professional profile and make you more competitive in the job market. You might as well consider language classes or even a language school in another country. Such an experience will not only make you more qualified, but also add an additional international edge to your profile, which is undoubtedly a basic requirement in today’s business world.

If you can afford to work for less or no money, by moving in with your parents for an example, start an internship. In the financial downturn many average-sized or small companies cannot afford to pay for personnel that they actually need. You can use this situation to offer your services at a lower price, while in exchange gather valuable work experience and get a hands-on approach for the business area. As soon as the economic situation improves, you would either have the bargaining power to ask for a decent salary or have enough work experience to transfer to another job. 4.

Think Pink!

The financial downturn reshapes the business world, creating demand for unpopular or even until now non-existent services or businesses. Therefore, if you have the winning idea and develop the know-how to carry it off, you are sure to have a unique success opportunity. Although arranging for the initial investments might prove to be a challenge too, the risk at the beginning could be outweighed by the revenue chances, presented by the wide window of market opportunity. 5. Volunteer

By volunteering in projects in developing countries, or by getting seriously involved in extracurricular activities, you would not only spice up your CV, but also gain exceptional management, interpersonal, cultural and technical experience that you can indisputably apply later on. By working in extraordinary settings, you are sure to gain a much more thorough understanding of your own personality. To know yourself better and to have a real 2. Get connected life experience and wisdom both boost your If you cannot get a job via published job confidence and enhance your understandoffers, try to get to know the people who write ing of the type of work that would suit you. these job offers. Although it is impossible for Afterwards you would master with ease any an average student to casually mix up with job interview or assessment centre situation. multinationals’ CEOs or corporate banks’ execu- Working as a volunteer would as well be highly tives, you can attend career fairs, informational, appreciated in multinational companies, where promotional or educational meetings organised ethical issues are considered just as important by local companies and introduce yourself to as business decisions. company representatives. Do not forget to ask for a contact card and use this person as a ref- 6. Learn from others’ mistakes As an aspiring business person, you might erence in the motivation letter you send. You can as well use the CEMS alumni database to err on numerous occasions. Be smart and get get in touch with CEMS students who work in ahead in your business and career plan by companies of interest for you to support you learning from the most famous failures durwith internal information in your job search. ing the crisis.

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CEMS Magazine | november 2009

feature | part two

feature | part TWO

dealing with the reality of the financial crisis

The CEMS STUDENT / ALUmni perspective

How can your career benefit from the economic crisis? CEMS student Pavlina Simurdova gives an up-close and personal take on how she and her counterpart Olga Nydlova emerged from the financial crisis relatively better off.

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

The economic crisis has influenced the lives of many people in the world. Media present analysis projecting “unemployment increases” or the “wage-freeze”. Especially students are supposed to be one of the groups most affected as they do not have enough practical experience in firms. Is this true also for CEMS students? Are they having such major difficulties when searching for a part-time job or internship? Firstly, I asked my friend Olga Nydlova. Last time I talked to her, she was a working student in a very prestigious company: “My experience with the economic crisis can be described by the following sentence: if one door closes, another one opens; in turbulent times the only thing which is different is the fact that more doors can close at the same time and you have to be quick, persistent or lucky to catch the one that is open. I had been working for exactly five months as a student analyst in the Prague office of a well-known BIG4 company. Then the decision to reduce headcount came and sadly for me, I was the one who had to go. Unfortunately, I did not have any fixed contract. The show was over. Now, what was the bright side of this situation, which new door opened? First of all, I was the one who opened the door. CEMS students are strong personalities, who do not just tumble down if one thing in their life goes wrong, am I right? The fact that I had more time enabled me to start thinking about my thesis. Finally, I decided to follow up on my internship from the previous year and I contacted my former boss. He agreed to cooperate on my diploma thesis, so he arranged another internship for me. I came to T-Mobile Headquarters in Bonn for the second time and I am now working on a very interesting research and analysis, cooperating with two large multinational companies.”

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Following this story I remembered my own experience with the economic crisis. In the second half of 2008 I was searching for an international internship. My top choice was a manufacturing company situated in Germany. My knowledge of the German language was quite limited at that time. So, I did not feel very comfortable when one part of the interview was done in German. Finally and for me also surprisingly, I was offered an internship in logistics, starting in February 2009. At this time almost every company had to deal with the consequences of the crisis: people were fired, the amount of new employees was dramatically decreased and cost-cutting became an often-used term. As an outcome, fewer employees needed to handle larger amounts of work. Companies figured out several solutions. The one I have an experience with can be called concentration on interns. The reason is clear: the work performance of an intern is still at a very good level but their salary and other benefits are dramatically lower compared to regular employees. Besides hiring more interns, there is one more side effect – their work content. Interns are currently given much more responsible and autonomous work. During my internship I was given very interesting but also extremely challenging projects. In most cases I worked absolutely independently just with back-up support from my mentor or other colleagues. Within those six months I learnt as much as I had ever done in my life. And I am not sure that this would have happened in a time of an economic growth. Coming back to my internship, my boss was a CEMS Alumnus. I still do not know how much this influenced the fact that I was chosen. But during the whole six months he did absolutely his best and gave me a chance to learn, practice and use the German language all the time. Although these times are not easy for those looking for a job, remember you can contact your CEMS friends or colleagues you met during your studies or internship. When career websites or job fairs do not offer any interesting positions, you are not lost; the CEMS network is still here!

How your career can benefit from Economic Crisis? CEMS graduate Phil Shah shares his very personal and professional experience of the financial crisis

I vividly remember the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. Seven months into the Thomson Reuters Business Graduate Programme, I moved out of customer support in London and was then an Account Manager sitting in the Mumbai office. Sitting in the office canteen, we had a CNBC screen flashing and announcing the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy which had happened overnight. My first thoughts were, how am I going to survive in Sales and Account Management when we’ve just lost one of our biggest clients (in fact Lehman Brothers was my account!) and when there are rumours of a consolidation in the banking and financial services sector? As a matter of fact, this was a challenging time for me. I had just moved into a completely unfamiliar area of the business in a market which was new to me, with sales targets which

reflected the incredible growth that our business had seen in India between 2003 to 2008, led by the outsourcing boom. I had been told that, only a few months before I arrived, clients would call us asking for products and services and the phone would never stop ringing. I often thought about how my year in Sales would have been had the economic situation been different, and how much more successful I could have been, but then realised that selling in tough times was a fantastic learning experience. To give a little more detail, the whole sales and account management approach became more proactive, and I found myself coming up with strategies and new ways of creating relationships with our clients in hope of increasing business with them, if not now, at least to put in the groundwork for future

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sales when the economy picked up. All in all, it was an invaluable experience to be in a market which was so used to growth and increased investment, and had never experienced significant cost cutting or redundancies. I learnt a different approach to selling, which was more based on building long-term relationships, and trying to provide as much value for customers as possible. The loss of Lehman Brothers hit me in terms of cancellations, but brought fresh opportunities in the form of Nomura, which acquired the India business, and taught me about contractual obligations and legal issues, such as transferring services from one account to another and entity name changes. To sum it up, extraordinary times can lead to extraordinary opportunities!

Selma D. Vice President, Rating Advisory, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking CEMS MIM (WUW & Università Luigi Bocconi)

As my days can be exible I also try and get to work out regularly. I need to keep t to improve at my favourite past time, windsurng. I’m the sort of person whose brain wanders and windsurng is a perfect cure, if I lose focus, I drown… It’s a great outlet for me. 3 - Has the nancial crisis had an impact on your professional life?

I would consider the crisis to have been an opportunity more than a threat to my career.

Our opportunities in more detail We have a wealth of openings which candidates can choose from depending on their prole, their specic needs and personal preferences: • General Inspection Graduate Programme: a 6-year career track ideally suited to graduates who wish to combine an expertise in both nance and consulting. Based in Paris, the 130 members of this team spend on average 50% of their time on international consulting assignments; • International internships: generally of 6 to 12 months in duration in all of our different business areas; • Direct entry positions: for graduates with signicant work experience or experienced hires in all of our divisions; • French international assignments (VIE contracts): 12- to 24-month contracts in a location outside your country of origin. Locations include: New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Prague, Sydney… To apply for one or more of these opportunities, you can consult our recruitment website: http://careers.socgen.com or drop in and see us at the CEMS Career Forum in November in Budapest!

Société Générale: proud to be a CEMS corporate partner As an international, growing Group, we require talented graduates throughout our organization who can facilitate our development worldwide in all of our business lines. We therefore see an ideal t between our Group and CEMS students and graduates who wish to pursue a career in the banking and nance industry. To illustrate this, we’re happy to share with you the proles of three CEMS graduates working with us. Let’s hand over to them...

Ref. (A) 709680 – Crédit photos : © Coco Amardeil – © Arnaud Lam – Studio Société Générale +33 (0)1 42 14 27 05 – 09/2009

An international group, Société Générale is one of the leading nancial services providers in the euro zone. We employ more than 163,000 people worldwide, representing 122 nationalities, and have ofces in 82 countries. It is listed in the four major socially responsible investment indexes. Société Générale welcomed almost 24,000 new employees worldwide in 2008. We offer a variety of opportunities throughout our global locations and businesses for talented and ambitious graduates who wish to pursue a career in banking and nance.

1 - Could you describe your background? How did you arrive in your current role at Société Générale? As an Austrian national with Syrian origins, I grew up in France and later graduated from the Vienna University of Economics (WUW). I also completed the CEMS Master, which gave me the opportunity to spend a semester abroad at the Bocconi University in Milan. After graduation, I worked three years as a Business Analyst with a European satellite operator before joining SG Rating Advisory team in 2007. In my current role as VP in Rating Advisory, I cover French and European corporates across all industries, with regards to rating, credit and capital structure issues and rated companies’ relationship with the rating agencies. The small size of my team implies a high level of autonomy in my day to day work, as well as signicant responsibilities on each project I cover. It also gave me the opportunity to enjoy, very early on, broad exposure to clients at management level and rating agency analysts. 2 - What’s a typical day in your life like? My working day can be extremely variable. I organise my life around the meetings I have with clients, sometimes involving travelling. A day in the ofce would start with checking my e-mails on my way to the ofce. After scheduling my day around current projects and meetings, I would spend half an hour on the daily newspapers. A key part of my work implies being aware of the evolution of the credit markets and more particularly of moves taken by the rating agencies. The rest of the day is dedicated to the rating analysis of corporates, the set up of client presentations, the so called pitch books, which can be done individually at team level or jointly with other business lines. This implies a strong interaction with other teams, which is very interesting, as it highly increases visibility on my job and the bank in general.

At my personal level, the crisis has had some impact on my professional life. In fact, the importance of credit ratings to the market / the investors has increased tremendously. Hence, work has intensied a lot since the beginning of the crisis, as bank nancing has tightened and debt capital markets, for which credit rating are key, have gained importance. Under this angle, I would consider the crisis to have been an opportunity more than a threat to my career. 4 - Do you believe that your international prole is a strength in your career? Given that my role involves customer relationship across Europe, I believe the international background and the language skills I gained from my involvement in the CEMS curriculum certainly gave me a competitive edge for my role, notably when working on large cross border deals. 5 - Did your CEMS degree and experience equip you with skills which have helped you in your professional development so far? My CEMS degree denitely provided me with most valuable skills for my career. I believe that in addition to the technical and soft skills I gained from the course at WUW and Bocconi, the experience to spend a semester abroad gave me the opportunity to expand my horizon and my social network and to meet people from all over the world, some of which became friends for life. 6 - According to you, what would be the best educational and career track to join a bank like Société Générale? I am not sure if there’s only one ideal career path to join a bank like SG, and I believe mine is probably not the most common one. But this also proves that SG attaches signicant importance to the diversity of its human resource capital and highly values international proles, which a CEMS master denitely provides you with.

I was very happy to work in varied international environments and build complementary skills.

Stephan G.

Cecile W.

Corporate Strategy & Development Department CEMS MIM (HSG & Università Luigi Bocconi)

Director, Media and Telecom Sector Corporate Institutions and Advisory, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking CEMS MIM (HEC Paris & ESADE )

Do not be afraid about French stereotypes, SG is without any doubt one of the most international banks here in Europe.

1 - Could you describe your background? How did you arrive in your current role at Société Générale? I graduated in economics at University of St. Gallen in 1993, and my professional life has been entirely in nance, even though quite diversied from the very beginnings in credit analysis, then in structured asset management, to M&A and now in corporate strategy & development. And all that at SG (with the exception of credit analysis). Well, just like many others of my generation, I have an internet startup experience, quite fast because less than one year after I was back in banking at SG, but without any regrets. 2 - What are the most and least enjoyable aspects of your job? The strategy department reports directly to Frédéric Oudéa, the Chairman and CEO of Société Générale. Our role is to provide advice and direction in terms of the strategic orientation of the entire SG Group in a short-, mid- and long-term timeframe.

The most enjoyable aspect is that you denitely don’t have the opportunity to get bored or to fall into a repetitive or monotonous routine. My focus is on retail banking in emerging markets, but I have also worked in the elds of private banking, online brokerage and CIB. The work is analytical but you also have to deal with the human aspects: your arguments should be convincing and having negotiation skills denitely does not hurt. You can deal with internal and external matters as well, and in the end you contribute to high level decisions. In short, you continue to learn while having fun. I know that it does not sound very credible, especially in an SG ad, but I do not have any precise idea about the least enjoyable aspects. I guess I’ve been lucky up until now. 3 - How has the nancial crisis affected your professional life ? I began at SG’s strategy department 3 months before the outbreak of the crisis in July 2007. The history of the crisis is also my history in this new assignment, from a pure US crisis in subprimes to a crisis of condence shattering the nancial markets worldwide with a serious impact on the rest of the economy. This crisis puts into question consumer and investor behaviour and might lead to a change in banking business models including regulatory changes (just think about a world with huge privatised prots but even bigger nationalised losses, is that sustainable?). I could not have been in a better place. 4 - Does your international background make a difference in your role? Clearly, my international background helped and continues to help. My father

is German, my mother Swiss-Italian, my wife French, it’s not only about speaking x languages and having international experience in your CV. In the end, you should be able to understand other ways of thinking and living. Sounds easy, but can be very difcult because it puts into question your own way of life. Concerning CEMS, I think that the CEMS Master helped a lot when I had my job interviews at SG (University of St. Gallen is a very good school, but not really well known outside the German-speaking countries at that time although things are quite different now.). But at the time, CEMS certainly added an additional string to my bow. 5 - With a very busy work schedule, do you manage to maintain contacts with the CEMS community? This question is more than embarrassing. I feel quite ashamed because my contacts to the CEMS community could be dramatically improved, including the payment of annual membership fees. I guess I’ve just worked out what my good resolution for 2010 will be! 6 - What advice would you share with a graduate or an experienced professional who wishes to join Société Générale? Do not be afraid about French stereotypes, SG is without any doubt one of the most international banks here in Europe. This reminds me of my father’s reaction in 1993 when I told him of my intention to work in a French bank: “Was? In einem Weichwährungsland, in einer französischen Bank willst Du arbeiten?”* Since then, my father has changed his mind. * “WHAT? You want to work in a country with a soft currency, for a FRENCH bank?”

1 - Could you describe your background? How did you arrive in your current role at Société Générale? After studying at HEC Paris, I started my career working for Accenture in the Bank and Insurance Division. My assignments there were quite diverse but the common feature was their connection to banking and nancial market activities, which was an area in which I took a very special interest. Many former consultants leave the consulting industry to work for their client, but it was not the case for me: I worked for 6 different international banks during my 5 years as a consultant but I picked Société Générale as an employer because I was attracted by its international activity, its entrepreneurial spirit and also its growth opportunities and the high functional mobility provided in the career paths. That functional mobility certainly proved to be a reality in my case; I was rst recruited for my previous competencies and acted as an internal consultant and project manager on transformation projects. I worked in particular on the integration of new companies into the Group in countries such as Romania and Germany.

As I was expecting when I joined SG, I then evolved to more client-oriented functions, in particular relationship management for Large Corporates. Now, after several assignments, I am currently a Banker in the Corporate and Investment Banking division, in charge of a portfolio of Large Corporate clients in the Telecom sector. 2 - What would you describe as the major highlights and challenges of your career so far? As you can imagine from my varied career path, I like the diversity of challenges. I could not imagine working in the same type of function for my entire life and I was very happy to work in varied international environments and build complementary skills. Now I am more specialized in the client coverage functions but my previous function enabled me to be very versatile, have a very wide understanding of all the banking activities as well as the international capabilities of the Group, skills that I can now bring to my clients. 3 - Do you feel that the nancial crisis has had an impact on your assignments and professional life? The heart of our job and skills has not changed. More than ever, my job is to understand the client needs and provide solutions using all the different resources and business lines from the SG Group when needed. Of course, with the crisis we have to manage scarce resources such as capital and liquidity

carefully but partnerships with our clients are long lasting and we need to look at them over the cycle. But we also have to face it: the crisis has done a lot of harm to the image of the banking industry. We need to be more modest and work hard to deserve client trust. 4 - Is your international experience a strength in your professional life? The answer is obviously yes. I cannot even imagine anyone now starting a career without an international touch, whether via a long-duration internship or an international professional experience. That’s a criteria I always look at when I’m recruiting new associates. 5 - What do you remember most particularly about your CEMS experience? Let’s be frank: my CEMS experience is a few years old now and I above all remember all the fun we had! More seriously, the CEMS is a “package”. I cannot say that I learned more from the curricula or the parties, from the cultural exchanges or from the little challenges (or pains) of organizing a new life in a foreign country. All of this melts down to a unique experience. I could go back to this any time. 6 - What advice would you give to graduates who wish to join Société Générale? I believe the key is to explore the wide variety of professions that exist in the banking industry. Take advantage of career fairs and specialised career guides to get a good picture of the avenues that may be open to you. Most students I meet have a relatively narrow and stereotyped vision of what an investment bank can offer them (generally believing that it is restricted to M&A and trading activities), while in reality, far wider opportunities exist and can offer equally exciting career tracks. French International Assignments (VIE contracts) and long-duration internships are evidently a very efcient way to gain concrete insight and hands-on experience in the industry.

Think Tank Portrait of a generation CEMS L’Oréal Fellowship research report paints a dynamic picture Writer: Kevin Titman CEMS Communications Manager

It’s official the CEMS–L’Oreal study profiles a new generation of business leaders as determined, industrious and self-assured Earlier this year, CEMS and corporate partner L’Oreal published the findings of a study focussing on students from the CEMS classes of 2008 and 2009 covering the following areas: choosing a job and first employer, life, career, and competencies. The results reveal them to be highly ambitious global citizens, ready to embark on “serial monogamies” with their various future employers. Overall, this generation emerges as a passionate group, prepared to put in significant work and effort as part of a calculated career plan of which they are the sole masters.

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CEMS Magazine | november 2009

THINK TANK

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

Today‘s strategy consultant. Tomorrow‘s executive manager.

How and when

Three renowned professors of CEMS member schools combined their considerable academic expertise: Professors Carlos Obeso (ESADE, Barcelona), Wolfgang Mayrhofer (WU, Vienna) and Odd Nordhaug (NHH, Bergen) lead the quantitative and qualitative study. The quantitative study comprised data collected from 339 individuals from the CEMS Master’s in International Management programme (representing a total of 1,330 individuals). This phase took place in May 2008, using a web-based questionnaire covering three major areas: choosing a job and first employer; life, career, and competencies; and personal background information. The qualitative study entailed data compiled from the interviews of 34 individuals (15 men and 19 women from 16 different countries, of an average age of 23) held between Spring and Autumn 2008. Questions covered life in general, the role of work, the importance of role models, the relationship between the individual and an organisation, and the effects of the global financial crisis.

A career-minded generation, confident in its potential for success

Activate your Future.

The students interviewed are very careerminded and unafraid of change, with a clear view of a professional plan that does not rely upon loyalty to one single company or organisation. They are prepared to invest their time and energy in the companies that will hire them on a short-term basis as part of a calculated “careerpreneurship”. Job security is not a high priority among the respondent students, such is their belief in their own ability.

The end of “company people”?

The study also crystallises the kind of leadership that these future business leaders are looking for in their superiors. They desire “structured freedom”. Their superiors lead by example in an organic rather than hierarchical form of management. In other words, actions speak louder than words. Clear proof of their pragmatism is that the actual job or position ranks as more important than the workplace or employer. Far from being “company people”, many of them place more emphasis on the specific job opportunity.

Hard work is in, consumerism is out

The results demonstrate that hard work and personal responsibility for one’s career are seen as essential from the very start. Contrary to current theories that emphasise a culture of consumerism as central for younger generations, the respondents place work at the very centre of their lives. There is a clear sense that careers require sacrifice and trade-offs. In return, however, the students questioned expect something for their hard work as part of a transactional relationship with their employer(s). Therefore, companies should provide a positive environment with challenging, constantly evolving projects, which, when successfully completed, are rewarded with recognition and even admiration. A career should also mean having fun along the way. Crucially, for tomorrow’s managers, money is not everything.

Also, participating in the world of work is a way of finding one’s place in society for this generation, who perceives work as having significance in and of itself.

“We believe that this new generation of leaders with their ambition, their intelligence and creativity, their return to real values, their agility, and their questioning attitude will be the best antidote to our current period of economic turmoil,” commented François de Wazières, International Recruitment Director at L’Oréal.

It is people like Bettina who make a difference at Siemens. As an in-house consultant with Siemens Management Consulting, Bettina calls the world her home, working across a variety of different cultures within a global network of over 190 countries. Whether it‘s strategy development, post-merger integration, benchmarking or restructuring, Bettina‘s tasks are multi-faceted. Her consulting and industry experience serves her well in a variety of international projects. Her comprehensive solutions help to enhance the value of Siemens, while at the same time supporting her next step towards a successful career in Siemens‘ Executive Management.

The summary report is available on request.

www.siemens.com/smc | 42 |

student & alumni focus STUDENt prizes and business games

Student & Alumni focus

Adapted from Henkel press release

CEMS-RSM students represent in Henkel student competition In autumn 2008, Henkel launched its second international student competition under the name “Henkel Innovation Challenge”. The eleven best student teams from throughout Europe presented their ideas before an international jury comprised of Henkel managers in April of this year. As “business development managers”, they elaborated a concept for a Henkel product in the year 2050. The proud winners comprised CEMS students from the Rotterdam School of Management. These upcoming talents presented a compelling concept for an innovative, environmentally compatible detergent able to function without water.

Writer: Florian Glatt WU CEMS student

CEMS-Vienna team perform a “citizen act” An Austrian CEMS-team learnt about Société Générale’s “CitizenAct” CSR business game during the 20th CEMS Annual Event in Paris last November, and within days submitted a project idea to the bank that took them all the way to the finals on 26th March. Florian Glatt and Marius Starcke (both Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria), along with their teammate Björn Radler (studying law at Vienna University) chose to address opportunities for “banking the unbankable”. “Within the framework of Société Générale’s competition, we had the opportunity to research the issue of financial exclusion as a societal problem in Europe. We modelled a potential solution for developed retail banking markets, taking a pilot CSR project launched by Austria’s Erste Bank in 2006 as a starting point. Through interviews with all key stakeholders, we gained understanding for a problem we had essentially not been aware of a few months ago.” CEMS finalist’s team site _ http://tinyurl.com/M-Unbank Citizen Act Landing Page _ http://www.citizenact.com

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CEMS Magazine | november 2009

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“We are both happy and proud to get this reward for our hard work of the last few months – particularly in the face of such a tough group of competitors”,

“The competition was very practical in its make-up. It is also a great opportunity for interacting with professional business managers”, commented Wibe van de Vijver from the winning Dutch team. He and his two colleagues Maria Louise Schuerman and Dorothea Sepopo Attiogbe convinced the jury with a highly polished presentation, a well conceived product idea and great negotiating skills. “We are both happy and proud to get this reward for our hard work of the last few months – particularly in the face of such a tough group of competitors”, enthused the 25 year old business student.

Student & Alumni focus

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

STUDENt and graduate interviews

Alina RUTKOWSKA “Warsaw School of Economics” and CEMS graduate

Charting a CEMS success story

Alina Rutkowska (Warsaw School of Economics and CEMS graduate) takes us through her jouney from prospective student to professional UNIVERSITY

“Of course there’s a lot of knowledge in universities: the freshmen bring a little in; the seniors don’t take much away, so knowledge sort of accumulates.”

Abbott Lawrence

The highlight of my journey started when I looked at the list of candidates accepted for the CEMS programme and I was on it and admitted to my first choice school – Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan. I was not

aware of it at the time but my professional network actually started developing the moment I stepped into Bocconi. It was a truly exhilarating experience to study and work with people from all over the world.

AND NOW

As my Graduate Programme was coming to an end I went through a round of interviews in different departments of the company to understand what the best next step could be. INTERNSHIP And it’s Business Planning Manager. Reporting directly to Vice President Operations & Tech”This job would be impossible without the use of nology Europe and being an interface between interns. We are able to take on more programmes Marketing, Logistics, Procurement and R&D I and do a better job because of them.” have the invaluable opportunity to grow both One of the many events organised by Bocconi professionally and personally. University was a Career Fair, which gathered Let me leave you with a thought: the most renowned companies on the market. “If you think you can do it, or you think you A few weeks later when I was shopping in the can’t do it, You are right.” world’s fashion capital I got a phone call from Henry Ford who turned out to be my future boss in Shell inviting me for an interview. He had the CV I left during the Career Fair. The internship in Shell was a truly fascinating period in my professional life. I had the chance to understand the dynamics of a multinational company and verify my skills on the market place. I was responsible for supporting Marketing Managers in the lubricants business including all marketing, sales and communication activities. This role made me realise that I actually thrive in a challenging and changing environment and adapt quickly to new situations.

GRADUATE PROGRAMME

“The aim of life is selfdevelopment. To realise one’s nature perfectly that is what each of us is here for.”

Oscar Wilde

Towards the end of my internship I was regularly reviewing job postings on the CEMS site. The Whirlpool Fast Track Management Programme caught my attention, so I applied. After a phone interview and a 2-day assessment I officially became a FTMP trainee, and as such I had the invaluable opportunity to lead three different projects in three different functions and three different locations. I started my adventure in the European Headquarters as a Project Leader of a Logistics NonQuality Costs Improvement effort, managing the development and introduction of structured solutions in 30 Factory and Warehouse Distribution Centers across Europe. My second assignment was Lead Time Reduction in the Trento Factory, in which my team achieved significant internal stock reductions. After that I was based in Paris working on my third project in Customer Service where my task was to define the Service Strategy of the future. | 46 |

especially with a degree in management or finance. As I was sitting in front of my computer in Budapest during my CEMS exchange semester sending hundreds of resumes and customised motivation letters I had absolutely no idea where I would be in a few weeks’ times. As my expectations to find a job where getting lower and lower I started to broaden my search to other industries. I have always been a huge supporter of social responsibility and only recently have I learned about “social entrepreneurship” – doing business in fields, which directly benefit the society, yet are still profitable.

The experience was fantastic and I am also happy to say that it will last longer, because I was given an offer to stay full-time. From a business and leadership perspective I have learned a very important lesson, which might serve as an advice to my fellow CEMS students seeking jobs and internships. Try to take the “road less travelled by” and give social entrepreneurship a shot. The most important principle of leadership is to understand oneself before being able to lead others – and such jobs give a deep understanding of life and ourselves. There are also other perks – in my case it’s the food. You have no idea how delicious Iowan corn is!

2 3

Tom ZACHARSKI Current CEMS student

HOW’S THAT TREATMENT WORKING FOR YOU?

Student Tom Zacharski embarks on an internship with a difference… These are dark times for business students and I’m often reminded that now is the worst moment

And so after another round of the usual resume sending I received a reply from an Alcoholics Anonymous treatment centre in Iowa. Luckily, the owner hired me without an interview – ah, if only the corporations started doing that!

The job was somewhat challenging – the owner decided to create a non-profit foundation in concert with the treatment centre and our main goal was to create a strategy, to design promotional materials along with a fundraising plan and to write grant proposals. My two fellow co-workers were MBA students from the University of Iowa, living not far from the treatment centre. I myself was from outside the state so I was given accommodation at the centre itself. And that’s what made all the difference for me! Living in a treatment centre and interacting with the patients every day was an amazing experience. The stories I have heard, the tears I have seen and the emotions I cope with are worth more to me than any finance or management class I have ever taken. My dream was to work in consulting, because of the steep learning curve. Here, and I believe in pretty much any job in social entrepreneurship, a steep learning curve is present as well – although you learn about life, not about improving ROIC.

The most important lesson I have learned is that addiction is an “equal opportunity destroyer”. Clearly age is not an issue – I met people coping with alcoholism as young as 21 and as old as 78. Gender is not either – about 40% of the patients are women. There are famous people and there are homeless people. With some of them I can discuss deep economic or philosophical concepts and some still need to learn how to write. All of them have a problem though, and all of them have admitted it – that’s why they’re in rehab. It’s shocking how widespread the problem is. It’s humbling to work in such a field and to be able to hear the words “thank you for saving my life”.

Boriana Stankova

EMEA Distribution Finance Manager, AstraZeneca Plc NHH CEMS Graduate 2007

CEMS Graduate Catch-up What did you end up doing after your MIMs programme? After I graduated I spent a few months applying for different jobs in Europe. I always considered finance to be one of my strong suits, and I was also looking to gain international experience which was another main reason to join CEMS.

in many years to graduate, | 47 |

AstraZeneca was one of the companies that came on my radar by having a significant presence in Europe and also because of my interest in multinational companies with a history of major organisational change, like the merger Astra and Zeneca went through.

Tell us about the different roles you’ve had in your time so far. I started in the shared service centre as part of the banking team. My next role was in the UK marketing company controlling department. My day-to-day responsibilities covered sales analysis and cost control. However, as the business was going through significant organisational change, I also took part in a number of change management projects. My third role was in the International Tax team, supporting management in a range of activities. I must also say that, fortunately, the programme does not require you to have a financial background before joining and provides significant support to its members during their studies and rotations. Staying mobile definitely opens up many more opportunities after you qualify.

Where are you currently working? I recently started my first role after I qualified as an EMEA Distribution Finance Manager in Brussels. It seemed like a logical step, based on my previous experience in AZ, to move into a role closely linked to supply chain management and requiring a good understanding of the organisation and its financial systems. The first four weeks have been challenging but extremely interesting and I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge of the EMEA region.

With all of these qualifications, any plans to continue with your studies? I think it is more important for me now to prove my qualifications in practice and apply the accumulated knowledge in solving real-life problems. Further education is always possible in a specific area of finance like tax or treasury, or a top-tier MBA degree, who knows?!

Student & Alumni focus

CEMS Magazine | november 2009

BETTER TOGETHER

CEMS Alumni Austria tackle the crisis Writer: Malgorzata Wawrzynlak-Siroky CEMS alumna class of 2003-04

On 29th June CEMS Alumni Austria organised “The crisis & your career obstacle or accelerator?”, a panel discussion designed to address issues ranging from increasing unemployment and high competition through to the impact on the start of professional life of recent graduates and experienced alumni. Report from Malgorzata Wawrzyniak-Siroky

The CEMS Student Board on a mission

It is in times of crises when many are longing for a solid piece of advice from somebody with profound experience. When it comes to the impact of the crisis on one’s career, there is a number of potential advisors they might turn to: a manager, an HR director, a fellow alumnus and at some stage possibly a head hunter. Invited to speak were well-known managers who exactly matched the above: Dr. Andreas Muther, Chief Executive Officer - SAP Austria (the manager), Dr. Georg Horacek, Director Global Human Resources – OMV (the HR director), Dr. Robert Hackl, President - CEMS Alumni Association (the alumnus) and Dr. Marion Weber, Partner - Kienbaum Executive Consultants (the head hunter). The audience received counsel from all four of them. Furthermore they had the chance to learn about their individual perspective on the crisis and directly pose the questions that were relevant to them.

Writer: Jonathan Hostens CEMS Student Board President

In 2000 a small group of students, with the support of the CEMS Head Office, set up the CEMS Student Board. These students were pioneers not only at European level, but also at local level. It was they that stimulated their fellow students to set up the first generation of CEMS Clubs and go on to build Content, Awareness and Networking groups.

There were many topics discussed during the panel: the influence of the crisis on the job market for educated employees, how to best deal with the crisis, how to seize opportunities in the crisis – just to name the most important. “Right in the time of crisis young people ask themselves whether they have chosen the right job and how to plan their career. Top executives can support graduates and help them prepare a successful long-term strategy based on their own, personal experience”, said Dr. Andreas Muther, CEO SAP Österreich and our host. Looking for a job has become more difficult and the creativity of the applicants is very important when applying for the most interesting positions. “During the crisis, companies evaluate the risk and offer fewer possibilities” said Dr. Marion Weber in front of 60 CEMS Alumni and WU-graduates, who participated in the event. “Certainly the job market for management graduates has not been hit as badly as other sections of the labour market. We can observe hesitancy however, both on the side of companies and employees”, stated Dr. Georg Horacek.

The CEMS Student Board at its recent Lisbon meeting, hosted by NOVA

“Certainly the job market for management graduates has not been hit as badly as other sections of the labour market...“

Today, nine years further on into the evolution of CEMS we see that a lot has changed. CEMS has evolved to become a very professional global organisation. The Student Board has recognised this evolution, and took the decision at the London Student Board meeting that there was a need to revise its mission and functioning within this organisation. Elements that were once considered part of the mission of the Student Board are today being managed more professionally than the students as volunteers ever could do and other elements, that are today very important, were non-existing when the Student Board was set up. Keeping in mind external and internal evolutions, a dedicated task force has taken on board input from all stakeholders to draw up the new Student Board mission statement. With great pleasure we therefore present the new mission of the CEMS Student Board:

gathering students’ opinions about CEMS and the CEMS MIM and bringing recommendations to improve the CEMS MIM and CEMS community life managing and implementing global projects which have an impact on all CEMS students providing support and a platform for communication to the CEMS Clubs to help them achieve their goals. In carrying out the above, the Student Board acts as the voice of CEMS students, representing their interests before the Academic, Corporate and Administrative stakeholders of the CEMS alliance. First and foremost, the Student Board will remain the official representative body of all CEMS Students towards all other CEMS bodies. Aside from this we will also continue to commit to global projects that increase the value of CEMS for all students. This will be done directly, but also by leveraging through the CEMS Clubs, who have proven fantastic local bodies. Our last but not least mission will be to support the CEMS Clubs in their mission, and so to even further enhance the CEMS experience. It is with great pride that we, as Student Board members, will dedicate time and effort to this mission and continue to build on CEMS as a whole, fulfilling our specific role in this wonderful organisation! For any questions or comments regarding the new mission of the Student Board, do not hesitate to contact us at:

“You need the right type of manager at the right time. Success factors in periods of prosperity are quite different from those that count in situations of crisis” said Dr. Robert Hackl.

studentboard@cemsmail.org jonathan.hostens@cemsmail.org

All participants received plenty of valuable counsel for their career planning. They also had the chance to ask their questions making it an interactive panel. The event was followed by a buffet during which participants had a chance to discuss and network. | 48 |

The Student Board has been created to enhance the CEMS experience for the students by:

Jonathan Hostens President CEMS Student Board

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CEMS Magazine | november 2009

Student & Alumni focus

T O B U I L D B E A U T Y, W E N E E D Y O U R TA L E N T.

A WORD FROM...

E.s.

“The CEMS year taught me to adapt quickly to changes of environment - it has proven to be a fantastic “gym” in which to work with people with differing opinions. Taking such a challenging Master’s degree increases the soft skills that one day will be essential to be a successful young professional: assuming a leadership role, managing diversities, expanding your network and making good use of it.” In the future I’d like to see international “update” meetings organised over one or two days. The aim of these meetings would be to share knowledge and experiences varying from country to country.”

O.r.

“As a Director for an internet start-up, I need to be able to deliver sound strategies on the fly in a fast-changing environment, adapting business models, organisational set-ups and execution in the process. The CEMS MIM’s unique multicultural and multi-faceted programme provided me with a sound foundation in order to face those challenges head-on through having exposed me to many ways of approaching and thinking about business.”

elina Scarani 2008

Bocconi University Zurich Financial Services

uro ma Sibilia

M.s.

“The student-company network, together with the soft skills acquired in the skills seminar, helped me to navigate successfully through the job market at the time when the crisis was hitting. I hope these networking and learning opportunities can be further extended to the CEMS alumni community.”

2008

V.o.

Bocconi University Sappi Fine Paper Europe

“The quality of education and experience allowed me to get a job in a good company which is one of the most successful in fighting the crisis – at least in my department. I believe it is not just a coincidence that it works like this. I believe that with my background I would find another job if it was necessary. I think CEMS would benefit from offering more “non-corporate” experience. This would not only broaden our views but also teach us about sectors which are usually more stable than the corporate world in times of crisis.”

J.h.

“In the current economic environment, I can rely on some of the key benefits I got from my CEMS studies: the ability to adapt to changing conditions and to communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds in a turbulent environment. There I see the unique value of CEMS, in that it provides an additional layer of interpersonal and intercultural skills which complement excellent education gained through the member schools’ standard curricula.”

YOUR STUDIES TOOK YOU WORLDWIDE...

... WHY STOP NOW? Martti A. Category Management, L’ORÉAL UK CEMS graduate 2007 “It all started with an internship – as a CEMS student I joined L’Oréal Group for a junior brand manager position in marketing. Ever since, I have managed projects in three different departments in two completely different countries. It’s amazing at L’Oréal; one year here is like three years elsewhere.” Just like Martti you don’t have to let your life slow down now. Join us in sales, marketing, R&D, finance, supply chain or HR and discover fast track careers, individual development programmes and international opportunities. Apply now to talent@dgrh.loreal.com enclosing CV and cover letter. W W W. C A R E E R S . L O R E A L . C O M

ttokar O Rosenberger 1997

WU Wien Board Director at Ratedpeople.com, Former LC Alumni President UK

Vojtech Opleštil 2007

University of Economics Prague Deloitte (Consulting)

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ohannes j Hermann 2004

University of Cologne Private Equity Associate at MMC Energy UK Ltd.