UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA DARDEN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
The Darden Report
FALL 2010
The Global Perspective: Darden Launches the Global MBA for Executives
Brazil China Europe India U.S.A.
GEMBA Inside: Meet the Car of the Future, A Texas Turnaround, Alumni Leadership Weekend
Darden’s Special Blend
The case study method
Highly acclaimed faculty
A tight-knit community
Your philanthropic support If you believe in Darden, invest in Darden.
Make a gift to the Darden Annual Fund today. www.darden.virginia.edu/givenow
University of Virginia Darden School of Business
The Darden Report Features
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A Texas Turnaround By Carlos Santos What will it take to turn around America’s chronically low-performing schools? The Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education, directed by LeAnn Buntrock, teaches educators to think like leaders and equips them with the skills they need to pull schools out of “academic emergency.” The program’s next stop? Texas.
The Global Perspective By Julie Daum The Darden School of Business took a transformational step in its history this fall when Dean Bob Bruner announced the launch of the new Global MBA for Executives program. Participants in the 21-month program will study in five regions around the world.
Fall 2010
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Meet the Car of the Future By Tammy Worth The world’s love affair with cars is taking a toll on the planet. After two centuries of carbon spewing into the atmosphere, the race is on to create the car of the future and to harness the new energy that will propel it.
12 What to Read Now:
Dean Bob Bruner “The Wise Manager: To Be a ‘Full Person’ Through Books” Darden’s dean shares the five best books he’s read over the past year.
22 Faculty Spotlight: On the Cover: Some of the cities in
which the Global MBA for Executives program residencies will take place are: (from left) São Paulo, Brazil; Shanghai, China; Paris, France; New Delhi, India; and Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Sankaran “Venkat” Venkataraman “The Promise of Entrepreneurship”
34 20 Questions:
W.L. Lyons Brown III (MBA ’87)
Departments 5 6 11 28 33
From the Editor News Briefs The Media Mix Alumni: Raising the Bar, Leadership Roundtable Information Center, Alumni Leadership
© 2009 Northrop Grumman Corporation
Proud to support the Darden School of Business. http://www.sb.northropgrumman.com
OUR EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE build the world’s greatest ships. At Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, we value the diverse backgrounds, unique skills and experience of our people. From design to build to launch, our teams build the most technically sophisticated ships to defend our nation, protect our freedoms and make America great. Visit our website at www.sb.northropgrumman. com to learn more about our extraordinary people and products.
FROM THE EDITOR
How much longer will we “step on the gas”?
Visit The Darden Report online, www.darden.virginia. edu/dardenreport, for additional audiovisual content.
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n 2011, major players in the auto industry will release new, mass-produced, plug-in vehicles. At a U.Va. symposium in November on “The Car of the Future/The Future of the Car,” visionary Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, predicted that not only will our cars change, but also our society, as we are about to enter the Third Industrial Revolution. In the article “Meet the Car of the Future,” Rifkin envisions the moment when a communications revolution and an energy revolution will converge to establish a new world order. At Darden, the revolution in communications is already clear. Next fall, the students enrolled in Darden’s new Global MBA for Executives program will come together in cyberspace for case discussions and classes between the six residencies that will take place in five regions around the world. In October, The Economist recognized Darden’s standing “among the vanguard of schools incorporating new technologies in their programmes.” Whether taught “in the cloud” or in the classroom here on Grounds, Darden’s powerful learning experience continues to yield great results. In the article “A Texas Turnaround,” we travel to Texas to show you how the Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education is working its magic to empower educators to turn around some of America’s chronically low-performing schools. We invite your comments: communication@darden.virginia.edu.
Dean Robert F. Bruner, Charles C. Abbott Professor of Business Administration and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration Chairman, Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees Henry F. Skelsey (MBA ’84) Vice President of Alumni Relations Michael Woodfolk The Darden Report Senior Director of Communication, Editor Julie Daum Director of Publications, Design Susan Wormington Copy Editor Seamane Flanagan Class Notes Editor Stephanie Grasso Cover Design Susan Wormington
Julie Daum Editor and Senior Director of Communication
Cover Photos iStockphoto.com Printing Progress Printing, Lynchburg, VA Volume 36, No. 2: Fall 2010 Send correspondence to: The Darden Report Office of Communication & Marketing P. O. Box 7225 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7225 communication@darden.virginia.edu The Darden Report is published with private donations to the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation. ANDREW SHURTLEFF
© 2010 Darden School Foundation
The Chevy Volt, named Motor Trend’s “2011 Car of the Year,” was on display at Newcomb Hall during U.Va.’s “The Car of the Future/The Future of the Car” symposium.
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NewsBriefs ENTREPRENEURSHIP
For School news, go to: www.darden.virginia.edu
Life Cycle of a Startup
A conference for alumni and students interested in entrepreneurship
Second Year student Joe Andrasko and farmer Themba Dlamini in Swaziland.
Darden Student Grows Vegetable Business
This year’s Entrepreneurship Conference, themed “The Life Cycle of a Startup,” included competitions and learning events for Darden students and alumni. The three-day event in November explored the essentials in developing a new business, from idea generation to launch to exits. Darden alumnus Trip Davis (MBA ’94) led a conversation on “Funding,” Darden Professor Saras D. Sarasvathy on “Effectuation,” Darden Professor Edward D. Hess on “Smart Growth” and Darden Professor Susan Chaplinksy on “Exits.” Batten Fellow Charles “Chic” Thompson, author of What a Great Idea!, offered insights on how to harness ingenuity to
generate new business ideas. Other Darden alumni shared their knowledge and experiences on topics such as bootstrapping, funding and derisking a new venture. Attendees were encouraged to bring their business ideas, no matter how imaginative, to compete in an informal concept competition. The conference kicked off with a concept competition for Darden MBA students. The winner, Second Year student Brianne Warner’s Pix-by-Post, went on to compete in the U.Va. Cup, a university-wide competition that was launched last year under the leadership of Darden’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, part of the Batten Institute. The winner of the U.Va. Cup receives a total of $40,000 in non-dilutive funds, provided by a U.Va. Law School alumnus.
Sdemane Farm in Swaziland grows
6 F all 2010 •
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EXECUTIVE EDUCATION “Leading Teams for Growth and Change” will take place at Darden, May 23–27, 2011. Visit www.darden.virginia.edu/exed/LTG for more details.
Rowing Your Way to Leadership
If leading a team is about providing well-timed information, then learning to sweep and scull a boat from an Olympic gold medalist will sharpen that critical skill. “Leading Teams for Growth and Change,” a new Darden Executive Education program, uses rowing as a teaching tool. “Rowing is the quintessential learning environment for leadership and teamwork,” says the program’s faculty leader, Darden Professor Lynn A. Isabella. “When you get into a boat, you literally feel the effects of your and others’ actions. The feedback is immediate.” For the program’s launch last spring, Darden partnered with Dan Lyons — an Olympic gold medalist who rowed on seven U.S. national teams — and his team of former world and Olympic medalists, to direct a rowing experience on the placid waters of the reservoir just north of Charlottesville. “When you are in a boat of eight, sitting backwards with no way to see where you are headed, you must come quickly to trust the skills and competencies of your fellow rowers, the leadership of the stroke and the strategy of those who can see forward,” said Isabella. “Rowing is a metaphor for what managers and leaders face every day.”
JACKSON SMITH
fresh baby vegetables such as squash and cabbage. Now, the farm is also growing its business, thanks to Darden School of Business Second Year student Joe Andrasko. In 2007, Andrasko teamed up with two friends to create the Yebo Fund, which provides support to businesses in subSaharan Africa in need of capital. “To address this financing gap, we decided to create a for-profit fund that seeks to make socially impactful investments in developing economies,” said Andrasko. In November 2008, Andrasko headed to Africa, where he led an effort to refinance Sdemane Farm — a producer, packer and exporter of high-value vegetable crops. Success came quickly. In less than 18 months, Sdemane Farm increased its exports from less than one ton to more than five tons per week and created more than 100 sustainable jobs. Andrasko’s Yebo Fund entered Darden’s Business Incubator, which helps MBA students launch early stage ventures, in the spring of 2010. “The incubator has given me the opportunity to develop an understanding of what’s next for Yebo Fund,” said Andrasko. “We’re hoping to raise $10 million for investments in additional agribusinesses throughout southern Africa’s grain belt.”
FINANCE
UVA’s 3rd Annual Value Investing Conference Debates Global Economic Recovery Will the all-powerful market that always knows best — and always bounces back — be able to do it again?
More than 600 investors, scholars and students gathered at the 3rd Annual Value Investing Conference, sponsored by U.Va.’s Darden School and the McIntire School of Commerce on Oct. 28 and 29, for presentations and panel discussions exploring the theme “Reset or Recovery? The Macroeconomy and Value Investing.” Darden’s Dean Bob Bruner opened the conference with his view of the “New Normal.” Although he does not believe the economy has “reset,” which entails a downward step change in welfare, future and self-confidence, he does see precursors to a reset in the future if unemployment, low growth and the fragility of the recovery in the United States do not change soon. “Based on the evidence, it looks to me as if we are in a pre-set, not necessarily a reset,” Bruner said. “Free markets and financial institutions will always have an element of instability. It’s impossible to predict future financial crises, but a much bigger realignment awaits the U.S. economy if fundamental problems are not addressed.” Some of the investing world’s most well-known names then shared their views, including Dr. Marc Faber, editor of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report; James Grant, founder and editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer; J. Kyle Bass, managing member and principal of Hayman Capital; Richard Baker, president and chief executive officer of Managed Funds Association; Stephen Roach, non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia; Christopher Whalen, cofounder of Institutional Risk Analytics; Whitney Tilson, founder and a managing partner of T2 Partners LLC; and Brian Rogers, chairman of the board and chief investment officer of T. Rowe Price Group. On day two, a roundtable discussion among a distinguished group of investors highlighted what worked and what did not work for clients’ portfolios. The Investor Roundtable included Lisa O’Dell Rapuano, CFA, founder and portfolio manager of Lane Five Capital Management; Richard A. Mayo (MBA ’68), founder and chairman of Mayo Capital Partners; Donald M. Wilkinson III (MBA ’92),
CFA, president, CEO and a director of Wilkinson O’Grady & Co., Inc.; Frank M. Sands Jr. (MBA ’94), CFA, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Sands Capital Management LLC; and Robert W. Smith (MBA ’87), portfolio manager for international equity strategy at T. Rowe Price. The investors’ dialogue, moderated by Darden Professor Richard B. Evans, exposed the inexact nature of how investment decisions are made. “Many of the conference presenters argued that the U.S. economy faces a difficult road ahead. In discussing how their portfolios reflect these economic realities, the five distinguished managers participating in the Investor Roundtable suggested two unique investment opportunities for investors,” said Evans. “First, in light of historically low yields on treasuries, the relatively high dividend yields on high-quality blue chip stocks appear attractive. Second, although prospects for economic growth in the United States are dim, the prospects in
Richard A. Mayo (MBA ’68) converses with conference participants in Old Cabell Hall.
many emerging markets appear better. In investing in these markets, however, they warned that investors should target companies with shareholder-friendly management, high levels of transparency and accounting practices that conform to U.S. or international standards.” O’Dell Rapuano said of investing, “If you don’t ever make mistakes, you aren’t working hard enough.”
Themes that emerged over the two-day conference included gold fever, the housing crisis, government intervention in capital markets, currency volatility, the risks and rewards presented by emerging economies and, of course, China. Here is a sampling of quotes from keynote speakers: “The U.S. consumes, and China produces. U.S. overconsumption stimulated the Chinese economy and changed the global economy in a major way.” — Dr. Marc Faber, editor of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report “One of the looming macroeconomic perils is the possibility that we are on the cusp of a new interest rate cycle.” — James Grant, founder and editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer “The U.S. banking industry is entering a new period of crisis where operating costs are rising dramatically due to foreclosures and loan repurchase expenses. We are less than one-quarter of the way through foreclosures.” — Christopher Whalen, co-founder of Institutional Risk Analytics “Provocative idea at Value Investing Conference: Kyle Bass argued that Japan would default on its sovereign debt in 18-24 months.” — Dean Bob Bruner (via Twitter) For additional audiovisual content, go to www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport.
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NEW FACULTY
For School news, go to: www.darden.virginia.edu
NewsBriefs
BIDHAN (BOBBY) PARMAR
FACULTY NEWS
Darden Professors Receive Accolades John Colley Honored With 2010 Thomas Jefferson Award PROFESSOR JOHN L. COLLEY JR. received the 2010
Thomas Jefferson Award on Friday, Nov. 5. The Jefferson Award is the highest honor the University community bestows upon its faculty. Colley is the 59th recipient of the Jefferson Award, which he received at the Fall Convocation, held in the John Paul Jones Arena. U.Va. President Teresa Sullivan read his award citation: “For more than 40 years, John Colley has served as the ultimate University citizen, not only by challenging thousands of students in the Darden School of Business, but by influencing equal numbers of undergraduate students through his service on many University committees.” Five Darden faculty members received awards at the Academy of Management’s international meeting held in Montreal in early August. R. EDWARD FREEMAN, Elis
and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration, received the “Outstanding Contributions to Scholarship Award” from the Society for Business Ethics. SANKARAN VENKATARAMAN,
MasterCard Professor of Business Administration, won the Academy of Management Review’s esteemed “Decade Award.” JEANNE M. LIEDTKA, United Technolo-
gies Corporation Professor of Business Administration, was presented with the Management Education and Development “Best Symposium Award.”
SCOTT A. SNELL, E. Thayer Bigelow
Professor of Business Administration, won the academy’s “International Human Resources Management Scholarly Research Award.” LYNN A. ISABELLA, Associate Profes-
sor of Business Administration, was recognized for being one of the founding members of the academy’s Managerial and Organizational Cognition group. The academy’s annual conference is the largest event of its kind, drawing management faculty and students from institutions around the globe.
joined Darden’s faculty ranks in August 2010 as an acting assistant professor of business administration. He will complete his MBA/ Ph.D. in management from Darden in 2011. He completed his undergraduate work at U.Va. in religious studies. Parmar’s research areas include business ethics, moral decision making in organizations and coordination in markets and hierarchies.
MIR SALIM became
an acting assistant professor of business administration at Darden in August 2010. He comes to Darden from Yale University, from which he will soon earn his Ph.D. in economics. He received his Master’s of Arts and Master’s of Philosophy in economics from Yale and completed his undergraduate work in economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
FULL-TIM E M B A RANKING S UPDATE
Darden Rises in the Rankings #1 Best Faculty, The Princeton Review #7 The Economist (U.S.) #7 Entrepreneurship (The Princeton Review for Entrepreneur magazine) #9 Forbes #10 The Wall Street Journal #11 Bloomberg Businessweek #13 U.S. News & World Report #14 Financial Times (U.S.) When asked why Darden rose five places in the Bloomberg Businessweek ranking, staff editor Geoff Gloeckler wrote, “Darden is number one in student satisfaction. Many grads mentioned the strong alumni network and the administrative support they received during the job search. Also, students like the school’s engaging curriculum.”
Alumni Join Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees Four alumni began terms on the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees at the October 2010 meeting. Pictured, from left: Robert J. Hugin (MBA ’85), CEO of Celgene Corporation. W.L. Lyons Brown III (MBA ’87), founder and CEO of Altamar Brands, LLC. Warren M. Thompson (MBA ’83), president and chairman of Thompson Hospitality. V.N. Dalmia (MBA ’84), chairman of Dalmia Continental Pvt. Ltd. 8 Fall 2010 • www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport
BLOGGER BITES Read these and more student blogs at: www.darden.virginia.edu/studentbloggers. From Jonathan Harris’ (Class of 2012) blog “Grounds Management” “Between my job and Darden, I took a few months off to reset by traveling around the world. Literally. Over 63 days I visited 11 countries. I loved the cultural exposure one receives from seeing so many different places, and I now have a much greater appreciation for how big and diverse our world actually is.” From Sara Sajadi’s (Class of 2012) blog “Darden Poet” “Last night was the big event — the Darden International Food Festival. Students get together in country or regional teams, proudly don their culture’s clothing, and compete for the best dishes. The rest of us buy tickets and wander around eating food from each and every table until a very severe food coma sets in (the fried Oreo from the Texas station? Unnecessary. But amazing.).” From Matt Pederson’s (Class of 2011) blog “Brilliantly Titled” “I spent my summer internship as a consultant based out of Chicago. … It was fast-paced, challenging, full of interesting and intelligent people, project related, and heavy on travel; it exposed me to an industry area I would have never considered learning much about, it required me to use a variety of quantitative and leadership tools every day, and it got me excited to get up every morning. I loved it, I’m going back next fall, and I couldn’t be more excited.” From Lily West’s (Class of 2012) blog “Missed MBA Connections” “Last week, we reached the 100-case milestone. What does that mean? Well, quite literally, it means that we’ve covered 100 cases in a short two-and-a-half months. More significantly, however, it means that we’ve evolved from the ‘crawl’ to the ‘walk’ stage of our MBA existence. Granted, we still bump into the occasional sharp object and stumble around in a confused stupor, but that’s to be expected (right?). Point is, we’re growing up. … 100 cases down. Only 500 more to go ...”
DARDEN VOICES Experience Darden through the blogs, podcasts, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds of current students, faculty, staff and alumni. Visit www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenvoices. DARDEN ALUMNI PORTAL Log on to http://alumportal.darden.virginia.edu to update your contact information, reconnect with Darden graduates and learn about new job and educational opportunities. BY THE NUMBERS
Podcasts The Darden BusinessCast The 10-minute podcast, hosted by Abena Foreman-Trice and broadcast each Friday afternoon, features news from Darden and in-depth interviews with the School’s faculty, staff, students, alumni and distinguished visitors. Download the podcast from Darden’s website (http://media.darden.virginia.edu/podcasts), Podcast Alley or iTunes.
The Darden MBA YouTube Channel hosts over 500 videos. Facebook 2,250 friends Twitter 1,560 followers LinkedIn 3,200 members
STUDENT NEWS
Second Year Student Awards Ceremony At a First Coffee celebration in September, Darden Class of 2011 students received four coveted student awards. The Samuel Forrest Hyde Memorial Fellowship: Andrew Crowley The C. Stewart Sheppard Distinguished Service Award: Sierra Cook The G. Robert Strauss Marketing Award: Kristin Imbalzano Margaret Rutherford The William Michael Shermet Award: Joseph Andrasko Andrew Crowley Philip Deitemeyer Nathan DeLuke Brian Dinneen Elizabeth Dove Mervyn Han Sajju Khatiwada Weldon McMillan Akshay Mittal Kathryn Orseth Jeffrey Rudnicki Margaret Rutherford Matthew Schwartz Katherine Wiggins
Andrew Crowley receives the Samuel Forrest Hyde Memorial Fellowship from Dean Bruner at the Second Year Student Awards ceremony.
THE CLASS OF 2012 FULL-TIM E M B A
339 Number of students 35 Countries represented 32 U.S. states represented 699 Average GMAT score 3.43 Grade point average 27 Average age 21–37 Age range 29% Women 31% International 17% Minorities
M B A FOR EXECUT I V E S 55 Number of students 29% Women 49% With advanced degrees 37 Average age 13 Average years work experience
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BRANDING
The Darden Brand: Ready for Anything Darden
Darden
Our top-ranked faculty puts students in an unusual place: the spotlight.
Business demands that you be your best – for yourself and for others.
Facebook Conversations We recently asked our Darden alumni Facebook friends to complete the following sentence: “Darden got me ready to ______________.” Here’s what they had to say: Phil Stone (MBA ’68): Participate in class :)
Ready.
When you rise to a challenge, you’re not the only one who benefits. Your team wins, too. It’s true in business, and it’s true at Darden. Debating, generating fresh ideas and solving problems together are hallmarks of our tight-knit community. It’s all part of the bond that forms among our exceptional students, faculty, and alumni. Combine it with our proven case study methodology and our top-ranked teaching, and it’s no wonder Darden grads are ready for anything.
Ready.
Learn more about the Darden experience at www.darden.virginia.edu.
our faculty consistently ranks among the best in the world. Why? Because our professors listen more than they talk. By giving students center stage, they create the most intensely participatory experience found at any business school. together with our case study methodology and tight-knit learning community, our faculty is an integral element of what makes us darden — and makes our graduates ready for anything. learn more about the darden experience at www.darden.virginia.edu.
FULL-TIME MBA | MBA FOR EXECUTIVES | MBA FOR EXECUTIVES GLOBAL | EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
Full-time mBA | mBA For executives | mBA For executives GloBAl | executive educAtion
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The Darden School, with its iconic orange and blue University of Virginia colors, has fine-tuned its acclaimed learning experience over the past five decades. Now, it’s fine-tuning its image.
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lmost 600 business schools in 37 countries are now accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. To stake out Darden’s unique position in this competitive space, the School is strengthening its brand strategy. First, the School’s marketing team collaborated with iFactory, an interactive design firm, to build a new, cutting-edge website, which was named a finalist in the MITX 15th Annual Interactive Awards. The team then refined its brand positioning and developed a new series of advertisements with iFactory’s partner ad agency, RDW Group. Research, extensive interviews and focus groups revealed that companies, institutions and individuals turn to Darden to get them ready. Ready for the next phase of their lives and their careers. Ready to lead a company, to start a business or to innovate The Next Big Thing. Darden develops a different kind of leader than its peer schools. It develops complete leaders, leaders who are analytical, intuitive, creative and ethical. Complete leaders are people who, in a volatile and ever-changing business climate, are prepared to operate in new ways, to make good decisions and to be ready for every possibility. This concept is distinct to Darden and is achieved through the Darden Experience, a unique and powerful learning process that combines three critical elements:
Sandy Selby (MBA ’81): Retire at 46 to go into the ministry. Caroline Worrall (MBA ’98): Do anything I wanted to do. John Luo (MBA ’04): Stop complaining about working long hours :) Tobias Wessels (MBA ’07): Make a difference in life. Christine Shim (MBA ’04): Be a principled leader in the world of practical affairs, and to pay even closer attention to her ethical and moral compass. Alasdair MacFarlane (MBA ’09): Change! Carrie Cabell (MBA ’10): Make tough decisions that reflect my values and beliefs. And to let go gracefully when I have made a poor choice.
• CASE STUDY METHOD • HIGHLY ACCLAIMED FACULTY • TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY Each of Darden’s programs — the Full-Time MBA, MBA for Executives, Executive Education and the Global MBA for Executives (starting in fall 2011) — prepares its graduates or participants to succeed and contribute to society. The School’s new advertising campaign says it best:
Darden gets you Ready. 10 Fall 2010 • www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport
Darden launched a new, cutting-edge website in August. The site was named a finalist in the MITX 15th Annual Interactive Awards.
THE MEDIA MIX Darden and its faculty, staff, alumni and students make and shape the news around the world. Here’s a sampling of the media outlets in which Darden’s thought leaders have recently shared their expertise. For a more complete and updated list, visit www.darden.virginia.edu/web/News-and-Media, updated by the Office of Communication & Marketing. —Beth Schmid, Director of Media Relations Bloomberg Businessweek – 11/15/10 The online story “B-School Startups: Stationery for the Forgetful Gentleman” features the Darden Incubator business Forgetful Gentleman, founded by alumni Nathan Tan and Brett Nicol (both MBA ’09). Financial Times – 11/5/10 The article “Schooled in Leadership Skills” features the Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education, which has been turning around substandard schools across the U.S. since 2003. Inc. Magazine – 10/19/10 The article “7 Tips for Dealing With a Company Setback” features Erika James’ new book Leading Under Pressure. Globo (Brazil) – 10/13/10 Darden Professor Saras Sarasvathy explains Effectuation, a logic of entrepreneurial expertise. The Economist – 10/5/10 The article “Mastering Bits and Bytes” features the Darden Kindle Pilot Project and puts Darden “among the vanguard of schools incorporating new technologies in their programmes.” Sohu.com (China) – 9/27/10 Dean Bruner discusses his views on the
global economy and explains that the risk of a double-dip global recession is low. Sina.com (China) – 9/16/10 Dean Bruner introduces Darden’s new Global MBA for Executives program and shares insights on leadership. Financial Times – 9/5/10 Darden’s Assistant Dean for the Full-Time MBA program, Michael Koenig, is quoted in the “feature of the week” about how e-books have failed the classroom test. Washington Post – 8/26/10 Darden Professor Martin Davidson pens an opinion piece on “ostrich leadership.” Dinero (Spain) – 8/12/10 Darden Professor Elizabeth Teisberg answers questions about health care. Virginia Business – 8/10/10 The finalists for the Tayloe Murphy Resilience Awards are announced. BRW (Australia) – 7/29/10 Darden Professor Saras Sarasvathy discusses thinking outside the box. Washington Post – 7/28/10 Darden-produced “On Leadership” video, “Leading up the Savage Mountain,” features Darden Professor Jim Clawson.
Hindustan Times (India) – 7/20/10 Darden alumnus and trustee VN Dalmia (MBA ’84) writes about his years at Darden. U.S. News & World Report – 7/19/10 Darden Professor Ed Freeman and his theater class are featured in an article about leadership skills. Professor Lynn Isabella and alumna Akanksha Talya (MBA ’09) are also quoted. Bloomberg Businessweek – 7/16/10 Darden Professor Ed Hess opines about BP’s post-disaster behavior. Times of India – 7/12/10 Darden Class of 2009 graduates Manoj Sinha and Chip Ransler and their business Husk Power Systems are featured. Reuters – 7/8/10 Darden Professor Robert Spekman comments on how working with competitors can be a win-win. CNBC – 7/7/10 Darden Professor Ed Freeman appears on “Squawk on the Street” to debate whether overpaying jocks is a good idea. U.S. News & World Report – 7/1/10 Darden’s Assistant Dean of Admissions Sara Neher discusses how to get into Darden.
’Hoos Office?
Match the professor to the office. The answer is on page 33.
Elizabeth Powell
Bobby Parmar
Kathryn Sharpe
Yiorgos Allayannis
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WHAT TO READ NOW The Wise Manager: To Be a “Full Person” Through Books TOM COGILL
By Darden’s Dean Bob Bruner
“I cannot live without books.” — THOMAS JEFFERSON I read 30–50 books per year. You should, too. There is a strong anti-intellectual strain in American (and world) culture that says that book-learning is not so valuable. I respect the School of Hard Knocks, but reading can save you so many bruises, broken bones and humiliations that reading and the real world are not an either/or proposition; they are both/and. As Sir Francis Bacon said, “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” Quite simply, reading teaches you things you can’t readily learn in the School of Hard Knocks. Socrates argued that wisdom is the metric of a life well lived and that knowledge is the path to wisdom. If so, books are the guideposts. Second Year student Prateek Shrivastava wrote to me recently asking me to “share the list of books that you are reading currently.” In addition to constantly reading books, I look at three newspapers each day, several magazines each month and perhaps a dozen blogs each day — let me share these other media another time. I confess that my bedside table groans with a stack of books in progress: I’m an inveterate variety-seeker and prone to start reading several new books before finishing anything in process. And let me allow that I take some risks in my reading. I figure that if I don’t pick up some dreary, awful or wrong items now and then, I’m not testing the edge of my comfort zone. Discomfort, disquiet and dyspepsia (the “three Ds”?) are some metrics of the reach of your reading. I’ll spare you the dregs. What follows responds to Prateek’s query with a fractional reply: the top five books I have read in the past 12 months, five more runners-up, and the top three most interesting books I’m in the middle of reading.
The Five Best Books I’ve Read Over the Past Year
1. Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World We place great faith in economic reasoning as a driver of behavior, yet this book displays the role of politics and behavior as equally important influences. The Versailles Treaty that ended World War I is a tragedy of errors. 2. David Foster Wallace, This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life A key message: the good life is about taking responsibility and making sound choices. This would be a wonderful graduation gift for any MBA student. 3. Michael Lewis, The Big Short: Inside
the Doomsday Machine Remarkable profiles of investors who bet against the real estate bubble of the early 2000s. 4. Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm, Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance An excellent overview of what went wrong over the past decade and why we should be very, very concerned. 5. Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar: Life of a Colossus Any survey of leadership should include an understanding of the practices and life of Julius Caesar. If you can read only one book, this is the one. The Five Runners-Up — Over the Past Year
1. Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played with Fire 3. Steig Larsson, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Larsson’s novels are first-rate thrillers. [Note: They are riveting, occasionally violent and may require a strong stomach.] 4. David M. Kennedy, Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945 This is the single best history of the Great Depression. 5. William Manchester, A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age If you think life is hard today, read this. The Three Most Interesting Books I’m Currently Reading
1. Joel Mokyr, The Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain 1700–1850 The Industrial Revolution is the Mount Everest of economic history. This book lends a wonderful perspective and argues that great change is rooted in new ideas. 2. Matt Ridley, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves Ridley takes the long perspective on the human condition. In the long run, things are bound to get better. Maybe yes, maybe no, but this is a very well-documented argument in the affirmative. 3. Herbert E. Sloan, Principle & Interest: Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Debt Very well-written volume on U.Va.’s founder and on the attitudes of the Founding Fathers of the United States toward debt financing.
Reprinted from Dean Bruner’s blog, http://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/deansblog.
12 Fall 2010 • www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport
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Taking the Bull by the Horns:
Innovative leaders can turn around faltering companies. They can also turn around troubled schools. The Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education program helps show them how. by Carlos Santos
E
rin Deel stepped in as the special “turnaround” principal of E.M. Daggett Middle School in Fort Worth, Texas, in June to manage a chaotic, innercity school where little learning actually took place. “It’s impoverished,” says Deel, a plainspoken former English teacher who also speaks Spanish fluently. Hispanic students make up 85 percent of the school’s 6th, 7th and 8th grades. About 12 percent are African-American. Eighty percent of the children take part in the free-lunch program. “It’s very urban,” adds Deel, whose first reaction to seeing the school building itself was, “It’s horrible.” The 100-year-old school was rundown, with paint peeling from the walls and ceilings. Lockers were covered with gang graffiti. The carpets were worn and dirty, and water leaked from pipes in many of the classrooms.
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The athletic program — which recruited few students — was listless, and the school band had no instruments to play. Worse, the school had been treated as a “dumping ground.” For example, the state had placed a refugee center on the school’s campus. Discipline was also a big problem. And getting things done was nearly impossible because of red tape and indifference. “We know what to do, but it’s often caught up in bureaucratic red tape,” explains Deel. “I need this done and that done,” she continues, “and I need it done now.” The University of Virginia Darden/ Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE) partnered with the Region XIII Service Center and five districts in Texas to take on the challenge — as it has for dozens of substandard schools across the nation — of bringing order, and learning, to Daggett Middle School. PLE’s method was born from a simple idea: If the top-
A Texas Turnaround rated business school could teach its students to be innovative leaders who can turn around faltering companies, why not teach educators the same leadership and problem-solving skills so they can turn around faltering schools? “We draw on the experience of Darden and especially the Executive Education Program,” says LeAnn Buntrock, executive director of the PLE, whose mission is to help states and districts build the systemic capacity necessary to provide school leaders with the support and accountability measures they need to effectively and sustainably turn around chronically lowperforming schools. “We bring that same level of Executive Education program experience to education leaders,” explains Buntrock. That novel approach has set the PLE program apart from other efforts to turn around chronically underperforming schools. Because of its unique approach, the PLE
program was invited to Texas by state government and education leaders to help turn around some of the state’s most underperforming schools. According to Buntrock, one key to a successful turnaround is to find a strong school leader — one with the necessary skill set to make the turnaround work. “The leader must have a drive for results. No excuses,” says Buntrock, who taught for five years in the Richmond, Virginia, City Public Schools system. “He or she has to believe all kids can learn and establish a culture of high expectations.” Deel, who recently turned around another Texas school before joining Daggett, is just such a leader. “It can be done. It’s just a lot of hard work,” she remarks. “I’m very black and white about things. That makes a good turnaround principal.” Darden’s program has helped Deel be “introspective on what to do,” she says. “[It has] given me a lot of tools for my toolbox. They taught me to look at my
The Obama Administration is funneling $4.35 billion into the “Race to the Top” program. The PLE program is racing to pull schools in several states out of “academic emergency.”
core beliefs and my values. Everything stems from that.” Transformations Due East of Austin
Theresa Watson was facing some of the same problems as Deel. Watson oversees the Bastrop Middle School in Bastrop, Texas, located about 40 miles east of Austin. Half her students are from lowincome families. Watson herself went to school at Bastrop when it was “a very close-knit environment and everybody knew everybody. Few went to college.” But she says, “The quality of education has not advanced a great deal. A growing population of students is not connected to education,” adding, “Our challenge is to teach the teachers and catch up the kids.” The PLE program has helped her. “It validates what we know to be true, that we need dramatic change,” notes Watson. More pragmatically, the program also “teaches us how to use data to make decisions,” about students and teachers, data culled from a variety of sources, including tests and rigorous evaluations, says Watson. “You see the brutal facts.” Buntrock, who left teaching to become an attorney specializing in employment
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litigation and education law, says that ambitious principals — such as Deel and Watson — must also have the knack to get people on board. “You can’t mandate high expectations,” she explains. “The leader must have the ability to influence, motivate and get people to buy into [his or her] vision.” And Buntrock cautions that sometimes this is not an easy thing to accomplish, given the existing policies in most districts, which prohibit the firing of teachers without extensive evidence of incompetence or inattention. “It’s not easy to say get on board or get out.” “You can’t rely on hero principals with no supporting infrastructure,” she says. To achieve quick and dramatic results that are also sustainable, a district must create conditions for success and provide support and accountability measures for turnaround leaders. School leaders must also build internal capacity by enabling staff and teachers to become leaders who help establish a culture of high expectations. JIM OLVERA
Racing to the Top
Erin Deel, principal of E.M. Daggett Middle School in Fort Worth, Texas, repainted graffiticovered lockers, planted flowers and started a pep squad. “I think I’ve changed the climate of the school,” she says. “If you can get everybody on board, [the Darden/Curry program] could impact the nation in amazing ways.”
The nation as a whole is demanding excellence. The Obama Administration is funneling $4.35 billion into its “Race to the Top” program, designed to create “systemic reform and embrace innovative approaches to teaching and learning in America’s schools.” The program, announced by Obama in July 2009, focuses on improving teacher and principal effectiveness based on performance. The program also promotes the “equitable distribution of effective teachers and principals” — in other words, it encourages the placement of good teachers at troubled schools. In Texas, the Darden/Curry PLE program is also working with state-level leaders as well as with five different school divisions. Each school division has designated a “district shepherd” who oversees the turnaround initiative, ensuring that the turnaround schools are receiving priority attention, support and consistent performance monitoring. A total of 30 schools across Texas will be involved with the PLE program over the next two years. “We’re trying to get people to think like leaders,” says Buntrock. “We want them to identify the root cause of the problem, then come up with strategies which will
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work given the context of their school or district. There is no blanket approach.” This also means that sometimes plans work and sometimes they don’t. The PLE program encourages leaders to learn from strategies that don’t work and rapidly try new approaches. “We’ve had successes,” says Buntrock, who worked with approximately 100 education leaders from Texas who came to Darden in July to learn more about the business school’s intensive method of imparting leadership and problem-solving skills. “But we haven’t seen as many systemic examples of success as we’d like,” she says. In October, a team from the PLE program toured the Texas schools participating in the program, “identifying areas where support is needed and collaborating with the state and district to find ways to provide it,” says Buntrock. The problem in some of the targeted schools — especially given the huge size of the school system — is getting the “right level of district support,” she explains. Success is not easy. Success in Cincinnati
A recent example of such success is the Cincinnati Public School System, which partnered with the PLE starting in July 2009. Five of the city’s lowest performing schools — based on test scores — have dramatically improved since the partnership with the PLE was established. Remarkably, none of the five schools had ever before been taken off “academic emergency,” the lowest ranking in the state, but this year they each jumped two places on the grading scale in Ohio’s report card system — a first for any urban district in Ohio. Overall, 13 of the 16 targeted turnaround schools in Cincinnati have shown measurable improvement, according to Buntrock. “Based on our experience with 48 school districts across the country over the past six years, this is the best district-wide implementation of a turnaround initiative at scale that we have seen,” says Buntrock. “It doesn’t mean there isn’t a long way to go, but they’re on the right track. They’ve literally started the turnaround.” Besides Cincinnati and Texas, the PLE program is also working with school systems in Cleveland, Ohio; Missouri and Fairfax, Virginia. The program has worked
with schools and districts in a total of nine other states around the country since 2004. As a result of the success achieved so far in Cincinnati, PLE considers the Cincinnati Public School Initiative a potential national model for district administrators and principals across the United States. For its part, Texas would like to follow Cincinnati’s lead with regard to its public schools. Eileen Reed, the deputy director of Texas Initiatives at the Region XIII Education Service Center in Austin, provides leadership for a number of statewide projects that support improved student performance in Texas public schools. She’s on board with the Darden/ Curry PLE program. Reed knows the importance of the “central office,” where key decisions are made that can make or break a school. The central office, which includes the school superintendent and assistants, decides which schools get maintenance and how often. The office doles out school equipment, approves construction projects and decides where the best, most effective teachers are placed. Reed wants the power of those in the central offices to be used to “support and develop these capable principals in challenging places. I want to know what’s creating barriers. Whenever there’s support, you can really get the job done.” That means that principals and the central office need to communicate candidly, she states. “Watching them have an honest conversation … wow,” says Reed. “It can be really messy.” Reed said the best teachers have traditionally been placed, as a reward, at the best schools. She wants this tradition reversed. “I want to make it so they [the underperforming schools] get the first pick,” she says. Reed sees the turnaround principals chosen to lead underperforming schools as proud of having been picked for the honor. “I have hope,” remarks Reed. “We keep trying. We keep learning.”
Eileen Reed wants to send the best teachers to the most troubled schools.
planted flowers around the school, replaced rotten carpeting with carpet bought at surplus sales and even created a VIP lounge for students who have shown improvement in grades or maybe just in attitude. In addition, Deel has started a pep squad to boost morale and support the school’s weak athletics program, and managed to obtain a private grant with which to kick-start a band program that before included 16 kids but no musical instruments. The band is now more than 60 students strong, and the school has $25,000 worth of new instruments. Deel has also ensured that for the first time in years, Daggett has a master schedule that provides time for common
planning between teachers and consistent observation of instruction by administrators. Deel and her leadership team are coaching each teacher to regularly assess student learning and to adjust his or her instructional approach based on their assessment results. “I think I’ve changed the climate and culture of the school,” she says, noting that the school has experienced a downtrend in disciplinary action and an uptrend in parental involvement. Deel says the PLE program has been “impactful” for troubled schools such as hers, remarking, “If you can get everybody on board, [the Darden/Curry program] could impact the nation in amazing ways.” Although Deel’s innovative leadership — the kind taught routinely to Darden students — now has Daggett Middle School on the right track, she plans to push even harder. “I’m the squeaky wheel. I need this. I need that,” she says. “I need tutors. … I’m going to fight for what I need.” Carlos Santos, an award-winning veteran reporter, wrote for the Richmond TimesDispatch for over 30 years and now writes from Charlottesville.
“Based on our experience with 48 school districts across the country over the past six years, this is the best district-wide implementation of a turnaround initiative at scale that we have seen,” says Buntrock of the Cincinnati Public School System turnaround project.
Meanwhile, Deel, the turnaround principal at Daggett, says she’s cleaned up her school using the help of her teachers and through just pure gumption. She’s repainted the graffiti-covered lockers, even though she did not have permission to do so because of red tape. She’s also
JACK LOONEY
The Squeaky Wheel
From left, Mark Hampton, associate dean for administration and planning at U.Va.’s Curry School of Education; LeAnn Buntrock, executive director of the PLE; and David Newkirk, CEO of Darden Executive Education.
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São Paulo, Brazil
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The Global Perspective: Darden Launches the Global MBA for Executives Program
WILLIAM DUNKLEY
T “The program will enhance the skills of high-potential executives who need to be ready on day one to do business in any market around the globe.” —Dean Robert F. Bruner
by Julie Daum
he Darden School of Business took a transformational step in its history in September when it announced the launch of its new Global MBA for Executives (GEMBA) program. Bob Bruner, Darden’s dean, announced the program in Shanghai, China, on Sept. 16, 2010, before faculty, staff, alumni and prospective students gathered at an admissions and alumni reception in the Bund, an area in the Huangpu District of central Shanghai. “Not only is this a transformational step for Darden,” said Bruner, “it will also be a transformational experience in the lives of its participants. It will strengthen their potential for high performance on the world stage — they will pursue a Darden MBA degree while they continue to work full-time.” The international program will begin in the fall of 2011. “The program will take students to vibrant economies of the world to get them ready to do business in any market around the globe,” said Bruner. The program will build on the school’s esteemed portfolio of MBA, Ph.D. and Executive Education programs. The 21-month curriculum, based on the case study method, is designed for experienced executives with a global mindset who seek to elevate their performance by pursuing an MBA degree while working. “By an historic unanimous vote on September 7th, the Darden faculty approved the launch of this new program,” said Bruner. “This is quite a compliment to the many people who have been working to advance Darden’s global reach. And it bespeaks our serious commitment to having world-class impact and stature.” Participants will attend six, two-week residencies in major cities in China, India, Brazil, Europe and the United States. The curriculum will emphasize “big-picture” thinking for executives who plan to work in globally distributed firms, across markets, across cultures and in emerging regions. Each case on global marketing, strategy, operations and finance will inform the next, until a broad, enterprise-wide picture of business ultimately emerges. Between residencies, approximately one-third of the course work will be delivered through distance learning in the form of live classes, virtual learning team meetings and integrated work projects.
18 Fall 2010 • www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport
“He that travels much knows much.” — THOMAS FULLER (1608–1661) Washington, D.C. & Charlottesville, VA
USA
PHOTOS: ISTOCK PHOTO
New Delhi, India
What is GEMBA? • GEMBA stands for Global MBA for Executives. • GEMBA is an executive format program delivering the famed Darden MBA degree to experienced executives with 10 or more years of work experience who seek to further their global careers.
The GEMBA program will be taught by a Darden faculty team led by Professor Sankaran Venkataraman, known as “Venkat,” who facilitated the program’s design. (See the “Faculty Spotlight” on page 20.) The faculty will travel to each location with students to provide the highest quality educational experience and to reinforce overarching themes from one locale to another. “This program is about getting ready for global business — and it’s about getting ahead,” explained Bruner. “The program will enhance the skills of high-potential executives who need to be ready on day one to do business in any market around the globe.” “Participants will immerse themselves in experiential learning opportunities that will push their boundaries, assumptions and beliefs,” said Peter Rodriguez, Darden’s associate dean for international affairs. “Many of the world’s leading organizations send their rising managers to Darden, and like our current MBA for Executives format, Darden will begin accepting this new program offers companies the applications this fall and option to sponsor their employees to earn the Darden MBA diploma without will admit one section of interrupting their careers.” The program will also expand Darden’s outstanding students from influence globally by accelerating faculty diverse industries and research and the quest of new knowledge and by spreading Darden’s view of how backgrounds who have 10 or business should be ethically conducted in more years of work experience, the world of practical affairs. As demand for the MBA degree explodes in countries including significant such as India and China, the program will diversify Darden’s offerings and enrich management experience and Thomas Jefferson’s “Academical Village.” “We will develop new global case global leadership potential. studies, games, digital media, exercises, teaching techniques and technical notes to support the launch of GEMBA,” said Bruner. “Almost certainly, these new materials and insights will spill over into our other programs and enrich all of our activities. GEMBA will pay dividends to the entire Darden community.”
• The program delivers courses through distance methods (live classes, virtual learning team meetings and integrated work projects) and six, two-week, “face-to-face” international residencies taught over 21 months. • The first and sixth residencies will be held in Charlottesville and Washington, D.C. The middle four will be held in world commercial centers in China, India, Brazil and Europe. • Given the program’s structure and its alternating locations around the globe, students living anywhere in the world can keep their current job and pursue an MBA with Darden. • For non-U.S. residents and U.S. residents living far away from Charlottesville who seek an executive-format degree program, GEMBA offers an option to pursue a Darden degree. • GEMBA delivers the same Darden “core” courses as the Full-Time MBA and the MBA for Executives programs. However, core courses in GEMBA will incorporate more global content (e.g., cases on global firms) than Darden’s other MBA programs and will emphasize the knowledge and skills needed by participants who have or aspire to have responsibilities across multiple continents and cultures. • GEMBA will be taught by the same faculty who teach in the school’s other degree programs, occasionally with some assistance from renowned professors living in the foreign cities in which the non-U.S. residencies will be held. • Apart from its pedagogical and strategic appeal, GEMBA offers the opportunity to regularly and repeatedly bring the Darden School community to essential global locations and to leverage the School’s presence and influence in these areas.
For more information, visit www.darden.virginia.edu/GEMBA. U niversity
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“Participants will immerse themselves in experiential learning opportunities that will push their boundaries, assumptions and beliefs.” Darden’s Associate Dean for International Affairs Peter Rodriguez
Part of the GEMBA faculty team: From left, Lynn Isabella, Sam Bodily, Faculty Leader S. Venkataraman, Marc Modica and Associate Dean for International Affairs Peter Rodriguez.
GEMBA FACULTY TEAM Strategy and Faculty Leader: Accounting: Decision Analysis: Ethics: Finance:
S. Venkataraman Paul Simko and Brandt Allen Sam Bodily and Robert Carraway Andy Wicks Yiorgos Allayannis
Global Economies & Markets: Peter Rodriguez and Wei Li Leadership & Organizational Behavior: Lynn Isabella Management Communication: Marc Modica Marketing: Raj Venkatesan and Ron Wilcox Operations: Elliott Weiss
The GEMBA Program: Six Terms, Five Locations Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Leading the Global Enterprise
Global Capabilities and Opportunities
Managing and Sustaining Organizations Across Different Cultures and Contexts I
Residency Location: Charlottesville, VA, and Washington, D.C.
Residency Location: Brazil
Residency Location: China
Courses: • Leading Global Companies • Managing Global Processes • Understanding Global Markets • Decision Analysis
Courses: • Leading Organizations • Financial Management and Policies • Accounting • Global Economies and Markets
Courses: • Management Communication • Accounting • Operations • Global Economies and Markets
Term 4
Term 5
Term 6
Managing and Sustaining Organizations Across Different Cultures and Contexts II
Entering New Cultures and Contexts
What’s Next and Creating the Future
Residency Location: Europe
Residency Location: India
Residency Location: Charlottesville, VA, and Washington, D.C.
Courses: • Leading Organizations • Operations • Financial Management and Policies • Marketing
Courses: • Strategy • Decision Analysis • Marketing • Business Ethics
Courses: • Looking to the Future • Advanced Seminars
20 Fall 2010 • www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport
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Faculty Spotlight Sankaran “Venkat” Venkataraman The Promise of Entrepreneurship A series of images flash on the screen of Sankaran Venkataraman’s MacBook Air: photographs of his travels around the world, his wife Sarasa, his teenage children Vivek and Shaarada and his annual trips back to India. There’s no one place in India that “Venkat” calls home; his father’s marketing job took his family to different cities, including Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. As a result, he speaks three Indian languages: Hindi (spoken in northern and central India), Tamil (his mother tongue, spoken in Tamil Nadu) and Kannada (the language of Bangalore). Venkat received a Master’s degree in economics from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science and then an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. In 1979, Venkat joined the giant information technology services corporation Wipro, and during an “exhilarating time working in the basement of India’s Silicon Valley,” helped the company diversify into computer products. This was his first foray into entrepreneurship, but not his last: Entrepreneurship would become the focus of his academic career. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Venkat taught at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and then at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He joined Darden in 1998 as a tenured professor in the area of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Ethics and as research director of the Batten Institute. He was recently selected as faculty leader for Darden’s newest program, the Global MBA for Executives (GEMBA). Favorite Food: Masala Dosai and “food in its context” Favorite Movie: “Gandhi” Favorite Sport: Cricket
While working at Wipro’s headquarters in Bangalore, India, Venkat had a profound realization about entrepreneurship. “When I first got started, as part of the computer launch team, I thought that entrepreneurship was about writing a business plan,” he says. “Yet as I worked to create a new business venture that became successful over time, I realized that entrepreneurship is a method available to society and all of its members to solve problems.” As part of Wipro’s start-up team, Venkat helped launch what would become one of the largest computer companies in the country, and one of the three largest in the software domain. The company essentially introduced small computers to India. “I discovered that entrepreneurship is about articulating society’s problems and bringing ideas and resources together to solve them to take us to a better place,” explains Venkat. “It’s about bootstrapping, functioning with limited resources and creating intelligent solutions with social capital and energy.” Made as Well as Found
In 1997, as a young scholar, Venkat published a paper called “The Distinctive Domain of Entrepreneurship Research,” in which he staked out territory for the relatively young field. Rather than focusing
MICHAEL BAILEY
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“I discovered that entrepreneurship is about articulating society’s problems and bringing ideas and resources together to solve them to take us to a better place. It’s about bootstrapping, functioning with limited resources and creating intelligent solutions with social capital and energy.” on individual entrepreneurs, Venkat argued in his paper that entrepreneurship scholars should seek to understand “how enterprising individuals intersect with promising opportunities.” In 2008, 11 years after its publication, the paper received the Academy of Management’s Entrepreneurship Division’s inaugural IDEA Award for Foundational Research. And this year, the Academy of Management Review gave another of Venkat’s papers, “The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research,” co-authored with Scott Shane of Case Western University, the “Decade Award,” which recognizes the article published 10 years ago that has had the greatest impact on scholarship in terms of citations. For 14 years, Venkat served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Business Venturing, a scholarly journal devoted to entrepreneurship and innovation. He has also been an adviser to the Entrepreneurial Forum, a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. Venkat blazes trails both inside the classroom and out, and aims to create a worldwide support system for entrepreneurs — and would-be entrepreneurs. “Give them seed capital, provide them a safety net and a job if the venture doesn’t work out. Buy their first product, urge suppliers to give them credit,” he says. “I’d like to see a society that’s more empathetic to entrepreneurs — a culture that encourages risk-taking.” In 2011, Venkat, Darden Professor Saras Sarasvathy and Nick Dew of the Naval Postgraduate School will publish a new book from Yale University Press, Made as Well as Found: Researching Entrepreneurship as a Science of the Artificial. The book offers a collection of readings designed to support a doctoral seminar in entrepreneurship. It explains that the entrepreneur’s role is not just to find and exploit opportunities; entrepreneurs also shape the development process through exploration and collaboration. In other words, great ideas are found and made — and one source of great ideas is the classroom.
Spotting the Entrepreneurs Among Us
Venkat describes a few qualities of the entrepreneurs he sees in the classroom: A high tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. Perseverance. A high internal “locus of control.” This means they are decisive at key moments. They listen to other people’s opinions and points of view, but after all is said and done, they are able to listen to their inner voice and come to some firm conclusions about how to proceed. They also take responsibility for the results they have achieved … they take control of their destiny.
will deliver Darden’s world-class MBA curriculum to executives across multiple continents and countries (see page 16). “We think there is a huge market for MBAs around the world, but for a variety of reasons that market has not been fully tapped,” said Venkat. “GEMBA is a way of going to the world as opposed to letting the world come to Charlottesville for our MBA degree.” Venkat looks forward to exposing GEMBA participants to five regions around the world, including his native country of India. “The noise is thrilling there,” he remarks. “There’s a constant buzz of human beings.” “Of course, I also enjoy the United States. You can be your own person here. Because of its size, you can lead your own life and be who you really are.” — Julie Daum
Unscripted and “Aha” Moments
In 2000, Darden students honored Venkat with the Outstanding Faculty Award and voted him the “Most Popular Professor” at Darden in BusinessWeek Online. Venkat teaches First Year “Ethics” and First Year “Strategy.” He also teaches in Darden’s MBA for Executives program and delivers Executive Education courses for Darden, as well as for the Indian School of Business. “I like the exhilaration of the case classroom. You start with some opening questions, but the discussion can take you into unpredictable terrain. I enjoy those unscripted moments,” he says. “The most satisfying thing for me is that, every now and then, through a process of a group conversation, students will arrive at an important ‘aha’ moment.” Venkat also enjoys teaching in teams and designing programs, two qualities that prompted his colleagues to nominate him as the faculty leader of Darden’s new GEMBA program. GEMBA © ROBERT WEBER/THE NEW YORKER COLLECTION/WWW.CARTOONBANK.COM
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Meet the Car of the Future
As oil prices spike and technology evolves, automobile manufacturers are racing to shape the car of the future. The days when electricity or hydrogen will replace gasoline are likely around the bend. Will consumers be willing to take their foot off the gas pedal and tap into the grid? by Tammy Worth 24窶ェall 2010 窶「 www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport
LISTEN TO THE DARDEN GREENPOD FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH JEREMY RIFKIN.
A
t the heart of the classic “American dream” are four wheels and a human desire to put the pedal to the metal. “The automobile to Americans is the basis of freedom. The word automobile combines autonomy and mobility; it’s a surrogate for the cowboy on the horse,” said Jeremy Rifkin, published author and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, a nonprofit foundation that examines emerging trends in science and technology, and their impacts on the environment, the economy, culture and society. Although Europeans are far more likely to rely on public transportation, they too share a love affair with the car, and the adoration is quickly spreading to emerging economies, including China and India. In 2009, India’s Tata Motors introduced the compact, fuel-efficient Nano, which costs only 100,000 rupees (roughly $2,500), sparking the desire in millions of
when it will be available to the masses. But at the U.Va.-wide symposium “The Car of the Future/The Future of the Car” on Nov. 5 and 6, experts from around the world and U.Va. faculty from across Grounds, including Darden Professors Peter Debaere — a co-organizer of the conference — and Mike Lenox, associate dean and executive director of the Batten Institute, agreed that within the next decade, the automobile industry will likely look very different than it does today.
Changing Technology Technology is a constantly moving force that experiences fundamental shifts over time. Lenox likes to offer the example of the watch industry. Before 1970, watch technology centered on fine gears propelled by springs that needed to be wound regularly. Over time, battery-
Christopher Borroni-Bird, director of advanced technology vehicle concepts at General Motors Corp., presented GM’s vision for the car of the future at the U.Va. symposium “The Car of the Future/The Future of the Car.” The EN-V (opposite page), short for “electric networked vehicle,” runs on two wheels and targets city dwellers. Indian families to own their own vehicle. China, meanwhile, has rocketed past the United States as the world’s largest market for new autos. Yet as millions of enthusiastic drivers fuel up, it is becoming apparent that the automobiles on the road today will not be the same ones consumers will be driving in the coming years. The scales are beginning to tip; overshadowing our incessant need to get from point A to point B are the rising cost of gas, the reduced supply of oil and the environmental damage caused by motor vehicles. So the million-dollar question is “What will be the alternative?” No one knows for certain what shape the car of the future will take, what will propel it or
powered quartz watches were introduced, completely transforming the market. Lenox sees a parallel between the evolution of the watch industry and that of the automobile industry. Initially, people got around en masse via horse and buggy. Eventually, the automobile was invented. Early on, vehicles were powered by steam, gasoline, kerosene and even electricity — which was widely used for delivery trucks up through the late 1920s. “There were some really interesting stories early on where they would race different types of cars to see what was superior,” said Lenox. “It was not necessarily a linear path that the best one wins. One driver might have just been off his game that day.” Over time, the internal combustion
engine we use today came to the forefront, and automakers have been refining that technology ever since.
The Problem With Oil Rifkin says the days when oil is our only fuel are numbered. The resource began its downfall around 2008, when the price of a barrel of oil hit $147, inflation went through the roof, food and fuel prices soared and 30 countries experienced food riots. “Purchasing power plummeted, and the whole economic engine of globalization came to a halt,” he explained. “That was the earthquake. The financial markets that collapsed later were the aftershock.” The spike in costs was one of the first large-scale signs that world dependence on oil may be unsustainable. And Rifkin cites a dwindling supply of the resource, the threat of global warming and dependence on foreign oil as continued problems. “We must pay for two centuries of spewing carbon into the atmosphere,” he said. Rifkin proposes a movement from “elite” energies, such as coal, oil and gas, which are not available everywhere, to “distributed” energies, such as water, wind and sun, which are found everywhere to some degree. These new energies, he said, will be used as the basis of the Third Industrial Revolution — which will transform technology and utilities, reinvent the automobile and help place distributed energies in homes and buildings around the world. “We need to envision a future in which millions of individual players can collect, produce and store locally generated renewable energy in their homes, offices, factories and vehicles,” declared Rifkin. Five pillars form his economic plan for the European Union. The first pillar is a commitment to using renewable energy. The EU has mandated that 20 percent of its total energy usage be supplied by renewable energy sources by 2020. Pillar two is energy collection. Rifkin explained that the EU will go to where the resources are — sun in the Mediterranean, water in
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Darden Prof. Peter Debaere, who co-organized the symposium, envisions a very different type of urban mobility with electric cars.
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Norway — capture the energy, and send it across Europe. The third pillar focuses on mass consumers of energy — buildings. In Europe, the goal is to convert all buildings through the use of solar roofs, wind and geothermal energy creation. Pillar four is storage. The EU plans to spend $1 trillion before 2020 to transform the power grid to store and carry energy across Europe. Pillar five is transportation.
The Next King of the Road Just as the world transitioned from a steam engine to an electric or gasoline one, new technologies are now vying to power the King of the Road. “We are at a point now where we are seeing a fundamental shift in technology,” said Lenox. “Hybrids, electric, hydrogen fuel cells, biofuels — there is a lot of ferment in the auto industry. The hybrid [engine] is clearly the farthest advanced technology at this point.” Darden alumnus James Walker (MBA ’75), former owner of the car dealership Hammersley Group and current owner
of a BMW dealership that will open on Cape Cod in 2011, said the luxury market is focusing on hybrid cars. Such vehicles will have some kind of hybrid power train, possibly with engines that burn diesel fuel or alcohol rather than gasoline. The hybrid cars will be lighter, somewhat smaller and more fuel efficient. “They will be badged green … to indicate that it is the car manufacturer’s way of doing its part for the environment,” Walker said. “Luxury manufacturers are making an effort to green up their line, but it’s not a top priority that I see.” In general, Walker said that dieselburning and hybrid cars appear to be “transition” technologies and that the ultimate new technologies will be automobiles that are powered by electricity or hydrogen.
Electric Cars A handful of automakers are vying to be the first to bring the electric car to the masses. The Tesla Roadster is already on the market, and cars such as the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus and Daimler’s Smart ForTwo ED are all slated
to be released before the end of 2012. Christopher Borroni-Bird, the director of advanced technology vehicle concepts at General Motors Corp., presented GM’s vision for the car of the future at the U.Va. symposium in early November. The EN-V, short for “electric networked vehicle,” is a small, short-ranged, two-wheeled electric car. Built for city dwellers, who command 80 percent of the world’s wealth, the EN-V consumes one-tenth of the energy, produces one-tenth of the emissions and takes up one-sixth of the parking space of today’s average car. Electric cars are powered by batteries that can be recharged in the owner’s home. They create no harmful carbon emissions and provide good acceleration. The downsides of electric cars are that they cannot go long distances without recharging, most cost more than cars with gasoline-powered engines, they take several hours to recharge and their technology has not been proven over the long term. Peter Debaere, Darden professor of global economies and markets, said that when one thinks about the car of the future, a key issue to consider is how it
“Luxury manufacturers are making an effort to green up their line, but it’s not a top priority that I see.” — James Walker (MBA ’75), former owner of Hammersley Group and current owner of a BMW dealership that will open on Cape Cod in 2011. 26 Fall 2010 • www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport
Hydrogen Cars Hydrogen-powered vehicles are another option on the horizon. These cars are much more energy efficient than their gasoline-powered counterparts and give off only heat and water (no air pollution). Some hydrogen-powered cars have an internal combustion engine that has been modified to run on hydrogen gas instead of gasoline. Others use a fuel cell that chemically converts hydrogen into electricity. Thus far, the technology has produced only prototypes and test vehicles. At this point, hydrogen cars are expensive, their durability is unknown and only a limited number of fueling stations carry hydrogen. In addition, much of the hydrogen produced today is generated through a process that releases carbon dioxide — a gas that contributes to global warming. But Rifkin is a big proponent of hydrogen because of its ability to create a local energy economy, thereby helping reduce dependence on foreign oil. Through a cleaner process called electrolysis, local renewable resources could be used to produce electricity, which can, in turn, produce hydrogen. Hydrogen-powered cars could also tap into the grid as energy producers. According to Rifkin, commuters could drive to work and plug their vehicles into a hydrogen line coming out of their workplace building’s fuel cell. During the day, their cars would produce electricity to sell back to the grid, acting as a profit center. “Using hydrogen as the energy carrier will fundamentally change the nature of our financial markets and political and social institutions, just as coal and steam power did at the beginning of the Industrial Age,” Rifkin said.
Size Sells Over the next decade, automobile manufacturers and suppliers of green technology will pour billions into research. There may be one solution or myriad. But the X factor in what will result from the quest for a car that runs on a more sustainable fuel source is whether or not the research will pay off in the eyes of consumers. In places like Europe, where gas prices are higher and lifestyles vary by country, people already use and seek smaller, lighter, more efficient cars. GM’s Borroni-Bird said the EN-V may first be released in China because the Chinese are accustomed to riding on scooters and bicycles, so a two-wheeled electric car would appear to them like a medium-sized vehicle. Also, as China’s government builds new “eco-cities” — sustainable cities designed with consideration of environmental impact — the pilot infrastructure will be easy to implement. Yet in America, bigger is often considered better, and the two bestselling vehicles in the United States in 2010 were the Ford F-Series and the Chevy Silverado pickup trucks, both of which get approximately 17 miles per gallon city/highway combined. Overall, SUVs and trucks had the greatest percentage of growth, with midsized and luxury SUVs leading the pack. Sales of “small” cars decreased by 2.4 percent from the previous year, 2009. “This speaks to the psychographic and demographic of the average American consumer,” Walker said. “There are a lot of people who just want to drive a pickup truck. Those are anything but green, and I don’t know if that customer would pay a premium for a hybrid. Fuel isn’t important to them.” Although the Prius has been a great seller for Toyota, not all consumers are concerned with going green. The luxury market is a tougher sell, exemplified by the lackluster sales of the Mercedes Benz S-class hybrid, Walker said. In all of the consumer research Walker has performed over the years, he said gas mileage is consistently not in the top five things Americans are looking for in an engine. Yet even American consumers, with their penchant for trucks and SUVs,
seem to be aware today, more than ever, of the need for some kind of change in the automotive markets — whether it be for the environment, national security or their own pocketbooks. “In the short run, we are going to see diversity — a number of approaches,” said Lenox. “It could be politics or gasoline prices or taxes that determine what is pushed. We tend to let technologies evolve on their own instead of dictating what they will be.” History could repeat itself in the coming decade. As happened when the choice was made long ago to switch from the horse to the internal combustion engine, a series of random events could likely be what decides which technology will propel the car of the future. Tammy Worth is a Missouri-based, awardwinning writer who has written for The Economist, Associated Press and WebMD.
According to Jeremy Rifkin, published author and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, new energies will be used to create the Third Industrial Revolution, which will transform technology and utilities, reinvent the automobile and help place distributed energies in homes and buildings around the world.
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will integrate into society as a whole. And one interesting opportunity associated with the electric vehicle is plugging it into the smart grid. Debaere believes electric cars have the potential to communicate with traffic lights or to check whether parking is available at certain lots. “There is a very different type of mobility — especially urban mobility — that can emerge with these types of cars,” said Debaere.
From left, Darden Prof. Mike Lenox, associate dean and executive director of the Batten Institute, with Jeremy Rifkin at “The Car of the Future/Future of the Car” symposium held on Main Grounds.
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CLASS NOTES
To
update your contact information call
434.924.4874
ALU M NI
Raising the Bar PHOTOS BY PEGGY HARRISON
Annual Fund Participation by Class Over 50% Participation
Alumni Participation in the Darden Annual Fund Breaks Records in Fiscal Year 2010
Under 50% Participation
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“Corporations become better corporations when Darden graduates walk through the door,” said Teresa Sullivan, who became the University of Virginia’s eighth president on August 1, 2010. President Sullivan spoke at the Darden School of Business 2010 Alumni Recognition Award Dinner on April 21, 2010, which recognized alumni volunteers who rallied support among their fellow alumni resulting in a record-breaking year for the Darden Annual Fund. Henry Skelsey (MBA ’84), chairman of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees, announced that not only did the Annual Fund exceed its $3 million fiscal year 2009–2010 goal during these challenging economic times, but also, alumni participation hit an alltime high of 43 percent, up from 38 percent the previous year. Even Darden faculty set a new record: 86 percent made an annual gift.
“What a wonderful vote of confidence,” remarked Sullivan. “This sends a very important message to the community.” Darden’s Dean Bob Bruner thanked President Sullivan, who is a pioneer in the study of consumer bankruptcy and has punched her ticket at some of the nation’s top public and private universities, for the “jolt of energy” she brings to the University of Virginia. Sullivan reciprocated the compliment, saying, “Darden builds leaders for life.”
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From left: Henry Skelsey (MBA ’84) and Darden’s Dean Bob Bruner hosted the celebration in Flagler Court, with special guest U.Va. President Teresa Sullivan.
2010 Alumni Recognition Awards 2010 HIGH PERFORMANCE AWARD Agents Achieving 50%+ Participation Harry Lewis (MBA ’57) C. Ray Smith (MBA ’58) Jim Fowler (MBA ’60) Hugh Campbell (MBA ’63) Tom Cordle (MBA ’65) Harry Benner (MBA ’66) Bruce Jolly (MBA ’67) Jim Mixter (MBA ’75) Mike DeCola (MBA ’77) Perk & Lee Bandlow (MBA ’85) Brian Cowan (MBA ’91) Mac Ling (MBA ’06) Alan Howze (MBA ’06) Jerald Gains (MBA ’06) Brad Akard (MBA ’07) Corinne Kurucza (MBA ’07) Elizabeth Moore (MBA ’07) Dion Nicely (MBA ’07) Mac Russell (MBA ’07) Adam Bennett (MBA ’09) Christine Davies (MBA ’09) Christof Meyer (MBA ’09) Hope Temple (MBA ’09) Tim Oakhill (MBAE ’09)
2010 OUTSTANDING CLASS OFFICER TEAM The Class of 1985 had a reunion attendance of 29%, which is the highest of all 25-year reunions over the past 10 years, and a giving participation of 50%. Tom Taylor (MBA ’85), Perk and Lee Bandlow (MBA ’85) 2010 OUTSTANDING CLASS SECRETARY Class Secretary who went above the call of duty in supporting the School and his class by serving as Secretary, Agent and Reunion Chair. The Class of 1970 had a reunion attendance of 25% (up from 14% five years ago) and a giving participation of 72% (up from 38% in fiscal year 2009). Jack Young (MBA ’70) 2010 OUTSTANDING CHAPTER LEADER For their efforts in establishing a chapter in the Raleigh/Durham/ Chapel Hill area. Chitanya Karri (MBA ’08) and Michael Ganey (MBA ’78) 2010 FACULTY PARTICIPATION COMMITTEE Darden School faculty set a new record of 86% participation in annual giving. Robert Carraway, Susan Chaplinsky, Martin Davidson, Kenneth Eades, Greg Fairchild (MBA ’92), Mike Lenox, Casey Lichtendahl (MBA ’98), Peter Rodriguez, Paul Simko, Andy Wicks
2010 YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD Class Agents who graduated within the past 10 years and went above the call of duty. Mac Ling (MBA ’06) – 50% increase in participation Brad Akard (MBA ’07) – 14% increase in participation Adam Bennett (MBA ’09) and Christine Davies (MBA ’09) – 83% Participation, Second Year Class Gift Pledge Fulfillment 77%
From left: Paul Nelson (MBA ’77), Adam Bennett (MBA ’09), Karen K. Edwards (MBA ’84), V.N. Dalmia (MBA ’84), Cherbury Hunt (MBA ’05), Mac Ling (MBA ’06), Jeanne Mockard (MBA ’90). U niversity
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Leadership Roundtable: October 21-22, 2010
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Pictured in photos above, from left: 1. Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88) 2. Abby Rohman (MBA ’04), Prof. Martin Davidson and Bryan Simms (MBA ’94) 3. Peter Kiernan (MBA ’79) and Michael Woodfolk (TEP ’05), Vice President for Alumni Relations 4. Senior Associate Dean Terry de Guzman, Prof. Yiorgos Allayannis and Follin Smith (MBA ’85) 5. Prof Robert Spekman, Mark Riser (MBA ’94) and Mike Ganey (MBA ’78) 6. U.Va. President Teresa Sullivan and Mike DeCola (MBA ’77) 7. Louise Wiggins, DSA President Aashish Goswami (both Class of 2011), Professor Bob Landel and The Honorable L.F. Payne (MBA ’73)
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EVERYONE’S BUSY BUT … A Message From Alumni Relations
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13 Pictured in photos above, from left: 8. Lyons Brown (MBA ’87), Laura Curran (MBA ’93) and Prof. Greg Fairchild (MBA ’92) 9. Harry Rein (MBA ’73) and Thomas Rein (Class of 2011) 10. Prof. Mary Margaret Frank and Christine Shim (MBA ’04) 11. Prof. Phil Pfeifer, Bob Hugin (MBA ’85) and Debbie McPhillips (MBA ’84) 12. Prof. Ken Eades, John Macfarlane (MBA ’79), Warren Thompson (MBA ’83), Prof. Martin Davidson, and Don Goodman (MBA ’84). 13. The walk to dinner on Flagler Court.
he time alumni invest in Darden to help us advance our goals is paying dividends. How do I know? Well, the numbers don’t lie. ✤ This fall has been one of our strongest when it comes to alumni participation. We have hosted admissions events in more than 50 cities across the world. More than 600 alumni have fought traffic, rescheduled important meetings and made time in their busy schedules to help us share what makes Darden special and recruit top talent. ✤ Since the start of school, more than 45 alumni have returned to Darden to teach inside the classroom, participate in student club activities, mentor aspiring entrepreneurs working inside the Darden Business Incubator or take part in lifelong learning opportunities, such as the 2010 Entrepreneurship Conference. More than 326 alumni returned to partner with our Career Development Center to recruit students and/or provide company briefings. ✤ More than 58 of our secretaries, agents, chapter leaders, trustees and alumni board members made their way back to Charlottesville this October to help us identify ways Darden can be even more successful. President Sullivan, Dean Bruner and Trustee Chairman Henry Skelsey (MBA ’84) celebrated the tireless efforts of these volunteers in a special awards ceremony held in Flagler Court. ✤ And finally, The Economist and Bloomberg Businessweek released their rankings this fall, and once again Darden alumni stepped away from the pack. Both publications measure alumni effectiveness, and Darden earned a #2 ranking by both — now that’s “high touch,” to use Dean Bruner’s words. I could share more. However, we — and you, as Darden alumni, have much to do. Why? Because the Darden Experience ensures YOU ARE READY FOR ANYTHING. Be well and keep pushing us for more engagement. Most importantly, continue to keep Darden top of the radar. There is enormous momentum, but we need your support — whether it’s in the form of time, intellect or capital — to stay ahead of the competition. Happy New Year to you and your families. Do come back April 29 for Reunion. Every graduate is always welcome! —Michael Woodfolk, Vice President for Alumni Relations
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INFORMATION CENTER ALUMNI WEBSITE http://alumportal.darden.virginia.edu Locate former classmates, catch up on chapter events or update personal information. If you need your username or have password questions, please contact: Alumni Relations, dardenalum@darden. virginia.edu or call 800-DARDEN3. ALUMNI CAREER SERVICES www.darden.virginia.edu/acs The Alumni Career Services office can assist you with career changes. Contact Connie English at 434-924-4876, or e-mail englishc@darden. virginia.edu. GIVE TO DARDEN www.darden.virginia.edu/givenow To make a gift to Darden or to receive information about planned giving, visit the website, or contact the Development Office at 800-DARDEN3, or e-mail development@darden.virginia.edu. ADMISSIONS www.darden.virginia.edu/admissions For Full-Time MBA admissions information, e-mail darden@virginia.edu or call 800-UVA-MBA1. MBA FOR EXECUTIVES www.darden.virginia.edu/MBAexec For information about Darden’s MBA for Executives Program, e-mail MBAExec@darden.virginia.edu or call 434-243-3622. EXECUTIVE EDUCATION www.darden.virginia.edu/exed Develop your executives and grow your business through Darden Executive Education. For information, call 434-924-3000 or e-mail darden_exed@darden.virginia.edu. CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER www.darden.virginia.edu/cdc Interested in recruiting MBA students at Darden? Contact the Career Development Center at 434-924-7283 or e-mail careerservices@darden. virginia.edu to schedule a company briefing or student interviews. DARDEN MERCHANDISE To order Darden Merchandise, contact the Darden Exchange Bookstore at 434-243-5515, or e-mail dx@darden.virginia.edu. DARDEN BUSINESS PUBLISHING www.dardenpublishing.com Representing a broad range of industries and companies, Darden Business Publishing provides faculty instructors, corporate trainers and individuals with an extensive selection of educational tools. For more information or to purchase materials, call 800-246-3367.
’Hoos Office?
Assistant Professor Kathryn Sharpe joined the Darden faculty this past fall. Prior to her academic career, Sharpe worked at Bain & Company and in the Operations Strategy Group at Home Depot. She received her doctorate in marketing from Duke University. Her research focuses on subtle contextual effects at fast food restaurants and in luxury goods markets.
Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees CHAIRMAN Henry F. Skelsey (MBA ’84) PRC Venture Partners, LLC
William I. Huyett (MBA ’82) McKinsey & Company Philip W. Knisely (MBA ’78) Danaher Corporation (Retired)
VICE CHAIRMAN Peter D. Kiernan (MBA ’79) Kiernan Ventures Robert F. Bruner, Dean, University of Virginia Darden School of Business Teresa A. Sullivan President, University of Virginia
John G. Macfarlane III (MBA ’79) Tudor Investment Corporation Carolyn S. Miles (MBA ’88) Save the Children Marshall N. Morton (MBA ’72) Media General Inc.
Thomas J. Baltimore Jr. (MBA ’91) RLJ Development, LLC
Honorable Lewis F. Payne McGuireWoods Consulting, LLC
W.L. Lyons Brown III (MBA ’87) Altamar Brands, LLC
Harry T. Rein (MBA ’73) Foundation Medical Partners
G. David Cheek (MBA ’79) The Meridian Group
Mark A. Riser (MBA ’94) Morningside
James Su-Ting Cheng (MBA ’87) CH3 V.N. Dalmia (MBA ’84) Dalmia Continental Pvt. Ltd.
Peter L. Rodriguez (Faculty) Associate Dean for International Affairs and Director, Darden Center for Global Initiatives
Trip Davis (MBA ’94) TRX, Inc.
Walter E. Shill III (MBA ’86) Accenture
Michael A. DeCola (MBA ’77) Mississippi Lime Company
Bryan H. Simms (MBA ’94) Lazard Wealth Management, LLC
Kenneth M. Eades (Faculty) Professor of Business Administration
E. Follin Smith (MBA ’85) Constellation Energy Group (Retired)
Louis G. Elson (MBA ’90) Palamon Capital Partners, LLP
John R. Strangfeld Jr. (MBA ’77) Prudential Financial, Inc.
John M. Farrell Jr. (MBA ’80) The Coca-Cola Company
Warren M. Thompson (MBA ’83) Thompson Hospitality
Jennifer McEnery Finn (MBA ’00) Capital One Financial
James W. Todd (MBA ’64) JWT, Inc.
Donald W. Goodman (MBA ’84) The Walt Disney Company
Roger L. Werner Jr. (MBA ’77) Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc.
Robert J. Hugin (MBA ’85) Celgene Corporation
Elizabeth K. Weymouth (MBA ’94) Riverstone Holdings, LLC
Martina Hund-Mejean (MBA ’88) MasterCard Worldwide
Vanessa A. Wittman (MBA ’93) Marsh & McLennan Company
Board of Directors for the Alumni Association CHAIR Mark A. Riser (MBA ’94) Morningside PRESIDENT Jennifer McEnery Finn (MBA ’00) Capital One Financial George Allayannis Faculty Adviser Mark Danzenbaker (MBA ’08) Accenture Christian Duffus (MBA ’00) Spectrum Bridge, Inc. Karen K. Edwards (MBA ’84) Arbor Realty Trust Warren F. Estey (MBA ’98) Deutsche Bank Securities Michael Ganey (MBA ’77) Howard, Merrell & Partners Kirsti W. Goodwin (MBA ’02) Aashish Goswami (Class of 2011) Student Representative Gordon Grand III (MBA ’75) Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. Owen D. Griffin, Jr. (MBA ’99) MinorityMBAS.com Louis K. Gump (MBA ’97) Mobile, CNN Ray R. Hernandez (MBA ’08) Bank of America Lisa O. Jones (MBA ’85) Pavilion Properties
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Harry N. Lewis (MBA ’57) Nicole McKinney Lindsay (MBA ’99) New York Needs You Michael K. Ling (MBA ’06) Richard K. Loh (MBA ’96) Ploh Group Pte. Ltd. Elizabeth H. Lynch (MBA ’84) EHLynch Consulting Dar Maanavi (MBA/JD ’94) Signal Equity Partners Jay McDonald (MBA ’71) Middleton McDonald Group, Inc. Jeanne L. Mockard (MBA ’90) Douglas T. Moore (MBA ’80) Sears Holdings Corporation L. Paul Nelson II (MBA ’77) Tallant Industries, Inc. Chrissa Pagitsas (MBA ’09) Fannie Mae Jerry Peng (MBA ’03) Goldman Sachs Kari E. Pitkin (MBA ’97) Bank of America Merrill Lynch Elvis Rodriguez (MBA ’10) Barclays Capital Abby A. Rohman (MBA ’04) Deloitte Consulting Shelley Reese Sawyer (MBA ’08) Booz Allen Hamilton
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20 Questions: W.L. Lyons Brown III (MBA ’87) and CEO of Altamar Brands, LLC, which he launched in 2005 to give a modern twist to luxury, legendary spirits. The company’s portfolio includes three brands: Right Gin, Tequila Ocho and Kübler Absinthe. In August of 2007, Altamar Brands partnered with The Blackmint Distillery to bring the first authentic Swiss absinthe to the U.S. market in nearly 100 years. The brand, Kübler, is from the birthplace of absinthe in the Val-de-Travers. In the years since, absinthe’s popularity has spiked, enabling Brown to meet his goal to shift perceptions and revitalize interest in classic spirits. Before starting Altamar, Brown spent 15 years in his family business at BrownForman, where he was marketing director for Europe and director of sales for the U.S., before retiring to pursue entrepreneurship. Brown received a BA from the University of Virginia in 1982 and an MBA from Darden in 1987. He currently serves as a trustee of the Darden School Foundation. He also serves as an entrepreneur-inresidence at the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, a trustee of the Laguna Beach Community Foundation and a director of First Beverage Group in Los Angeles. Brown is married with three children and lives in Laguna Beach, California. What was your first job? Credit analyst at The Third National Bank in Nashville, Tennessee. What’s the best advice you have ever received? “Shine your shoes.” What technology can you not live without? That wretched little Blackberry. What’s your favorite business book of all time? The Alchemist, which I view as the Holy Bible for entrepreneurs. What is your most marked characteristic? Gusto. What’s the best thing that has happened to you in the past year? I rode a bike 105 miles through the Colorado mountains and desert in a single day with my younger brother … and lived to tell the story.
JACK LOONEY
W.L. “Lyons” Brown is founder
What do you consider your greatest achievement? My children: Renee, Caroline and George Brown.
Which class at Darden impacted you the most? Are you kidding me? We have the best faculty in the world. Every class was like an epiphany.
What is your most treasured possession? I have these old boots and this young Labrador … I don’t know … could be my reading glasses; I’d miss a lot without them.
Looking back, is there a class you should have attended and didn’t? No, but I wish I had paid more attention to Horniman in “Organizational Behavior.” Business would be easy if it weren’t for people.
What have you recently uploaded onto your iPod? Just went through a wicked JJ Cale retro thing. Very satisfying. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? This world is too fabulous to commit to one place. What do you lose sleep over? The meaning of life, the grocery list and everything in between. Which natural talent would you most like to have? The ability to ski anything, anywhere. What’s your favorite food and beverage? Homemade granola smothered in raspberries and blueberries and dark, rich coffee. What characteristics do you look for in people? Integrity, courage and competitiveness.
34 Fall 2010 • www.darden.virginia.edu/dardenreport
What companies do you admire? Apple, Whole Foods and Patagonia. What’s your motto? “The Man in the Arena” by Teddy Roosevelt. “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly …” Describe a moment when you realized the true value of your Darden education. It happened when senior managers far above me started asking me for my thoughts instead of telling me what to do. When they asked a second time, I knew we were cooking. What’s next? I can’t wait to find to out.
Ready for your next career challenge?
Let Alumni Career Services help.
Life-long Career Management Assistance Free one-on-one counseling from wherever you are in the world. To schedule an appointment with one of our career coaches, email us at AlumniCareerServices@darden.virginia.edu We are pleased that ACS will now be known as
The Armstrong Center for Alumni Career Services In honor of Beverley “Booty” W. Armstrong (MBA ’66) who’s leadership, vision and generous gifts have been instrumental in making high quality lifelong career services available to Darden alumni.
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2011
DARDEN REUNION WEEKEND
April 29–May 1 • 2011 Class of 1961
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First Year Reunion • MBA for Executives • The Abbott Society