Jones Journal - Fall 2008

Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management / Rice University / Fall 2008

Building China’s future CFO Curt Lam (‘94) learning on the job

Taking Stock in Hong Kong Henry Yeung’s (‘96) role in China’s transformation

Blazing Trails Henry Tsang (‘80) banks on investment and beyond

Good Neighbors, Good Business Haiyang Li and Anthea Zhang explore how community affects business success

Global Impact Focus on China

26

18

DEAN’s Welcome The highly dynamic and globally competitive nature of business education demands that the Jones School pursue global opportunities for collaboration and engagement. The Jones School’s efforts to build these alliances have recently taken me to Dubai, India, Mexico, and China.

China, in particular, is playing a major role in the Jones School’s mission to develop thought leaders in global communities. This issue of the Jones Journal explores some of the initiatives that the school, and its faculty, students, and alumni, are undertaking in China. From groundbreaking research to successful business management, the impact of the Jones School clearly extends well beyond McNair Hall.

These stories provide just a glimpse of the progress we are making around the globe, and I have no doubt that there will be great things to come as our international relationships continue to grow. We are already well on our way to solidifying the Jones School as one of the world’s premiere business schools.

With admissions standards at their highest levels in each program, we are proud to enroll the largest number of Rice MBA students ever. Applications for the Full-Time program were up more than 20 percent this year, and the class of 2010 features a highly competitive 667 average GMAT. Admissions to the Professionals and Executives programs also continue to impress. The MBA for Professionals had a 10 percent improvement in average salary, which is an indicator of the quality of students in this year’s class and reflects the increased value they represent to their organizations. Similarly, the newest MBA for Executives class includes an even more experienced group of senior level executives. The ongoing improvement across all of our programs places the Jones School among a small, elite set of schools.

To accommodate our growth, we recently added seven new faculty members to the Jones School. Each of them is introduced in this edition of the Jones Journal. Their knowledge and experience will be critical to our continued success. We welcome them to the Rice family.

We also would like to give special thanks to the generous supporters of the school, many of whom are alumni or from the Houston business community. The generous gift given by the Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation will create the L.E. Simmons Ph.D. Suite and support the new Ph.D. program set to debut with a marketing specialization in 2009. The popular undergraduate business minor, which launched in fall 2007, received gifts from alumnus Keith Anderson ‘83 and from NCI Building Systems.

As always, we will make every effort to keep you informed of our future endeavors. We also encourage you to maintain your relationship with the Jones School by keeping us apprised of your accomplishments and visiting or attending Jones School events whenever possible. I wish you the best and hope to hear from you.

Warm regards,

Bill Glick

Dean H. Joe Nelson III Professor of Management Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management Rice University (713) 348-5928 Bill.Glick@rice.edu

On the Cover: Curt Lam ‘94, CFO of SOCAM Asset Management in Hong Kong

14

Jones Journal

Columns 02

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS SHAHEEN LADHANI DIRECTOR OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS LAURA HUBBARD

22

Around the School New student exchange program | BP selects Rice to lead consortium |

4th Annual Rice Summer Business Institute | Jones School: Updates & Breakthroughs | New Staff Appointments | New Faculty | Investiture winners | Rice Alliance: Rice Business Plan Competition | Giving to Jones

features Building

EDITOR JULIA NGUYEN

EDITORIAL CONSULTING SERVICE THE POHLY COMPANY

China’s future | 14 | CFO Curt Lam Learning on the Job

Taking Stock in Hong Kong | 18 | Henry Yeung’s Role in China’s Transformation Blazing Trails | 22 | Henry Tsang Banks on Investment and Beyond

writers JAN HESTER JOHN R LUEDEMANN

Good Neighbors, Good Business | 26 | Community Effects on Business Success

ART DIRECTION + DESIGN Ping Lau

30

Media Mentions

31

Alumni President’s Letter

32

Class Notes

35

Alumni resources

PHOTOGRAPHY JUSTIN CALHOUN JON-PAUL ESTRADA TOMMY LAVERGNE DOLORES THACKER PRINTING Western Lithograph jonesgsm.rice.edu

Jones Journal fall 2008 1

Around the School

New Exchange Program offered with Leading University in Mexico A new exchange program with the Graduate School of Business Administration and Leadership (EGADE) at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) will offer students and staff from both institutions an opportunity to expand their international horizons.

Around the School

Exchange Program Basics

Extending Our Reach

The Jones School of Management has recently formed a new partnership with ITESM-EGADE, one of Mexico’s pre-eminent educational institutions. The partnership, an

The ITESM-EGADE partnership is a continuation of Rice’s commitment to Latin America, with Mexico paving the way for expanded

exciting step toward expanding Rice’s global footprint, will enable the two universities to promote and expand international understanding, development, and friendship among the students, faculty, and staff of Rice and ITESM and their respective communities.

As a result of the partnership, in spring of 2009, the Rice-ITESM exchange program will provide an exchange of students on a yearly basis year from each university.

Current Rice graduate students can study at any of the 33 regional campuses throughout the country. Although details have not yet been finalized, other partnering activities with ITESM-EGADE may include: international trips, executive education, short-term training programs and projects, and joint conferences and seminars.

presence. In addition to partnering with top Latin American business schools such as INCAE in Costa Rica and ITESM-EGADE, last year, Rice partnered and conducted many recruiting events throughout Latin America in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico.

As a result, Rice successfully recruited top Latin American students; this year, Latin American applications were up 25 percent, and the Jones School yielded 75 percent of admitted students. This year, Rice will be partnering with Latin American GMAT prep centers to further build the application pipeline.

“Latin America is a natural fit for a leading Texas business school such as Rice,” said Sean Ferguson, assistant dean for Degree Programs, who accompanied the student group to Mexico City. “It’s important to prepare students for the realities of future global economic growth, and exchange programs and international trips are a great way to gain perspective and dispel any misconceptions people may hold. Ultimately, the programs help to raise the University’s global visibility.”

Global Community

The agreement with ITESM formalizes an important relationship for the Jones School. In March of 2008, 36 Rice MBA students traveled to Mexico City to participate in an annual five-day exchange program hosted by ITESMEGADE’s Santa Fe campus. Students spent one day at the Mexico City location learning about the country’s business culture and political climate. The balance of the trip focused on business-related site visits designed to give students an increased awareness of what it’s like to do business in Mexico.

“The collaboration between the Jones School and ITESM provides a valuable international learning opportunity for our students and will help prepare them to be the global thought leaders of tomorrow,” said Bill Glick, Jones School dean and H. Joe Nelson III professor of management.

Jones Journal Fall 2008 3

Around the School

Around the School

BP Selects Rice University to Lead Elite Education Consortium A partnership with BP will provide Rice University with an opportunity to participate in collaborative research as well learn new ways to adapt education to the global marketplace.

Program Highlights

BP, a multinational energy company with a workforce of 10,000 petrotechnical professionals, recently announced it will fund a consortium of five universities, headed by Rice, to enhance technical education

Rice will work closely with BP and consortium members to design education programs for the organization’s international workforce. The consortium also includes Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Collaborative and Interactive Technologies and three UK-based institutions: Heriot-Watt University, Imperial College, and the University of Manchester.

in its exploration and production (E&P) workforce.

BP chose Rice for the leadership role because of the University’s track record in collaborating with other institutions of higher learning.

“Our partnership with these leading academic institutions is further evidence of BP’s use of learning and technological innovation to underpin its E&P growth strategy,” said Andy Inglis, CEO of BP E&P.

jonesgsm.rice.edu

High School Students Learn Business and Finance in Rice Summer Business Institute This past summer, 41 high school students from Houston’s low- and moderate-income communities learned the fundamentals of business and finance in the 4th annual Rice Summer Business Institute (RSBI).

In this intensive two-week program, students are exposed to a variety of business topics through seminars by prominent Jones School faculty, workshops in business communications, and through hands-on learning such as trading simulations and a venture capital ‘elevator pitch’ competition. Field trips to the underwriter and corporate sponsors provide a first-hand view of the

RSBI Underwriter Merrill Lynch

The Bottom Line

The partnership will provide faculty of the Jones School with an opportunity to expand their knowledge of cultural influences on education, organizational impediments to learning in a global workplace, and the actual costs of running large programs. “We will be actively engaged in developing BP’s next generation of leaders,” noted Jones School Executive Education Director of Energy William B. Lee. “We will focus on a range of management topics, including leading high-performance teams, leadership development and communications, and general business acumen that employees need to excel in the global energy market.”

Consortium Executive Director Garrett Dolan sees far-reaching benefits for Rice. “BP is concerned about what they call ‘the great crew change’,” he said. “They’re wrestling with an aging work force, as well as changing dynamics of how people are taught. Both have repercussions for universities, and we hope this relationship will help us become better educators.”

‘real-life business world.’ Cross-school teams conduct and present an in-depth analysis of a retail stock. As a result of the Institute, a few outstanding RSBI students receive internships with Merrill Lynch.

The Institute aims to broaden these students’ expectations of career possibilities, sowing the seeds today for developing the future diverse business leaders of Houston. The Institute, underwritten by Merrill Lynch and hosted by the Jones School, is provided free of cost to students accepted through a competitive application process.

RSBI Corporate Sponsors ConocoPhillips El Paso Corporation Invesco Aim The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation Rice MBA Gala 2008

Learning Areas Business leadership and ethics Business strategy and planning Consumer marketing and brand management Corporate organization Entrepreneurship Sports management Stock and energy markets

RSBI High Schools Chinquapin Davis Harmony Science KIPP Reagan Sam Houston Wheatley Yates YES Prep

Jones Journal fall 2008 5

Around the School

Around the School

Jones School: Updates & Breakthroughs — As of Sept. 30, 2008

Academic Profiles

Full-Time MBA

Class size Average GMAT Average Age Average Years Experience Percentage Women Percentage Minority

Class of 2010

111 609 29 6 35 19

Employment statistics

Class of 2009

Class size Percentage of Advanced Degrees Average Age Average Years Experience Percentage Women Percentage Minority

Class of 2010

Class size Average GMAT Average Age Average Years Experience Percentage Women Percentage Minority

127 667 27 4 37 12

MBA for Executives

Class of 2009

Class size Average GMAT Average Age Average Years Experience Percentage Women Percentage Minority

124 642 27 4 30 10

Class size Average GMAT Average Age Average Years Experience Percentage Women Percentage Minority

112 608 29 6 24 21

61 37 38 14 25 24

Class of 2010

Class size Percentage of Advanced Degrees Average Age Average Years Experience Percentage Women Percentage Minority

Full - Time MBA class of 2008

Full-Time program Employment 2002-2008 percent accepted at graduation

Program Highlights Class of 2010 Full-Time MBA

MBA For professionals

Class of 2009

New Staff Appointments

70 39 37 14 21 24

The quality of students in the 2010 Full-Time program has improved in several key areas. The application volume increased over 20 percent, reaching a five-year high. Only 31 percent of applicants were admitted, the best ever selectivity for the Jones School. The mean GMAT score of 667 is also an all-time high for the program. The class is 37 percent female, a percentage that places our program ahead of nearly every top school. Gains in diversity were made as the underrepresented minority population increased to 12 percent.

MBA for Professionals Great improvements for the 2010 Professionals program were made in both selectivity and yield: a selectivity of 73 percent would place the program among the top 20 of evening MBA programs and an 84 percent yield beats four of the top five ranked evening programs. Also, the new program remains a diversity leader with an exceptionally high number of women and underrepresented minorities compared with peer schools.

Yolander D. Albert

Associate Director of Employer Relations Yolander Albert recently joined the Jones School’s Career Management Center as the new associate director for employer relations. Previously, she managed employer relations, diversity recruiting, and corporate fundraising for Duke University. Prior to Duke, she worked in employer relations and recruiting with Procter & Gamble, INROADS, Inc., Kurt Salmon Associates, and Wachovia Bank. Albert holds a B.S. in Computer Science at Southern University and an M.S. in Human Resource Development at Georgia State University.

Elaine M. Brewer

Director of Information Technology Elaine Brewer, who has more than 20 years of IT experience, is the new director of IT. In her new role, she will enhance the school’s technology support and services. Most recently, Brewer served as the director of Research and Instructional Computing Services and as an adjunct instructor at the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business Administration. She has a B.A. from Houston Baptist University and an MBA from University of Houston.

D. Brent Smith

Associate Dean of Executive Education

MBA for Executives The 2010 Class of Executives — a highly educated, globallyexperienced, and inclusive cohort of students as evidenced by graduate degrees (39 percent) — is extremely diverse; students represent 21 countries including 24 percent of underrepresented minorities.

Meanwhile, the diversity of thought and perspective of the experienced students, 52 percent classified as upper management, creates a rich and robust educational experience.

D. Brent Smith, former associate professor of Management and Psychology at the Jones School, has been appointed as the new associate dean of Executive Education. Previously, Dr. Smith was an associate professor of Organizational Behavior at the London Business School where he specialized in non-degree corporate education.

Additionally, he is a founding partner of TalentSage, L.L.C., a management consultancy. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a B.A. in Sociology and Psychology at the University of Tulsa.

Susannah B. Tysor

percent accepted 3 months after graduation

Associate Director, Corporate Relations 100% 90%

67%

86%

81%

78%

80% 70%

95%

93%

74%

71%

65%

60%

90%

81% 73%

69%

Full-Time MBA Employment Average Base Salary Average Signing Bonus

2007 2008 $89,006 $93,005 $18,248 $20,046

Compiled according to MBACSC guidelines. As of Sept. 30, 2008.

57%

50% 40%

Media Recognition

30%

Entrepreneur and Princeton Review, September 2008

20%

Only Texas graduate entrepreneurship program in Top 25 Ranked 16th among U.S. graduate entrepreneurship programs

10% 0%

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Compiled according to MBACSC guidelines. As of Sept. 30, 2008. jonesgsm.rice.edu

2007

2008

The Economist, September 2008 Ranked 1st in Texas and in Southwest among full-time MBA programs Ranked 44th globally and 25th in the U.S.

Susannah Tysor is the new associate director of Corporate Relations at the Jones School. In this position, Tysor is responsible for the cultivation of corporate involvement at the Jones School. Prior to the Jones School, she served as the corporate relations manager at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and as a founding executive director of the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts in Houston. She received a dual undergraduate degree in French and International Studies from Duke University and her master’s in French Studies from Rice University.

Panya L. Yarber

Director, Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program Panya Yarber was selected to lead the Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program (REEP), a new program that equips current and future K-12 school principals with exceptional leadership abilities and management principles. Previously, Yarber completed a Broad Residency with HISD, served as senior manager, Network Supply Chain Management/ Technology at Cingular Wireless, and as an engineer with Motorola. She is a member of Toastmasters International. She holds an MBA from Harvard University and a B.S. from Stanford University.

Jones Journal fall 2008 7

Around the School

Around the School

2008 FACULTY APPOINTMENTS Finance

Communications

Jefferson Duarte

Sebastien Michenaud

Kim Kimmey

Beata Krupa

Lecturer in Communications

Lecturer in Communications

Gerald D. Hines Real Estate Visiting Associate Professor

Assistant Professor of Finance

Kim Kimmey is a new communications lecturer at the Jones School. She has worked as a senior marketing executive for more than 25 years building successful integrated marketing programs for companies. Her corporate experience includes management positions at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, Vinson & Elkins LLP, and owner/ principal of Kimmey Marketing and Public Relations. For the past 10 years, she has served as an adjunct lecturer in business at the University of Houston.

Ms. Kimmey has an M.S. in marketing from Texas A&M University.

Beata Krupa, who has extensive teaching experience in both traditional classroom and online settings, joins the Jones School as a lecturer in communications. Most recently, Professor Krupa was the corporate director of regional accreditation for Westwood College.

Prior to this position, she worked as the vice president of academic operations and as the academic chair of the Business Communications Department at the Jones International University (JIU). She holds a Ph.D. in media ecology from New York University and an M.A. in journalism and political science from the University of Warsaw, Poland.

Jefferson Duarte will be joining the Jones School as a visiting associate professor, filling the Gerald D. Hines Real Estate Professorship. He is also an associate professor of finance at the University of Washington. His current research projects include residential mortgage derivatives, credit spreads, and information asymmetry. He has worked as a visiting scholar with Freddie Mac in the Office of the Chief Economist and with IBMEC in Brazil, an associate at the fixed income proprietary trading desk of J.P. Morgan Chase, and a senior systems analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston.

Professor Duarte earned his Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Chicago.

Sebastien Michenaud, a new assistant professor of finance at the Jones School, has extensive corporate experience.

He has worked in mergers and acquisitions with Bankers Trust, corporate strategy with Schneider Electric, and management consulting with Arkwright Enterprises Ltd. His research interests include corporate finance and capital budgeting decisions, analyst coverage, information asymmetry and behavioral finance.

Professor Michenaud has received awards and honors including Best Paper from the Swiss Finance Institute.

He holds an MSc and Ph.D. from HEC School of Management and MSc in Economics from Delta-EHESS.

jonesgsm.rice.edu

Class of 2008 Investiture HONORS, PRIZES, AND AWARDS Strategy

Marketing

Ajay Kalra

Professor of Marketing

Ajay Kalra, professor of marketing, joins the Jones School from Carnegie Mellon University where he served as associate professor. His primary research interests include quality assessment, sales force compensation, and promotional strategy.

He has been published in leading journals including the Journal of Marketing, Management Science, Marketing Sciences, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Advertising and has served on the editorial boards of Journal of Marketing and Marketing Letters. Professor Kalra received a Ph.D. in marketing from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Balaji Koka

Gerry Sanders

Associate Professor of Strategy

Professor of Strategy

Balaji Koka is a new associate professor in strategy at the Jones School. His research interests include strategic alliances and interfirm networks, institutional context, government trade, investment policies, social entrepreneurship, international business, and the global steel industry. Professor Koka currently serves on the prestigious editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Strategic Management Journal.

Previously, he was an associate professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He received his Ph.D. in strategic management from the University of Pittsburgh.

Gerry Sanders, professor of strategy, comes from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University, where he was the department chair of organizational leadership and strategy. His expertise is in corporate governance, executive compensation, international strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic management. Additionally, Professor Sanders currently serves as associate editor of the Academy of Management Journal. He received his Ph.D. in strategic management from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jones Citizenship Award Acho Kelechi Azuike Lauren Michelle Barrash Jennifer Lynne Brickson Phillip D. Brown Alejandro (Alex) Cestero Harshit Chatur Cameron Leigh Dyer Kola Fagbayi Taylor Bennett Faulkner Radu V. Filip Kathleen King Gibson Christine Glauber Rebecca L. Inch Sidhya Jayakumar Aaron J. Knape Yuling Li Leslie Erin May Michelle Lynn Natarajan Tonya Marie Olpin Amanda H. Sammons Kevin J. Voelte

Dean’s Special Recognition Award (posthumous) Daniel Huffaker

Jones Scholars A. Alex Augustin Irfan A. Bidiwala Carolyn R. Born Kristine S. Boyd Maria Inmaculada Calzado Kevin V. Cumming Christopher R. Dahlmeier Richard P. Davis Cameron Leigh Dyer Rehan Farooq Marion Barbara Elizabeth Gammill Claudia Kent Hertzog Szu-Po Schubert Huang Sidhya Jayakumar Nikhil Uday Karogal Jeffery Koh Christina Konvicka

Webb Mitchell Ian Moxon Kaarle Rautio Stephen Schwarzbach Derek J. Steele Pallassana (Venky) Venkataraman Guillermo Vigna Kevin J. Voelte Kexin Wang Leonard Yowell

Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching Sally K. Widener

MBA for Executives Awards for Teaching Excellence James T. Hackett Karen Nelson

MBA for Professionals Award for Teaching Excellence Richard A. Price

Full-Time MBA Award for Teaching Excellence Brian R. Rountree

M.A. “Mike” Wright Awards Lauren Michelle Barrash Christine Glauber Aaron J. Knape Kevin J. Voelte

Lorane T. Philips Award for Excellence in Writing Marion Barbara Elizabeth Gammill

Robert E. Philips Award for Excellence in Presentation Tonya Marie Olpin

Jones Journal fall 2008 9

Around the School

Rice Alliance

Rice Alliance

2008 Rice Business Plan Competition: Banner year for prestigious international contest

The 8th Annual Rice University Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Jones Graduate School of Management, soared to new heights with greater rewards, top-notch participants, and exciting money-making business plans.

Positioned for Success

The Rice University Business Plan Competition, in which students simulate the real-world process of soliciting start-up funds for their business ideas, is the largest and richest intercollegiate, graduate-level business plan competition in the world. This year, more than 230 teams from around the world applied for the competition, a dramatic increase from 75 applicants in 2007. Of these, 36 were invited to participate in the three-day competition held April 3-5, 2008 in Houston.

“We think these numbers say a lot about the quality of teams we attract,” said Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance. “They also demonstrate that this competition has tremendous value beyond the realm

Since its inception, the Rice Business Plan Competition has launched numerous successful enterprises, and 65 percent of the students who have participated since the contest began in 2001 are still in business today.

“Through the mentoring and networking available at the competition, 50 percent of last year’s competitors have gone on to successfully launch their own companies, raise funding, and build their businesses,” Burke said.

“We look forward to watching the future successes of this year’s crop of competitors.”

Fortune Small Business, who for several years hosted their own business plan competition, co-sponsored the Rice Business Plan Competition

of academic endeavor.”

The contest is designed to assess new, independent ventures — developed by students — with a company in the seed, start-up, or early growth stages. Teams vied in four categories: life sciences, sustainability, information technology, and consumer goods and products. Winners from each then battled for the grand prize.

this year. An article in May print edition of the Fortune Small Business, as well as online at CNNMoney.com, generated a great deal of national and international attention to the Rice competition.

First place team “qcue” rang the closing bell at the Nasdaq stock market on June 13, 2008. Also pictured, Rice Alliance Managing Director Brad Burke and Marketing Director Mary Lynn Fernau.

Cutting-edge Competition

Around the School

Rich Rewards

This year’s prize money nearly doubled over last year’s, to $675,000, as a result of increased sponsorship.

The grand prize winner received a package valued at up to $325,000, including: a $125,000 equity investment from The Goose Society of Texas; one of two new $100,000 prizes given by the Greater Houston Partnership’s Opportunity HoustonSM; $20,000 in cash sponsored

by Shell and Kenda Capital; as well as $80,000 in incubation, and other services.

The team of judges, which included more than 170 successful entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders, evaluated the teams as real-world entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds. The judges ranked the presentations according to which company they would be most likely to financially back. According to Burke, 76 percent said they are considering investing in a company presented during the competition or referring them to other investors.

Winner’s Circle

This year’s grand prize went to team “qcue” from The University of Texas at Austin, a dynamic pricing solution for concert promoters, sports teams, and venues. Its software application transforms existing box offices into electronic markets by implementing elements of airline pricing and NASDAQ trading. This provides dynamic pricing based on market conditions, while hosting a seamlessly integrated secondary market.

As part of the prize package, “qcue” CEO Barry Kahn and teammates rang the NASDAQ closing bell on Friday, June 13, 2008.

First place team “qcue” from University of Texas (from left): Andrew Mills, Barry Kahn, and Jitendra Dalvi

Jones Journal fall 2008 11

Around the School

Giving to Jones

Giving to Jones

2008 Fiscal Year Giving update

NEW CORPORATE INVESTORS PROGRAM LAUNCHED

We had strong growth in giving to the Jones School in the 2008 fiscal year: Alumni participation in annual giving reached 20 percent n Revenue in gifts and pledges totaled $12.84 million, an increase of $4.56 million from 2007 fiscal year n Outright cash gift portion of giving amounted to $4.7 million n

2008 Gift designations 3%

9%

3%

9%

Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program

39% 39%

40%

40%

2%

2%

5%

5%

2%

2%

Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program Undesignated Undesignated Building Fund Fund Building Current Use Scholarship Current Endowed FundsUse Scholarship JonesEndowed Fund Funds Other* Jones Fund

Other*

Kevin DeNicola ‘87 Jones Fund Chair

This year, we welcome our new Jones Fund Chair T. Kevin DeNicola ‘87, who will be leading our 2009 Annual Fund campaign. DeNicola, new senior vice president and CFO of KBR, Inc., is an active member of the Jones School community. In addition to serving as the new chairman, he is an adjunct professor of management at the Jones School and has an endowed scholarship in his name.

*Please note that the “other” category includes gifts to the Undergraduate Business program, Rice Summer Business Institute, Jones Partners, M.A. Wright Fund, Pending Fund, and Rice Alliance

7% 7% 12%

47% 18% 18%

Areas of Excellence (Energy, Healthcare, and Entrepreneurship) Top-level faculty from the U.S. and around the world Recruitment of the best students from around the world through competitive scholarship packages The Dean’s top priorities: Innovative projects that distinguish the Jones School from other business schools Focus on thought leadership in real estate, student-managed investment portfolios, and globalization

n

n

n

n

Corporate Investors benefit from:

For more information, contact: Susannah B. Tysor Associate Director, Corporate Relations Susannah.B.Tysor@rice.edu 713.348.6403

Access to students, faculty, and executives Insight into leading management research and knowledge exchange Affiliation with the Jones School which provides a platform to build corporate brand awareness with students

n

What does Jones Fund support?

16%

Corporate Investors support:

n

The Jones Fund’s significant growth over the past few years reached a record of $410,590 in the 2008 fiscal year. More than half of the contributions raised though the Jones Fund directly supported recruitment efforts and scholarships for the Full-Time MBA students. This allows the Jones School to attract top MBA candidates to our programs. Additionally, more than 30 percent of the Jones Fund directly supported programs and resources for students in all three programs including the Career Management Center and executive coaching for students in the MBA for Executives program.

16%

The Jones Graduate School of Management announces the launch of the Jones Corporate Investors. This new program gives companies greater opportunities to invest in and support the Jones School’s mission to develop innovative, principled thought leaders who change the world. In turn, corporate investors gain a strategic competitive advantage through their collaboration with a leading business school.

n

Jones Fund

12%

Around the School

47%

Scholarship Programs Scholarship Programs Recruiting Recruiting Facilities Facilities Other Other

n

JONES PARTNERS

Donna M. Platt

Assistant Director of Annual Fund

Donna M. Platt, the new assistant director of the Jones Fund, has several years of fundraising experience. Most recently, she worked as executive director of Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. Her nonprofit career also includes the Houston Zoo and nearly a decade at KPFT, Pacifica Radio, and HoustonPBS. Platt has a B.A. in International Careers and Psychology from Lehigh University and an M.P.A. from the University of Houston.

Opening Doors to Partnership and Cutting-Edge Public Programming When you become a Corporate Investor in the Jones School, you also become a member of the Jones Partners.

The Jones Partners is a committed group of business professionals working to open doors and increase collaboration between the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management and the Houston business community. Members are provided a valuable opportunity to participate in a forum where senior business leaders and leading academicians meet to address business practices and trends, while interacting with Jones School faculty, deans, and fellow business executives.

Jones Journal fall 2008 13

Building China’s Future Curt Lam ‘94 Learning on the Job

by Jenna Schnuer

Each treasure in Curt Lam’s collection of 300 Qing Dynasty snuff bottles tells a story. Crafted of metal or glass, or carved of jade, wood, or amber, these remarkable artifacts are embellished with tales from Chinese history and mythology. “This form of expression and the diversity of materials used to make these works of art embody all the skills of Chinese art,” says Lam, ‘94.

“Carving, painting, enameling, everything.”

Lam, who grew up in Hong Kong, started collecting the bottles eight years ago. Since that time, he has immersed himself in learning about the art form by reading, talking to other collectors and dealers, and paging through auction catalogs. “If you spend time on one particular thing, you learn about it very quickly,” he says.

He takes a similar approach to business. Earlier this year, Lam, who is married with two preschool-aged sons, took a job as CFO in a field that is completely new to him: property development. Part of Hong Kong–based Shui On Group, Lam’s unit — SOCAM Asset Management — specializes in developing distressed-property projects.

jonesgsm.rice.edu

CFO Curt Lam of SOCAM Asset Management of Shui On Group in Hong Kong specializes in developing distressed-property projects.

Lam in his office located in the Kowloon side.

Lam, an avid Qing Dynasty snuff bottle collector, visits his favorite antique shop.

Jones Journal Fall 2008 15

Property development in China is a young industry compared with much of the developed world, Lam says. And while it has quickly gathered loads of players, some haven’t been able to keep up with the financial demands this type of investment requires.

“Sometimes they run into financial difficulties, and the development projects have to stop,” he says. “If a half-completed building is sitting at city center, it becomes an eyesore. Somebody has to resolve it. City governments are very eager to solve distressedproperty problems. We step in, take over those projects, finish them up, and sell them.” Since the projects are already under way, Lam’s group banks on a shorter development cycle and faster asset turnover than from-scratch property development.

Skills at Work Clearly, on-the-job learning doesn’t scare Lam. “This new position offered me good learning opportunities in a very large and growing market. The job gives me the chance to learn about the business fundamentals and the nuts and bolts of the industry,” he says.

Lam says lessons from his Jones School years bubble up in new ways as he moves into different phases of his career. Right now, it’s the “softer skills” he learned that are helping him most.

In entrepreneurship classes, he recalls, “they taught you to explore nontraditional approaches, to do things that, typically, formally-educated people do not want to try. Especially in a developing economy like China, you [shouldn’t] be bogged down by any particular set of theories or thought processes. You need to be agile and versatile, but at the same time you need to be governed by high standards in terms of transparency, ethical behavior, and engagement. These attributes ensure long-term success, no matter where you operate.”

His ability to balance new ways of thinking with those ethics and high standards will serve him well in his new role. Since property development is still in its infancy in China, Lam says, the regulatory and financing environment can be murky at times.

CFO Challenges SOCAM’s current project roster includes close to 54-million square feet in gross-floor area. Though Lam says SOCAM is one of the smaller property developers in China, he is bullish on the future of his business, projecting revenue growth of more than 100 percent annually by 2010. The group currently handles projects in seven cities throughout China: Beijing, Shenyang, Dalian, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Qingdao, and Chongqing. “China

is a big place, so we want to get things right in those core cities before we look elsewhere,” he says.

But first, there’s a credit crunch to get through. When it comes to property development, financing is the fuel that runs it. “If we don’t get that, project development stops, and that creates cash-flow and growth problems,” says Lam. Because of a government-driven credit tightening, securing financing has become something of a challenge in China today. Afraid that the country’s overheating economy would lead to what Lam calls “an inflating bubble that would burst down the road,” the government implemented restrictive measures in 2007 to rein in the runaway growth in a number of industries, including property development.

Though the restrictions make for a challenging time, Lam sees them as a bitter, but necessary, pill. “I think it will lead to more healthy and sustainable growth in the future,” he says. But for the time being, his focus is managing the challenges and steering clear of financial difficulties.

Curt Lam at the Shui On Centre in Hong Kong

“Property development is a very big factor in China. It is driven by the rapid growth in the number of households moving to cities every year, the swelling of the middle class, and the increasing purchasing power of people wishing to upgrade their living standards.” jonesgsm.rice.edu

From Hong Kong, a Full Circle Lam moved to the U.S. from Hong Kong after high school to study accounting and business at San Diego State University.

Not long after graduating in 1992, he decided to pursue his MBA, choosing the Jones School because of “the smallness of the school and the rigor of the curriculum.” After receiving his degree in 1994 — and turning down a job at an Enron subsidiary — he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked at the Bank of Tokyo–Mitsubishi in utilities banking and power project financing.

But in 1996, one year before sovereignty of Hong Kong was restored to China, Lam moved back. “Hong Kong is definitely home to me,” he says. “It was a very uncertain time, but a very exciting time for me, as well.” He stuck with investment banking for eight more years, until a chance meeting led to a three-year stint as the head of corporate finance and business development for GOME Electrical Appliances Holdings Limited, China’s largest electronics retailer.

Lam met the company’s chairman (at that time, the richest man in China), Wong Kwong Yu. Since the family-owned business had just gone public, Wong asked the investment banker to leave the world he had known for a decade, not only to help grow the business through capital market transactions and mergers and acquisitions, but also to improve corporate transparency, management disclosure levels, and the infrastructure. The already massive company was growing at 50–60 percent per year.

“At that time, it was particularly important, since GOME had just been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,” Lam says. “We had to face international shareholders, business partners, and international capital markets, where we had to better things in order to achieve a reputable standing and the right valuation for the company.”

At GOME, Lam found himself calling on lessons he had learned in his business ethics classes — classes that he believes were ahead of the curve, surpassing what most business schools offered back in the early 1990s. One of the topics that leaped from the classroom to his work life was how to treat stakeholders in a public company.

Now that he has unplugged from the world of electronics, Lam’s passion for new challenges is in full force. His desire to keep learning and pushing himself has already produced a career that, like his collection of snuff bottles, is built on variety and stories collected from China and beyond. What’s next for Lam? That story has yet to be carved out.

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Taking Stock in Hong Kong As China’s economy changes, Henry Kai Ho Yeung ‘96 has a role in the transformation

By Chris Warren

There are students who enjoy studying finance, and then there’s Henry Kai Ho Yeung. Yeung, who grew up in Hong Kong and earned a B.A. in accounting at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, first arrived at the Jones School in 1994. He was eager to deepen his understanding of finance. Really eager. For Yeung, a self-described mathematics guy and number cruncher, that meant going well beyond what was required in the curriculum.

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Henry Yeung in Hong Kong’s Central Financial District Jones Journal Fall 2008 19

“We were required to take only six courses, but at that time, I sat in on three other finance courses,” he says. “The professors were so interesting and professional, I audited the other courses.”

Since graduating from the Jones School, Yeung has pursued that interest, working exclusively in corporate finance. He’s held a series of positions at Hong Kong-based financial services companies and currently serves as managing director of Hai Tong Capital, one of the first securities houses in the People’s Republic of China, and now one of the world’s largest.

Henry Yeung is managing director of one of the world’s largest securities houses, Hai Tong Capital located in Hong Kong.

Suddenly Skylines In the positions Yeung has held since leaving Rice, he has had a front-row seat from which to witness the remarkable transformation of the once centrally-controlled Chinese economy, and, in particular, the development of the country’s fledgling capital markets. On virtually every level, he says, the metamorphosis has been profound and unmistakable. As just one sign of the change, Yeung points out how entire skylines have been created all across China in a relatively short period of time. “It’s not only in Beijing and Shanghai,” says Yeung, who travels to mainland China at least twice a month to visit clients.

“Other major cities, like Shenzhen and Guangzhou, have become rich, and they’re willing to spend to make great buildings.”

Although not nearly as obvious as the physical structures that have been sprouting up across China, the quick development of the country’s capital markets — which enable companies to raise money for growth and development — have been a key jonesgsm.rice.edu

factor in its overall economic success. However, Yeung, whose work involves preparing companies for an initial public offering, is quick to point out that there are some significant differences in how public markets in the U.S. operate versus the way the Hong Kong Stock Exchange functions. For instance, unlike the case with U.S. exchanges, companies hoping to get a listing on the Hong Kong exchange must first find a sponsor.

That is where Yeung’s firm, Hai Tong Capital, comes in. “If a company wants to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it needs to find a sponsor to make the application,” he says. Yeung primarily works with the stock exchange itself, serving as a filter to ensure that prospective companies meet all requirements for listing, including sufficient profits and management continuity.

Not just anybody can vet companies that want to raise money on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Yeung received his license to act as a sponsor from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission in 2007.

While this sponsorship system — which Yeung says is a holdover from the days when Hong Kong was still a British colony — does make the listing process somewhat different from that in the U.S., Yeung says the basic work his firm does would be recognizable to anyone working at an American investment bank. “We have two roles,” says Yeung, who worked for China’s other large securities company, Guotai Junan Capital, before he joined Hai Tong. “The first one is to prepare the company for listing, and the second is to help the company sell its shares.”

A Different Scene During the course of his career, Yeung has noticed an evolution in the types of Chinese companies coming to Hong Kong to raise money. In the mid-to-late 1990s, he says, most of the companies were large, state-owned enterprises. Yeung says that working with such massive, government-controlled businesses presents significant challenges when it comes to preparing them for a potential listing on the stock exchange. For one thing, because of the size of the company, Yeung says he needs to build a team that can handle the volume of work. “If you are working with a privately-owned enterprise, you can have a team of three and be able to handle the job,” he says. “But if you are working with a large state-owned company you may need up to 100 people. That is a challenge as a manager.”

While he still works with plenty of state-owned enterprises, Yeung says that in early 2000, as a result of changes in Chinese government policy, more privately-owned companies began forming and approaching the securities markets in order to

raise money. The influx of private companies into Hong Kong was also fueled by the introduction of the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) in Hong Kong. “It’s a complement to the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and it allows companies without a profit track record to be listed in Hong Kong,” he says.

Building a Track Record Preparing companies to list their shares and then selling them is a job Yeung has become quite adept at during his career — he held a series of increasingly influential roles at a variety of financial services companies before joining Hai Tong Capital.

Yeung credits the well-rounded business education he received at the Jones School for preparing him to succeed in the investment banking industry. “For the everyday work here, you must have accounting basics and some marketing knowledge, because you need to sell the shares,” he says. “But it’s not just number crunching.” He says Rice taught him the interpersonal and communication skills that are essential to a manager. “You must have some teamwork skills because you have to do the due diligence on companies before they list, and you need to be able to discuss with team members what work needs to be done. You also must have strong communication skills to report your case to the stock exchange and advise them on the suitability of a company’s listing.”

Among the professors at the Jones School who had a real impact on Yeung were Jeff Fleming, Doug Schuler, and Barbara Ostdiek. Simply living in the U.S. was also a valuable experience for

Yeung, who is a lifelong resident of Hong Kong. The transition to Houston was relatively seamless, both because the weather in the two cities is similar and because he had a host family that helped him to acclimate. Now married, Yeung travels extensively with his wife, making yearly trips to Japan and frequent visits to Europe and the U.S. Yeung is convinced that the experiences he received inside and outside the classroom have helped him succeed in what is

Henry Yeung credits the wellrounded business education he received at the Jones School for preparing him to succeed in the investment banking industry. an exceedingly competitive field. “If I didn’t have that kind of training, then I couldn’t have climbed up the ladder.”

For now, Yeung is content with his current role and says he is looking to stack up as many accomplishments as possible for Hai Tong Capital. “My priority is to build a team, do some advisory work, and build a track record,” he says. And with his knowledge of finance, no one understands better than Yeung how his role at Hai Tong Capital plays into the larger scenario of China’s changing economy.

Henry Yeung in Hong Kong’s Central Financial District

Jones Journal Fall 2008 21

Blazing Trails

by Kathleen Carr

Henry Tsang ‘80 Banks on Investment and Beyond For the fourth time, angel investor Henry Tsang took part in the Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker, a strenuous fundraising event that takes hikers over 100 kilometers spanning 20 mountains and hills. Tsang’s team finished in 25 hours, putting them very close to the top 10 percent of competitors. This year, he’s training hard to help his team come in under 20 hours. “The vigorous training is an interesting aspect,” he says. “Being out in nature is also part of it. I spend

After 28 years in investment banking, alumnus Henry Tsang finds his second career as an angel investor at Jigs Unlimited, a wood furniture factory in Shenzhen.

a lot of time hiking. We can walk 10 minutes from our house to get to a trail.”

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Jones Journal fall 2008 23

Looking back, Tsang says it’s almost as if he just stumbled into the international financial marketplace.

A hard-charging, competitive atmosphere is one similarity Tsang has found between his past career and his hobby. Navigating new and sometimes difficult terrain is another.

Before finding a second career at an angel investor at Jigs Unlimited, Henry Tsang enjoyed a distinguished career in finance as one of the most respected and longest-serving investment bankers in Asia.

Leading the Way Tsang’s experience in Europe turned out to be tremendous preparation for the conditions he encountered when he returned to Hong Kong on the front end of the unprecedented economic reform that Asia has seen in the past 20 years. Tsang helped Merrill Lynch carve out a niche in the region’s emerging economies and quickly became known as a leader for his ability to execute complicated privatization transactions in China. He also developed a reputation as a builder of top investment banking teams.

Tsang played an important role in some early landmark transactions, including the first major Chinese international IPO, for Shanghai Petrochemical, in 1993. “I remember that we debated whether and how

Catching the Early Waves

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Tsang came to U.S. to attend college. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Houston and from there, he went straight to the Jones School. After completing his MBA, Tsang was one of five people from around the world recruited

by Merrill Lynch for an 18-month training program to prepare international managers.

Looking back, he says it’s almost as if he just stumbled into the international financial marketplace.

“I would characterize my career as being well blessed for having been at the right place at the right time, particularly in catching the China economic reform wave in the early 1990s.”

Before his career path returned him to his native Hong Kong, Tsang spent seven years in Merrill Lynch’s London office. He was a firsthand witness to, and a participant in, a dramatically changing marketplace in the 1980s after the United Kingdom’s financial markets suddenly opened up (an event known in the finance world as the “Big Bang”).

to do pro forma accounts to make the 1992, 1991, and 1990 accounts more comparable. Before 1992, there were price controls and volume quotas in place in what was still almost entirely a centrally planned economy,” says Tsang. “What I learned in my Advanced Accounting course with Professor [Stephen] Zeff at Rice proved to be very helpful.”

Bullish Times at Bear

Following his 16 years with Merrill Lynch, Tsang spent about 11 years in senior positions with Bear Stearns and also had a brief stint with a private equity firm.

When he took the reins as president of Bear Stearns Asia Limited in 2005, he helped with the company’s efforts to rebuild its presence in Asia when the region’s markets began to take off following several challenging

years. “The markets were super bullish,” says Tsang.

“Everyone wanted to double and triple their size in Asia. But sadly, the market began to turn a year ago, and Bear Stearns had to be sold shortly after I retired late last year.”

Despite all the big deals he’s helped close during his career, Tsang says what he is most proud of is the people he has had the opportunity to mentor. “Many of my former teammates have moved on to top firms in Asia to become successful senior investment bankers, private equity professionals, and hedge fund managers,” he says.

Second Career After almost 28 years in investment banking, by late 2007, Tsang felt it was time for a change. Fortunately, as an angel investor in Jigs Limited, a high-end furniture business owned by a friend, he had a second career waiting for him. “The business grew rapidly, and I would always talk about what else we needed to do,” says Tsang. “My friend urged me to come and do it myself, with him, and the timing was right.”

Since the company is multinational, Tsang is putting his cross-border business skills to good use. He’s also enjoying the close-knit, entrepreneurial culture.

Culture is important to Tsang, and the business cultures he has enjoyed the most have reminded him of his days at the Jones School. “I think Rice has a very unique culture that other schools don’t offer. It’s a very personable type of school where professors bond with the students, and the class gets on very well together.”

Tsang says he felt like part of a family at Rice, and he exhibits an ongoing loyalty and connection to this family. “The school has my support because I truly enjoyed my time there, and I want to see this kind of nurturing environment continue. I encourage the students there now to make the most of it.”

Henry Tsang at Jigs Unlimited, a wood furniture factory in Shenzhen jonesgsm.rice.edu

Jones Journal Fall 2008 25

Good Neighbors, Good Business Haiyang Li and Anthea Zhang explore how community affects business success

By Karen M. Kroll

It has been well known that Silicon Valley is a hotbed of technology innovation and London a global financial hub. Why have other cities and regions fallen well short of achieving the same iconic status? New research by Yan (Anthea) Zhang, associate professor of management, along with her husband and research partner, Haiyang Li, also an associate professor of management, sought to explain why the communities have varying growth rates.

In the Zone During the 1980s, the Chinese government began funding and developing technology zones (clusters) across the country, with the objectives of encouraging entrepreneurship and fostering China’s technological capabilities. Each zone contains several groups of technology firms, organized by the governmental policies and regulations. Industries located within the zones included electronic information, integrated optical and advanced manufacturing, biotech and pharmaceuticals, new materials, new energy, and ocean technology, among others.

Driving Li and Zhang’s research was the discovery that, while the technology zones shared a common organizational model, growth rates among them varied dramatically. Case in point: in 1991 the government established both the Shanghai Zone and the Taiyuan Zone in Shanxi province. By 2000, the firms in the Shanghai Zone were generating about 75 billion renminbi (RMB) in total revenues annually, while the companies in the Taiyuan Zone were ringing up about one-tenth that amount. “We were interested in finding out why they had such dramatically different growth rates,” says Zhang. “That was our starting point.”

Associate Professors of Management Haiyang Li and Anthea (Yan) Zhang at Nanchizi nearby Tiananmen Square in Beijing

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Jones Journal Fall 2008 27

Around the School

Around the School

“We were interested in finding out why some communities had such dramatically different growth rates.”

Dissecting Growth

Research Findings

Numerous studies and books have focused on the most effective ways to foster a corporate culture of success. However, a paucity of research exists on the ways in which communities (i.e., clusters) of businesses, such as those located within a metropolitan area or an industrial park, can thrive.

Li and Zhang’s analysis clearly shows that the success of one technology community is tied to its relationships with those around it. “All three dimensions show a consistent theoretical story,” Li says, “Our findings suggests that knowledge and resources may flow among clusters, which create both

Li and Zhang started by examining all of the 53 national technology development communities that have ever been founded in China, they theorized that three dimensions of the communities’ interdependence would be critical to the differing growth rates. The first dimension, regional community density, refers to the number of communities within any specific province. The technology zones were not evenly distributed across China; several sparsely populated provinces have just one, while other provinces have six. The professors hypothesized that greater density would boost the growth rates of the communities, as it would raise the region’s ability to attract attention from prospective entrepreneurs, investors, workers, and the like.

The second dimension involved the distance between each community. Zhang and Li posited that greater proximity between communities would enhance growth by fostering the exchange of information and knowledge between communities and raising each one’s profile.

Finally, the team looked at industry or domain overlap, analyzing the degree to which the firms in one community competed in the same markets or used the same technology as firms in neighboring communities. Li and Zhang theorized that some industry overlap between communities would enhance information and knowledge flows and raise these communities’ profiles, benefiting each.

mutualism and competition among clusters.”

In terms of mutualism, as the number of communities in a region grows, the region draws greater attention from key

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external audiences like investors and workers. Consequently, the presence of multiple technology communities in a region can enhance the region’s capacity for technology development and thus benefit all communities located in the region.

However, an excess of any of the three dimensions would elicit greater competition. That is, a greater density of communities within any specific province would force communities to compete for the same pool of resources.

Greater proximity between communities would also create a similar fate as would excessive industry overlap.

Charting Change in China These findings are important for executives and entrepreneurs who are deciding where to locate their facilities. They need to consider not only the attributes of a particular technology community, but also its relationships with neighboring clusters. “You can’t look at clusters in isolation,” says Zhang.

“There are intercluster relationships.”

Of course, the duo’s research also offers value to city and regional planners who would like to establish industrial or

business parks. The mix of industries within clusters, as well as their location relative to each other, can affect just how successful each cluster will be.

Zhang and Li’s research study entitled, “Inter-Community Relationships and Community Growth in China’s High Technology Industries 1988–2000,” will be published in the Strategic Management Journal. Professor Claudia Bird Schoonhoven at the University of California, Irvine is the third author of this article.

In addition to studying communities’ affect on business, Li and Zhang possess keen insight into China’s business environment and culture and are particularly knowledgeable about some of the changes currently taking place within the country.

For starters, wage rates are rising within China’s easternmost cities and regions. As a result, executives looking for low-cost labor increasingly are moving inland or to other Southeast Asian countries, where rates still tend to be lower.

Another significant shift is the growing size and strength of the Chinese market itself. The country’s economy, which has boasted growth rates between 7 and 13 percent since the early 1990s, has fostered a robust local market and an expanding middle class.

This multifaceted growth is changing companies’ behavior in several ways. More companies are tapping local management talent, rather than expatriates, to run their Chinese operations, particularly the sales organizations. After all, many of these local talents have earned degrees in the West and worked in multinational companies, and are well versed in leading-edge management practices. Equally important, they bring an intimate understanding of the Chinese marketplace. “Domestic familiarity is key,” Zhang says.

Even as the Chinese market booms, the economy remains in transition from a planned structure to a market structure, Li notes. Executives doing business in the country need to understand and work within both. That means identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and formulating and executing strategy for the marketplace, while also developing their ability to work effectively with the government.

This is becoming increasingly critical as firms practicing business in China are competing not only with other multinational firms, but also with educated, experienced Chinese entrepreneurs. “The technological and managerial gap is narrowing between the Chinese and Americans,” Zhang says.

Moreover, Chinese executives and business owners are strongly motivated to eliminate this gap. “Even if you can compete in the U.S. against a Chinese company, that doesn’t mean you can compete in China against a Chinese company,” Li says. “Domestic firms do have a certain level of advantage in their home market.”

Jones Journal Fall 2008 29

Media Mentions

This is a partial listing of the Jones School community appearances in the media. For a more detailed report of international, national, and local media coverage, please visit our website at: www.jonesgsm.rice.edu/news.

In Microfinance, Clients Must Come First Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2008 Distinguished Research Professor Marc Epstein, who coauthored this article, maps out a clear theory of change for microfinance.

If the goal of microfinance is to alleviate poverty, then institutions should focus on helping their clients build successful enterprises.

“And They’re Off” Money.CNN.com, April 15, 2008 FORTUNE Small Business – June issue The end of ticket scalpers? Ultimate ski jackets? Storage for your neural stem cells? Meet the 36 semifinalists of the prestigious Rice Alliance Business Plan Competition who took home more than $675,000 in cash and prizes.

Business Institute, a program that introduces Houston’s low- and moderate-income high school students to the world of business and finance.

Study shows CEOs struggle for survival first three years Houston Business Journal, June 27, 2008 Research by Yan Zhang, associate professor of management, gives answers to why 10 things your airline won’t tell you more CEOs are leaving their jobs earlier than expected.

Yahoo! Finance, April 28, 2008 Associate Professor of Management Shannon Rain Man or Pied Piper?

To the winner a chance of stardom Anderson is quoted on a report of internal Academy of Management Perspectives, Financial Times, June 30, 2008 practices of the airline industry.

February 2008 Struggling to get in front of angel investors Dean Bill Glick offers ways to move and venture capitalists? Business plan contests Young, and ready to lead business schools beyond media rankings: Houston Chronicle, May 26, 2008 are turning out to be a promising way to through mass customization and stakeholder The new Rice Education Entrepreneurship pitch and raise seed capital. Brad Burke, education. director of the Rice Alliance, is quoted in Program, a compelling new program aiming to equip current and future K-12 an article that featured the Rice Business school leaders with leadership abilities and Plan Competition.

Additives, Allergies and ADHD: Is management skills, is mentioned in an There A Connection?

Business students see opportunity article about the youngest principal in the in economy Good Morning America, June 23, 2008 Houston Independent School District.

Houston Chronicle, Aug. 27, 2008 Alumna Robyn O’Brien ‘98 is spotlighted Jeff Fleming, professor of finance and KBR names T. Kevin DeNicola as as a leader in the movement to raise awareness associate dean of academic affairs, and chief financial officer of allergens in food.

Jones students Brian Appel ‘09, Jason Forbes.com, June 18, 2008 Assir ‘10, and Pascal Enohnyaket ‘09 An article reports that alumnus Kevin A Sales Pitch Done in 60 Seconds were quoted in an article about the DeNicola ‘87 has been appointed CFO National Public Radio, March 29, 2008 current business school climate. for military and engineering contractor Rice MBA Ali Abbassi ‘08, a competitor in KBR Inc. Business is booming the Rice Alliance’s Business Plan Competition, Houston Chronicle, Sept. 6, 2008 New Lending Strategy Combines talks about crafting a 60-second pitch to Jones School Dean Bill Glick is quoted in Auction, Social Networking, Bank potential investors. an article on the influx of international KRIV-TV, June 20, 2008 students at Houston’s business schools.

Peer-to-peer lending websites tend to The Right Way to Manage focus less on the gender and race of apUnprofitable Customers plicants than standard practices accordHarvard Business Review, April 2008 Hurricane Ike: The $6 billion storm?

Don’t just drop customers that cost you ing to a new study by Paul Dholakia, the Time Magazine, Sept. 20, 2008 William S. Mackey, Jr. and Verne F. Simons money. Co-author Vikas Mittal, the J. Hurricane Ike has had a dramatic Hugh Liedtke professor of management- Distinguished associate professor of maneconomic impact across the U.S. agement. marketing, talks about how firms from Texas to Kentucky, but Adjunct should treat unprofitable customers.

Kids Expanding Business Horizons KUHF-FM, June 23, 2008 Jill Foote, lecturer of management, is quoted in a story on the Rice Summer

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Professor Leo Linbeck III, says “I’d rather be in Houston right now than Wall Street.” This Associated Press article appeared in more than 50 publications.

Dear Fellow Alumni, My name is Erich Bell, and it is an honor to serve as the 2008 Jones Graduate School Alumni Association (JGSAA) President. As a 2003 graduate of the Rice MBA program and JGSAA Board member since 2004, I look forward to helping the Jones School continue on its path toward becoming one of the country’s premier business schools.

I want to welcome all of our new alumni and, in particular, the inaugural graduates of the MBA for Professionals program.

Facilitating networking opportunities for the Jones School alumni community is a priority. The Jones Alumni website provides a comprehensive list of networking opportunities and resources that are available. We have already developed a new alumni database and encourage you to update your contact information online at www.JonesAlumni.com, as well as visit the new Jones School group on LinkedIn.com, which already has more than 500 members. All of our alumni are invited to MBA Council of Houston events and may also join the Jones Partners (the school’s corporate affiliates program). Please also plan to join us on November 7-8 for Homecoming Weekend at the Jones School.

Check out the “Get Involved” section (pages 36-37) in the Jones Journal. You will see that we are placing a stronger emphasis on creating opportunities for interaction between alumni and current students including the new Jones Alumni Volunteers for Admission (JAVA) program, alumni mentorship (working with our second-year students), and off-campus student-alumni lunches.

Along with these new initiatives and an increased focus on networking and student interaction, we continue to offer ample opportunities for continuing education and career development. In March 2009, the Alumni College Weekend will include a strong business track and, as always, there will be numerous chances to attend both the Dean’s and Executive Lecture series. You are also invited to attend any of the Alumni Resources tour stops to learn how Rice’s Career Management Center can provide life-long career services.

In closing, I want to thank our departing board members, Crystal Maxwell, Rob Lesnick, Ray Bowen and, especially, David Van Horn and Chris Burkard who have both served more than seven years. The contributions of all these individuals have made an invaluable impact on the Jones School.

I look forward to another great year and expect it to be an exciting time for both students and alumni. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact me, Alumni Associate Director Shaheen Ladhani, or any board member. And be sure to visit www.JonesAlumni.com for an up-to-date calendar of activities. There is no question that your participation strengthens the Rice MBA reputation and ensures the success of the Jones School.

Jones Graduate Student Alumni Association 2008-09 Officers and Board Members President Erich Bell ‘03 Assistant Controller Quantum Energy Partners President Elect Bob Parkey ‘88 President & CEO ICO, Inc.

Board Members: Mike Andries ‘02 (Past President) Principal Consultant mABC LLC Landy Haile ‘03 Triad Real Estate Consulting Group, LLC Joe Branch ‘04 Sr. Manager, International Marketing Partnerships National Basketball Association Lisa Kudchadker-Gordon ‘02 Materials Manager BP David Case ‘05 Associate JP Morgan Chase Priscilla Plumb ‘01 Director Hewlett-Packard Company Francisco Castro ‘02 CEO Aliant Capital S.A. de C.V. Julie Davidson ‘04 Consultant Cogent Compensation Partners, Inc. Mark Courtney ‘94 Director CIMA Energy, LTD Nkem Ogbechie ‘03 Cappello Capital Corporation Ted Dimitry ‘02 Director GEM Insurance Agencies, L.P. Kathryn Young ‘04 Vice President, Operations Sirius Solutions Kelly Enos ‘84 CFO EquaTerra Jack Ledford ‘02 Project Manager KBR, Inc.

Erich Bell ‘03 President, JGSAA

Carolyn Galfione ‘97 Financial Advisor & CFO Linscomb and Williams Doreen Stoller ‘91 Executive Director Hermann Park Conservancy

Class Notes

Class Notes

1970s/1980s Rick Reinhard (‘82) is the principal consultant with the Niagara Consulting Group.

Carol Shattuck (‘82) is president of the Houston nonprofit organization Collaborative for Children.

Greg Deitch (‘83) is vice president and partner at Trabon Solutions in Kansas City, Missouri. Greg joined the company in 2001 as director of strategic business consulting.

Tom Bacon (‘84) is founding partner and CEO of The Lionstone Group, a privately-owned real estate investment firm founded in 2001.

Flint Brenton (‘84) has been president and CEO of TIDAL Software, Inc., one of the top-ranked enterprise job scheduling companies, since 2003. Flint also is on the TIDAL board of directors.

Michael A. Kane (‘84) is a managing director at Caltius Mezzanine, a provider of capital solutions to middle market companies throughout North America.

Michael McEachern, CFA (‘84) is head of the High Yield Group and senior high yield portfolio manager for Seix Investment Advisors LLC in New Jersey.

1

Daniel East (‘98) is senior vice president, M&A and Treasurer, of KGen Power Corporation.

Achilles Macris (‘86) is the international CIO for financial services firm J.P. Morgan.

Roger Haston (‘98) joined as COO of Ascend Geo, LLC, which designs and develops cable-free land .seismic acquisition systems.

Ward Polzin, CFA (‘86) serves as a managing director in Investment Banking at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., LLC headquartered in Houston.

Joseph Hoepfl (‘98) cofounded Parks Paton Hoepfl & Brown to provide financial advisory expertise to the energy industry.

Kevin Uebelein (‘86) was recently named the new president and CEO of Pyramis Global Advisors headquartered in Boston.

2000s

T. Kevin DeNicola (‘87) is the new CFO of military and engineering contractor KBR. He also is an adjunct professor for the Jones School.

1990s 1 Heather Carroll (‘95) married Jon Berglund on April 26, 2008 in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and will honeymoon in Australia this fall. Allan Brown (‘95) attended the ceremony. Heather is still working at MasterCard and Jon works for Applied Medical.

Abhay Padgaonkar (‘84) is principal of Innovative Solutions Consulting, LLC. Mark Coffey (‘85) is president of ShoreBank Pacific, the first commercial bank in the U.S. committed to environmentally sustainable community development.

Cavan C. Carlton (‘98) serves as the senior vice president and general manager for the U.S. and international divisions of Detechtion Technologies, based in Virginia.

Charles Griffey (‘85) is senior vice president of regulatory affairs for Reliant Energy, Inc.

R. Marc Carroll (‘98) currently serves as vice president and

Brian Hocker (‘86) is vice president for Programming, Research and Digital Media, for NBC’s KXAS, Channel 5, in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Katherine Dodds (‘98) has been at Aux Sable Liquid Products Inc. since 1999. She is the vice president and general counsel and is also acting general counsel for Aux Sable Canada Ltd.

CFO of Black Stone Minerals, which is located in Houston.

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with Deloitte Consulting and has been extended an extra year in Deloitte’s exclusive Energy & Resources Industry Management Development Program in the D.C. area. While he and his family miss their friends in Houston, they are enjoying their time on the East Coast. He recently linked up with John Roe (‘01) who is currently working in Maryland.

Alexia (Pearce) Dauterive (‘00) and her husband, Eddie, are expecting twins in December 2008. They already have a two-year-old daughter, Olivia. Alexia is currently working from home as a CPA and is the controller/CFO of a startup geothermal energy company.

Michael Landy Haile (‘03) is a director with Triad Real Estate Consulting Group, LLC.

Kathryn Pavlovsky (‘00) recently accepted partnership with Deloitte. Kathryn serves as a principal in Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP based in Houston and leads Deloitte’s Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability practice nationally.

birth of their son, Sutton Kane Philips, on Feb. 5, 2008.

He was welcomed home by big brother Grey in San Diego, CA.

(‘04) proudly announce the birth of their daughter Mary Armistead Brusselback, born Oct. 16, 2007.

Currently, Katie is associate product manager, Retirement Plans, for OppenheimerFunds, Inc.

3 Ted Dimitry (‘02) would like to announce the birth of his son, Theodore Maxwell David Dimitry, born May 27, 2008 at 5:35 p.m. He weighed 8 lb and 15.3 oz and was 20 in. long. Ted is currently a marketing manager, Energy & Marine, for GEM Insurance Agencies, L.P. in Houston.

4 Lisa Kudchadker Gordon (‘02) married Aaron Gordon in October of 2007. She currently works at BP in the Gulf of Mexico Materials Management, Dispositions.

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5 Kirby Brendsel (‘03) celebrated his five-year anniversary

Oscar Gurdian (‘03) is the real estate finance director of Flagler Development in Miami.

2 Richard Brusselback (‘02) and Katie Biggs Brusselback

Kelly L. Brcka (‘98) is the president and founder of Chain of Events, an event planning company for corporate and social events and weddings.

2 jonesgsm.rice.edu

Emel Kahya (‘86), one of two students awarded a doctorate degree from the Jones School, is an associate professor of Accounting at the Rutgers School of Business – Camden.

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Todd Monette (‘03) is general manager at the largest U.S. refinery Motiva Enterprises LLC in Port Arthur, Texas.

6 Liz Philips (‘03) and husband Todd celebrated the 4

7 Rafael Gerlein (‘04) shares a photo of his first son, Alejandro Gerlein, born on Oct. 1, 2007.

Julie O. Griffith (‘04), owner of j.griffith Public Relations, a boutique PR, publicity, and marketing firm based in Houston, was recently made a media partner with CNN as part of the CNN “Black In America” national grassroots marketing team. In addition, her firm won the contracts for Finesse Mitchell and the new Memorial Hermann Medical Center Tower.

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8 Justin Hopkins (‘04) and his wife Kara proudly announce the birth of their son, Reid Hudson Hopkins

8 Jones Journal Fall 2008 33 35

Class Notes

Resources

born 8 lb and 12 oz on Nov. 8, 2007 in Houston. The family recently moved to Bangkok, Thailand where Justin is working for Chevron’s Asia South Business Unit as the SCM business manager.

Christopher “Kyle” Johnston (‘04) and his wife, Virginia, had their first child, James “Milo” Johnston, on July 7, 2008. In May, Kyle graduated from Tulane Law School with magna cum laude honors, and served as managing editor of the Tulane Law Review and senior justice on the Tulane Moot Court board. He has accepted a position with Fenwick & West, LLP in Silicon Valley.

Nat Kreamer (‘04) started SunRun, a California company pioneering in distributed residential power generation, residential solar service, and, now 18 months later, the fifth largest and fastest growing residential solar company in the U.S.

9 Brian T. Kuck (‘04) and his wife, Lamandra, are proud to announce the birth of Adelaide Knox Kuck on June 9, 2008. She weighed 8 lb, 9 oz, and was 22 in. long. Big sister Margaret welcomed her home. The family recently moved from Houston to Denver, where Brian accepted a position as the reserves and planning manager for the Rocky Mountain division of Anadarko Petroleum.

10 Marina (Yesakova) Kabir (‘05) and husband Reaz Visit www.JonesAlumni.com and log into the all-new alumni directory.

Help us find lost alumni!

Go to the lost Alumni link and help us reconnect with your classmates.

are excited to announce the birth of Andrew Kabir on Aug. 25, 2008 at 2:38 a.m. He is 7 lb and 15 oz. Baby is healthy, and mom is resting.

Michael Hardt (‘05) is a senior financial analyst with EquaTerra in Houston. Also, he is continuing as an adjunct professor of finance at Houston Baptist University.

Brandy Hays (‘05) was promoted to managing consultant at IBM this year and was recognized as one of the top two percent of performers within the organization. In her

Alumni

Alumni R eso u rces

third year with IBM, her travels included managing international strategic projects in Sweden, Bulgaria, France, and Canada with IBM’s Global Customs Team.

Andy Shih (‘06) is a senior consultant at Alvarez and Marsal Business Consulting.

11 Kimberly Gold (‘98) and Brian Sharp (‘98) welcomed daughter Addison Anne on Jan. 2, 2008.

The Sharps reside in Houston where Kim is a product marketing manager for Halliburton, and Brian is an engineering manager for Stewart & Stevenson.

C. Tyson Weihs (‘06) is a partner at SMH Private Equity Group. As a software developer and private pilot, he also founded, MyMetar.com, a weather bookmarking service.

The company recently released a new product, the ForeFlight, an iPhone application geared for pilots.

Linus Bernhard (‘07) is a trader analyst at energy trading group Vitol.

Michael Scott Conley (‘07) and Luka Erceg (‘07) recently founded Simbol Mining and have raised $6.7 million in Series A funding. The idea for Simbol Mining came about in 2006 while Michael and Luka were pursuing their MBA degrees at the Jones School.

Joelle Dick (‘07) was promoted to associate product manager on the Science Diet Brand with Hill Pet’s brand of Colgate-Palmolive Pet Nutrition Division.

Her project assignments have taken her to Australia, Kansas, and Arizona.

Acho Azuike (‘08) is a development associate at Houston-based Midway Companies, an international real estate development and investment firm.

Christopher Mulgrew (‘08) was recently named the CFO of the Lonestar Capital Corporation.

Bradley Welter (‘08) was one of 31 chosen for the prestigious Broad Residency in Urban Education program.

The Jones School alumni community’s sustained involvement and visibility at the school is critical to the success of the institution. Additionally, our success as a business school hinges upon services and benefits that we provide to alumni for life.

In an effort to foster this relationship between the Jones School and our alumni community, we have listed several Alumni Resources that are now available to each of you.

So far, we have conducted two formal events to roll out and explain these resources in more detail, one in New York on June 11th and the other in Houston on July 23rd. Both events were very well attended, and we have received plenty of positive feedback. Details on these resources are also available at www.JonesAlumni.com.

If there are specific resources that are not listed, but that you would like to see made available, please contact Shaheen@rice.edu.

This is an ever-evolving list of services designed to benefit you — so please share your thoughts with me.

Alumni Career Services Lifelong career support for alumni throughout their careers; confidential access to job postings as well as avenues to recruit top caliber students at the Jones School

Lifelong Learning Discounts on Executive Education open enrollment programs; custom programs for your company; class audit opportunities; lecture series events; March 2009 “Alumni College” weekend featuring a Business Track

Online Networking Resources All-new JGSM Alumni Directory Official JGSM groups on LinkedIn.com and Facebook.com See www.JonesAlumni.com for directions to join these online networks

Networking Opportunities: Rice Business Network (RBN): Connect with fellow Rice alumni for a monthly networking lunch. Share business referrals and career opportunities while growing your network with the Rice alumni in the Houston area.

Corporate Investors: Talk to your company today about the networking opportunities and other benefits of joining the Corporate Investors annual membership program.

Jones Partners: Join the Jones Partners as an individual member and network with professionals committed to opening doors between the Jones School and the Houston business community.

Jones Alumni Real Estate Club: An all-new club for Jones alumni who are interested in building their network in the real estate community via monthly happy hours and other events.

MBA Council of Houston events: JGSM is a member institution of the MBA Council; therefore, all alumni are invited to Council programming events. Network with other MBAs in the area from member institutions that include HBS, Wharton, MIT, Texas, Tulane, Kellogg, and others.

Wharton/MBA Council Deal Flow Lunches: Exchange business referrals and grow your business. Whether you are an entrepreneur or not, benefit from broadening your list of contacts with MBA alumni from top-tier business schools.

Shaheen Ladhani Associate Director, Alumni Relations 9 jonesgsm.rice.edu

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Details on these networking opportunities are available at www.JonesAlumni.com

11 Jones Journal Fall 2008 35 37

Alumni

get involved

Alumni Share your professional and life experience with future leaders in a variety of ways.

Alumni Mentoring Program Mentor a second-year Rice MBA student who is seeking first-hand information about prospective careers from professionals.

Through the mentoring program, alumni: u Cultivate a deeper connection through an open forum u Share professional and life experiences with future alumni u Provide guidance in an ongoing relationship

get involved

G et

i n v ol v ed

Jones Alumni Volunteers for Admission (JAVA)

Alumni

To learn more about alumni involvement opportunities, visit www.JonesAlumni.com

Alumni Resources Launch – Houston ­— July 23, 2008 — Anderson Family Commons, McNair Hall

The Jones School is actively seeking ambassadors from around the world to represent the school in attracting top-tier candidates to the Rice MBA program.

JAVA ambassadors may: u Interview prospective students u Represent Rice at recruiting events u Counsel admitted students during the decision-making process

Alumni-Student Lunches The Alumni-Student Lunch Series is an opportunity for current students to meet with alumni during lunch sessions. Lunches provide students an informal setting to gain insight into professional areas of interest and to engage the alumni in current happenings at the Jones School.

Current JAVA Ambassadors represent the Jones School in states across the U.S. and in many countries including:

Belgium n Denmark n France n Indonesia n Korea n Nigeria n Peru n Singapore n Switzerland n Turkey n United Kingdom

Wine Tasting Reception — Aug. 21, 2008 — Dore Commons, Baker Institute

Associate Alumni Director Shaheen Ladhani (Rice ‘97), Director of FullTime MBA and MBA for Professionals Programs Sean Burnett ‘06, and Raju Adwaney ‘06

Hoyt Thomas ‘04, Bo Bothe ‘05, Mike Andries ‘02, and Landy Haile ‘03

Gavin Cunningham ‘03 and Ted Dimitry ‘02

Scott Sitton ‘00 and Dean Bill Glick

Class of 2010 students Jeet Vijay, Margaret Turner, Brad McGovern, Jan Goetgeluk, Samara Poplack, and Uche Ugwa

John Adkins ‘09, Career Management Center Director Deanna Fuehne, Aaron Knape ‘08, and Patricia Fu ‘08

Class of 2010 students Alice Gu, Margaret Turner ‘10, and Will Pike ‘10 jonesgsm.rice.edu

Class of 2007 alumni Maria Tort, Sameer Bandhu, Rauli Garcia, and Joy Cox Sarah Levinne ‘01, Spense Stephens ‘00, and Deepak Kanwar ‘00

Jones Journal Fall 2008 39

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P.O. Box 2932 Houston, TeXas 77252.2932

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