Archive for November/2011

Founded by entrepreneurs in 1973, the entrepreneurial vein runs deep at IE and with our European and CIS alumni. Over 10% of our over 40,000 Alumni go on to launch their own business at some stage in the career and in Europe we are lucky to have some of the most innovative and entrepreneurial Alumni. Here I would like to present some of our very top European Alumni and their businesses.

Jeremy Melul, IMBA 2008 French/English
Jogabo is an easy and social way to play soccer. It is a location aware soccer platform that allows users to organize games, share their plans and discover opportunities to play in their area. The aim is to make amateur soccer “bonito” by connecting soccer enthusiasts, facilitating the organization of games and adding a layer of fun and competitiveness to the beautiful game. We founded Jogabo because we love the beautiful game and we wanted to be able to play all the time, wherever we were in the world. We also love meeting people and we believe soccer is an amazing sport for that.

I worked in innovation and technology consulting at Altran before realizing that life was too short for that and decided to join Grassroot Soccer, an NGO that uses the power of soccer in the fight against HIV/AIDS. I hold a Master in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from IE Business School, and am also the founder of the European MBA tournament “The Green Laces Cup”.

Alvaro Osle, Executive MBA 2008 Spanish
I set up the company TelCrOSS Consulting S.L. in Spain in 2005 to cover a gap in the market for expert consultants in the OSS domain in the Telecommunications world. One of the reasons I went to IE to study an MBA was to learn the business, strategy, finance and management skills that would provide me with a clear vision and strategy for the company and what I wanted it to be. The market of Operation Support Systems (software that helps big telcos to become much more efficient in the way they run the network) was growing rapidly and there was a scarcity of resources. I used this new company to provide freelance consultancy services on different projects. In 2010 I setup TelCrOSS Ltd in the UK, which is when we started the design and development of a new software utility NetVisio which we are now hoping to sell to big telcos around the world. We have already launched the first version of the product and it’s still early days, but we’re confident we can be successful.

Olga Slavkina, IMBA 2007 Latvian
Back in 2006, I had a well-paid job at a multinational in Brussels, a safe and steady career ahead of me, a highly ranked Master’s degree in International Relations under my belt, and a daughter who had just turned 1. Perhaps not the most common combination of life circumstances that would prompt one to pursue a full-time MBA. And yet, it made perfect sense for me to come to IE and develop my interests in branding, entrepreneurship and the web.
After IE, I moved back to Brussels where I founded SCHMOOZY FOX — a brand and marketing strategy consultancy which is based on my concept of Funky Brandsâ„¢ — products and services which owe their success to astonishing design and smart brand strategies. I work both with large companies, as well as startups, to help them position, launch and promote their products in real life and on the web. Besides consulting, I write about branding and marketing, and publish a Funky Brand Interviews series on my blog. The Funky Brandsâ„¢ concept was nominated for the 2011 Accenture Innovation Award, and Funky Brand Interviews will soon launch in film format.

Maxim Kondratyukin , IXMBA 2010 Russian
I have never thought to be an entrepreneur myself. My ideal professional path has always been linked to a career in some large multinational company. I perceived myself as a good manager and poor entrepreneur because of lack of intuition and being risk averse. It was in IE when I started to think that there might be other ways to grow. Starting my own business became a real alternative for me and no longer a taboo. I was able to see that it works more often than it seemed to me before. Moreover, I was able to see that it does not require being something special to start something new. By some lucky accident crisis happened, and as I was working in real estate sector I did not see any significant opportunities within my industry. Same time an opportunity came to start a new company, which seemed interesting to me. I made one of the most difficult decisions in my life and started to build the company I wanted to have. After a couple of months Boombate.com appeared. It was a struggle for long time, but we were lucky enough to break even in the eighth month of operations. We are growing very fast and I still have so many ideas to implement.

Kim Goddard

Mikhail Bakunin, a Russian student from the  International MBA November 2011 intake and former marketing director of RTC (MTS Monobrand Retail Chain) shares his life experience in Madrid: from flat hunting to hot tea searching in Spain. Follow him at http://blogs2.mbastrategy.ua/mihail_ie/

In October, a group of IE Alumni shared a “practical cooking” experience with CEOs and HR Directors at “Academia Barilla”, fully sponsored by IE.

Invited guests were from companies such as Kellog, Monster, Bosch, Ducati, Carter and Benson, Nike and Barclays among others.

Prior to the event the alumni spent some time discussing new opportunities to reinforce the Italian chapter.

After that we had an introductory cocktail, followed by the real practical cooking: tutored by two chefs and a Master chef, we split up in two groups to prepare a full menu, which we finally had for dinner (and yes, we survived!).

It was great to get to know better one another in an informal setting, in a literally “hands on” experience, which also gave the chance to network with renowned professionals outside of IE Alumni club.

We came out of it with fanstatic cook hats and aprons, enriched by the experience!

IE Business School and Professor Gonzalo Garland would like to invite you to attend a Master Class titled World Economic Outlook: A two-speed recovery from the Great Recession, taking place in Baku on Monday 28th November.

Date and Time : Monday, November 28th, 19:00-21:00hrs
Address: Park Hyatt Baku (Amirov room)
1033 Izmir Street, Baku, AZERBAIJAN

ABOUT THE EVENT
This master class will review the economic outlook of different countries and regions of the world as they recover from the world recession of 2009, and will explore whether we are witnessing a two-speed recovery with continuing difficulties in the developed countries being contrasted by high growth in the emerging regions of the world. The session will also address some important medium and long term trends in both developed economies and emerging markets that will characterize the world in the coming decades.

Please note that places are limited, so we kindly ask you to register at Event registration, under the Europe tab http://events.ie.edu.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Professor Garland is Vice President for Development at IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, where he is also a member of the Executive Committee. Prior to this, he was Director of External Relations, Director of International Relations, Vice Dean for Faculty, and Director of the Economics Department. He studied economics at the Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, Peru, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania. At present he combines his management responsibilities with teaching courses on Managerial Economics, Country Economic Analysis, and Economic Development.

Some interesting news to share with you about an immense increase of German students starting university: This autumn 2011 about half a million of students entered for their first semester at German´s Universities – there were never before as many students beginning their studies as this year – what are the reasons?

Since 2011, finally in all German federal states, high school finishes now also after only 12 years, one year earlier than in the past. In fact Germany was one of the few countries in the European Union, where students finished high school after a total of 13 years – as a consequence they were older than their fellow students from abroad who entered universities at a younger age.

Cutting one year of high school means that 2011 is the year when at many German high schools two classes from different intakes graduated. One intake finished high school after its regular 13 years, the other intake finished one year earlier according to the new school reform, so the double amount of students are ready to enter university! On top of this, 2011 is the first year in Germany when military and civil service is not anymore obligatory. In the past lots of our male students finished high school with 18 or 19 years and in continuation were obliged to render their military/civil service for the country. This means that beside the fact that anyway they finished high school one year later, counting in one additional year for the military/civil service they entered at universities in total 2 years later than others. Of course for many of them this was also a huge competitive disadvantage in respect to the job market!

All in all, this immense increase of students in autumn 2011, means that universities are overcrowded and students face lots of problems, since the conditions are not the same as in the past: It is much more difficult to get university place especially at one of the favorites universities, lecture rooms are overcrowded, to find housing is impossible and many other inconveniences!! Perhaps this is huge opportunity for Universities abroad, such as IE, to give students the possibility to start their studies under much better conditions!