Tag: Beijing



In March, Chinese students gathered in Beijing and Shanghai for two weeklong residency programs. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the residencies were the first time many of the students met in person.

Members of the Weston Career Center team in both the US and China designed the programs, and undergraduate, MBA and specialized masters students attended.

Each day’s activities centered on one of Olin’s pillars of excellence: values-based, data-driven decision making; global experiences; entrepreneurial spirit; and experiential learning. The week culminated with an experiential learning project to solve a real-world business problem for the athletic footwear company New Balance.

Throughout the week, students interacted with classmates, engaged with alumni, listened to industry leaders and met with their career coaches.

The human connection

The opportunity to meet her peers face to face stood out to Ruxin (Andrea) Zeng, MSBA ’22. She’d met her cohort through Zoom, but the residency gave her opportunities to interact with her peers in a casual environment.

Learning from industry leaders

Wenxin (Hugo) Xue, MSCA ’22, enjoyed the opportunity to listen to industry leaders. As a business analytics student, he was excited to learn more about the future of big data and how it could affect his career.

Endless opportunities in business

Similarly, Yang Shen, MSBA ’22, found it helpful to learn more about different opportunities in business, whether he networked with employers or listened to various distinguished alumni.

The WCC team planned excursions for students to enjoy during breaks from their coursework. The Beijing students took a day trip to the Great Wall of China, while the Shanghai students took a night cruise down the Huangpu River.




The Executive MBA International Residency is often the student favorite of the program’s four required residencies. In between once-in-a-lifetime visits to historic sites in Shanghai and Beijing, EMBA students meet with program alumni and business leaders, exploring China’s unique economy, markets, and global leadership.

EMBA 49 recently returned from the International Management Residency—and if these photos from EMBA Student Services Manager Cory Barron is any indication, it was an exciting experience.

Monday: Facing strategic challenges

After a day of sightseeing at The Great Wall and Forbidden City, students buckled down for business on Monday. They kicked off the residency with site visits to Nestlé’s R&D Center and Xiaozhu.com, the Chinese Airbnb.

After a tour of Nestlé’s R&D Center, Stanford Lin, Vice President & Head of Strategy and Business Development for Nestlé-China, presented EMBA 49 with a strategy challenge. Teams were asked to develop a product to address complex strategic challenges while navigating global, regional, and industry considerations—within a 30-minute time frame.

Terrell Jones presents his thoughts on the team’s marketing strategy, while team members Mehul Gandhi and Matt Reasor listen. 

Melinda Chu explains her team’s product concept under the scrutiny of Nestlé’s Stanford Lin, VP & Head of Strategy & Business Development, and Roberto Reniero, Head of R&D, Nestlé China.

 

Next on the agenda was Xiaozhu.com. Founded in 2012, the Chinese version of Airbnb has expanded to branches in 13 cities all over the country, with house sources covering more than 130 domestic cities.

Students learned about the difficulties Xiaozhu initially faced in establishing a sharing culture in China. However, Xiaozhu.com CEO Kelvin Chen says the company is now adding 1,500 new listings per day.

Xiaozhu translates to Piglet. Piglet is a sign of a happy home.

Panlan Shi shows EMBA 49 the floor of coders building Xiaozhu. 

 

Tuesday: Taking in Shanghai

EMBA 49 took Tuesday to travel (via high-speed train) from Beijing to Shanghai for the rest of the week’s activities. After arriving in Shanghai, the group took in Shanghai’s skyline on a dinner cruise of the Huangpu River.

Jared Ogden passes the time crocheting while speeding south on the train. He says he learned the skill while trapped by a storm in Alaska, where he had plenty of time to learn a new skill. 

A closer look at Jared’s quality craftsmanship.

 

EMBA 49 cruising on the Huangpu River, which separates the new, glitzy Shanghai Financial District from the older, European architecture of the Bund area.

 

Wednesday: Exploring consumer preferences & entrepreneurship

With a few site visits under their belt, EMBA 49 was ready to delve deeper into China’s economy. Speakers from Weber Shandwick, McKinsey & Co., Sigmatex, and AmCham covered a myriad of topics, from China’s entrepreneurial digital revolution to Chinese consumers and the regional economy.

Later, students put their negotiations skills to the test with a visit to the Shanghai Fabric Market.

Darren Burns, President of Weber Shandwick–China, describes how his company’s PR and advertising campaigns are reaching the middle-class Chinese consumer online. Using live streaming is a critical part of their strategy for their Western clients trying to join the conversation in China.

Mehul Gandhi looks pleased when his negotiations calculate to an agreeable price at the Shanghai Fabric Market.

John Ortegon negotiates a better price on a new scarf while at the fabric market.

 

Thursday: Site visit to ZTE Corp. & business panel

EMBA 49 kicked off Thursday with a site visit to ZTE Corp.’s R&D Center. ZTE is the global leader in telecommunications and information technology, achieving an annual revenue of more than $15.3 billion in 2016.

Since 2010, ZTE has been ranked among the world’s Top 3 for patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, so it seemed a natural starting point for Executive MBAs to learn more about corporate innovation.

EMBA received a warm welcome from the staff at the ZTE R&D Center.

EMBA 49 looking sharp in their ZTE lab coats.

The cohort was then treated to a panel discussion featuring leaders from Novus Intl., Dun and Bradstreet, and Qingdao ADR Axles China Manufacturing Co.—two of whom are alumni (Chiara Radrizzani and Jesse Huang, both EMBA Shanghai Class 14 graduates).

At Thursday afternoon’s executive round table, Flemming Mahs, Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Novus Intl.; Huang Jiexi, Privacy and Compliance Director for Asia, Dun and Bradstreet; and Chiara Radrizzani, Asia Pacific CEO, ADR Group, share with EMBA 49 the cultural intricacies of doing business in China. 

 

Friday and Saturday: Field Studies & Fudan University

EMBA teams spent Friday working on their marketing research projects, breaking out into groups for health care and consumer field study.

The students also got a taste of life as an Executive MBA-Shanghai student, sitting in on a class with Finance Prof. Todd Milbourn and exploring the campus at Fudan University, Olin’s global partner in the Executive MBA-Shanghai degree program.

Friday’s sunrise in Shanghai.


Learn more about the curriculum and residency opportunities in Olin’s Executive MBA program.

Guest blogger: Cory Barron, Student Services Manager, EMBA team




Learning in the Executive MBA program extends far beyond classroom walls—in this case, to the other side of the world. As part of the curriculum’s four required residencies, EMBA 48 traveled to Beijing this week for the first half of their International Management Residency, where they explore global economies, markets, and leadership.

Executive MBA Student Services Manager Cory Barron sends this update from the cohort’s first two days in China:


Day 1 | The Great Wall of China and The Forbidden City

Muted blue skies, ideal June temperatures, and a light crowd greeted EMBA 48 at the Great Wall of China. Many in the class expressed that they “never dreamed” of having the opportunity to visit this historical site. The 5,000 mile long wall delivered a morning of intense climbs to gorgeous vistas of the Chinese dragon snaking atop the mountain contours.

John Flath trudging up the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China on a gorgeous June morning.

Jerod Mickelson, Tyler King and David Messner quick stepping on the Great Wall during the EMBA 48 International Residency in China.

By mid-afternoon, EMBA 48 was exploring the vastness of the Forbidden City. Over 8,000 rooms housed, in addition to the royal family, the palace guards, eunuchs, and hundreds of concubines. Up until 1911, this was reclusive home of the Emperors of China for hundreds of years.

EMBA 48 joined other tourists walking the original block stone courtyards of the Forbidden City.

Neeti Kailas enjoys a break from the afternoon sun while listening to her guide’s explanation of the Chinese dynasties.

Day 2 | Challenges facing multinationals

After weaving through the morning traffic, EMBA 48 made it to the northwest reaches of Beijing to tour Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Co. This is the ground work for the business challenge discussion they would have with Miguel Kindler, Cummins-Beijing Plant Manager. After Miguel’s short briefing on the plant’s capacity and Cummins’ 40-year history in China, each study team was given a question with one common challenge facing multinationals entering the Chinese market. The teams were given 30 minutes to come up with a solution and then present that solution to the Miguel for his evaluation.

Dinesh Thotala adjusts his receiver prior to a tour of the Cummins motor plant in Beijing.

While David Willis listens and April Powell takes notes, Doug Jost shares his strategy for his team’s business challenge question.

Lauren Brown, David Messner, and Mellissa Jobe listen to Miguel Kindler, Cummins-Beijing Plant Manager, as he answers their questions about their team’s business challenge.

After Team 4’s victorious Cummins presentation, EMBA 48 traveled to Beijing’s Embassy District. Walking through the six inch thick doors of the outer walls of the United States Embassy, the EMBAs passed security before entering the grounds. A panel of three officers, representing some of the 21 government agencies housed at the Beijing Embassy, explained how they are serving United States business interests in China.


Stay tuned for more updates from EMBA 48’s International Management Residency in Beijing and China. Learn more about the curriculum and residency opportunities in Olin’s Executive MBA program. 

Guest blogger: Cory Barron, Student Services Manager, EMBA team




EMBA student in Shanghai

On day two in China, EMBA-45 was amazed by the high-tech efficiency and vastness of the Beijing Hyundai plant.

In China, Hyundai produced over a million cars for Chinese customers in 2015. Hyundai is an example of a foreign-owned company going into partnership with the Chinese Government in order to get a piece of the Chinese market. It is now the fourth most popular selling auto brand in China.

In the afternoon, the EMBAs were invited through a side gate to the United States Embassy. After an airport-type security check, the cohort was ushered into a conference room for a briefing.

Cathy Feig, U.S. Foreign Commercial Services, explained the challenges and possibilities of doing business in China. Following her presentation, the EMBAs were given a tour of the artworks on display throughout the Embassy office building and grounds.

Day three was a travel day. High speed rail from Beijing to Shanghai.

In the evening we took the hour long river cruise to see the city lights.

EMBA students visit Hyundai plant
EMBA students visit Hyundai plant
EMBA students outside the Hyundai plant
EMBA students visit Hyundai plant
EMBA alum boarding high-speed train
EMBA students travel on high-speed train
EMBA student and professor
EMBA student working on train
EMBA students talking on train
Chinese lettering
EMBA student takes a photo
Students take a boat tour
Shanghai
EMBA student watched light show
EMBA students take a boat tour
Andrew Gulovsen, EMBA-45 and Sekhar Nadella, EMBA-45 at the Hyundai briefing.

Guest blogger: Cory Barron, Student Services Manager, EMBA team




Day One of the EMBA Class 45 residency in China. Gorgeous weather. Blue skies and low pollution ratings. All the 45s are well and staying out of dark alleys.

Our first day was to explore the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City.

Because the National People’s Congress is holding its annual session, security is tight
in Beijing with added soldiers and restrictions at Tiananmen Square.

Enjoy the photos from the first full day in China:

EMBA 45 explores the Great Wall of China
EMBA 45 explores the Great Wall of China
EMBA 45 explores the Great Wall of China
EMBA 45 explores the Great Wall of China
Soldiers in Beijing
The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City
EMBA student explores the Forbidden City
The Forbidden City
Students resting in the Forbidden City
The Forbidden City
Jared Hoover, EMBA 45-Denver, and his wife, Kristin Hoover, face an uphill battle in their hike of the Great Wall of China.

Guest blogger: Cory Barron, Student Services Manager, EMBA team