Tag: global

Buoyed by strong representation from female students, strong international course experience and very strong salaries for graduates, WashU Olin’s Shanghai-based Executive MBA program rose substantially in the Financial Times’ latest ranking of similar programs for 2022.

The ranking, released in October, showed a marked increase in the program’s performance in the FT ranking over the previous two years. In 2021, Olin’s ranking suffered when pandemic-related issues prevented the program from enrolling a class in time. The year before, in 2020, Olin ranked 16, so its rise to the top 10—in the year of its 20th anniversary—was significant.

“Olin’s joint EMBA program in Shanghai with Fudan University has long been one of the gems of our school,” said Anjan Thakor, interim dean at WashU Olin. “I’m thrilled to see the hard work of so many, and the dedication of our students, recognized by the results of this ranking.”

Daniel Elfenbein, Olin professor of organization and strategy and associate dean for the EMBA-Shanghai program, acknowledged the “tremendous challenges for effectively engaging with students” through COVID-19.

“Thanks to the flexibility of our faculty, our students and our Fudan partners—and the incredibly hard work that each of these groups has put in—the EMBA-Shanghai program remains one that we can be tremendously proud of,” Elfenbein said. “These rankings validate that hard work, and they reflect the impact that our program continues to have in global executive education.”

Program on the vanguard

Olin was on the vanguard among business schools when it partnered with Fudan University in 2002 to launch the first-of-its-kind Executive MBA in China, placing American business faculty members in front of Chinese nationals to teach global business principles.

At the time, China was just entering the World Trade Organization, and its economy was the sixth largest in the world. Today, China’s economy is ranked second, and the program counts more than 1,000 students among its graduates.

Among the highlights of the 2022 Financial Times ranking:

• The incoming class in the joint Shanghai-based program was 42% female, placing Olin 15th among schools.
• Alumni salaries were strong, averaging $398,893, moving Olin up from 10th to sixth in that dimension of the ranking.
• In international course experience, Olin rose substantially, from 39th to 22nd.
• The WashU-Fudan program also showed continued strengths in its ranking for work experience (10th) and its Financial Times research ranking (eighth).

“The fact that our program continues to soar is a testament to the commitment and passion of everyone involved—students, staff and faculty,” said Markus Baer, professor of organizational behavior and Olin’s vice dean of executive education. “We are excited about the future and what we can accomplish in the years to come.”

One area of opportunity centered in curriculum content hours focused on environment, sustainability and governance issues. Nearly 13% of Olin’s curriculum centers on those issues—similar to previous years—but its ranking in that category fell, indicating an increase in curriculum hours among other schools.

Northwestern University, the China Europe International Business School, Tsinghua University/INSEAD, HEC Paris and ESCP Business School took the top five spots in the 2022 ranking. Rounding out the top 10 were programs including a three-way joint program among HEC Paris, New York University and the London School of Economics; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of Chicago; WashU Olin; and the University of Navarra.

Olin’s Leadership Perspectives speaker series culminated in lessons on leadership with Dean Mark P. Taylor and General John R. Allen, president of the Brookings Institution. Covering leadership skills in business, government, military and academia, Taylor and Allen advocated for globalization, collaboration and a strong values system. Army veteran Vic Fields, EMBA ’22, moderated the discussion.

Here are five takeaways from the event:

Leaders must have a global outlook

The best leaders look beyond their environment and into the world.

“It’s virtually impossible for someone to aspire to leadership without having a sense of global fluency. The more you understand about societies, economies and histories, the more you are able to lead and be a factor for good in the global community,” said Allen.

Taylor reflected on Olin’s commitment to global education, specifically the full-time MBA’s global immersion program. However, all Olin programs require a global component to stretch students outside of their comfort zone and provide them with a foundational understanding.

Effective leadership is a continuous learning experience

Although both have many years of effective leadership under their belts, Taylor and Allen agreed they are continuously learning how to be influential leaders. Finding a personal leadership style is shaped by career and life experience, so it should change over time.

Strong leaders fall back on their values

At Olin, we pride ourselves on values-based, data-driven decision-making. Taylor and Allen echoed the same sentiment. While data can change, a values system should never waver.

“In a world where there are so many conflicting messages and sources at work, we are desperately in need of young leaders who are willing to accept responsibility and willing to lead,” says Allen. Being decisive and values-based is essential to succeed as a leader.

Good leaders face risks head on

As leaders of their respective communities, both Allen and Taylor are forced to make decisions that require risk. In decision-making, it is crucial to weigh the risk by analyzing the data.

“Good leaders aim to succeed. Bad leaders aim not to fail,” says Taylor regarding risk-taking in his position.

People first

Thinking about risks and COVID-19, Taylor emphasized how students were top of mind. Understanding the risk of the COVID-19 virus, Taylor asked himself a series of questions: “How do we make sure that our students get a first-class education and still graduate? How do we handle the loss of internships? How do we get students back into the classroom safely?”

To learn more about leadership and values-based, data-driven decision-making, watch the full event here.

Part of a series about summer internships from Olin MBA ’20 students. Today we hear from Ian Belkin, who worked with MUTE International in Shanghai.

I spent my summer interning at a startup in Shanghai named MUTE International. MUTE is an acronym for Multiple Urban Transport Evolution. The company provides green, energy efficient, electric scooters to consumers, eschewing ownership in favor of month-to-month usership.

The business model is similar to the WeWork or Cort models, but functions in the transportation space through an app that provides a streamlined and frictionless set-up, requiring no down payment or credit card.

My role as an intern has comprised creating cashflow and other financial projections of expected growth as well as constructing pitch decks to court potential investors in future rounds of funding.

One fear inevitably shared by participants in internships with such truncated timelines is that the challenges and responsibilities conferred upon them will be rote and lack significance. Fortunately, my personal experience at MUTE has been quite the opposite.

There exists a plethora of substantive, engaging and challenging assignments to be tackled. Since its inception, MUTE has been aggressively expanding into nascent markets and now boasts offices across three continents, in locations as diverse as London, Bali, Shanghai, Perth, and Lyon.

A large portion of my early efforts were spent investigating the financial viability of three additional proposed outlets in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City (to my great disappointment, I was not invited to participate in the on-the-ground due diligence in any of these exotic locales).

Accounting for the nuances associated with breaching new markets is an interdisciplinary exercise: marketing and scaling bleed into operations and logistics, all of which are framed and constrained by the vagaries and realities of financing.

This internship experience has provided ample opportunity to develop and meld the various core tenets of business espoused in the first year of our Olin MBA program.

Inevitably, start-ups succeed based on the unbridled passion and proclivity towards masochism of their founding members. MUTE is the brainchild of Patrick Davin, an intrepid and indefatigable Aussie with 25 years of experience in the electric scooter market and a successful IPO already to his credit.

Beyond the evolution of my technical skills, bearing consistent witness to Patrick’s inimitable enthusiasm and perseverance were the most valuable commodity I left with. Leadership, another often-touched upon trope within Olin is not only preached, but practiced on a daily basis at MUTE.

I feel fortunate to have earned the opportunity to learn directly from Patrick, and hope to impart my newly acquired wisdom upon my return to Olin and upon all future endeavors thereafter.

Part of a series about summer internships from Olin MBA ’20 students. Today we hear from Rebecca Matey who worked as a JD/MBA intern for Baker McKenzie Law Firm.

My internship was nothing short of amazing. As a JD/MBA, I was able to merge my business and legal interests working in the Chicago office of Baker & McKenzie, an international law firm. I primarily worked in the banking and finance practice group on projects and deals regarding private equity fund formation, mergers and acquisitions, refinancing, private placements and much more.

This summer confirmed my passion for banking and finance, and I will continue to pursue taking such classes during my final year at Olin.

To secure the internship, I knew I had to align my interests with the firm’s. I quickly learned Baker McKenzie was primarily a transactional firm that focused on helping its clients pursue global legal and business endeavors.  I also researched my interviewers and tried to find noteworthy aspects of their lives and work that intertwined with my passion and goals.

Lastly, I made sure to introduce myself to the head of the summer program and show off my personality. Although she wasn’t an attorney, I knew interns spent the most time with her and knew she had the ear of the hiring committee.

Prepped well with Olin coursework

As a result, showcasing my global identity, interest in international transactional work, and ability to understand legal and business issues helped me secure my dream internship.

Courses such as Mergers & Acquisitions, Power & Politics, and the numerous finance classes I took positioned me to understand concepts and issues in great detail. I could ask questions about the makeup of particular private equity funds and follow the numbers our business partners drafted for acquisitions.

Also, navigating the politics of which attorney to work for or go to lunch with was equally vital in extracting the most value from my experience.

I made sure to meet attorneys and partners who worked on projects that intrigued me and expressed interest in working with them even if it meant listening in on calls. Being proactive not only introduced me to substantive legal work, but also enabled me to get to know partners on a personal level.

Working at Baker & McKenzie exposed me to how corporations operate in a multitude of jurisdictions such as Thailand, Nigeria, Honduras and more. I have a greater understanding of how the business and legal worlds intersect, especially from an international perspective.

Baker McKenzie is the perfect firm to pursue my global development goals because of the immense exposure to industry leaders across the world. With more experience, I hope to position myself gain the necessary expertise to pursue larger projects within Africa.

With an established African practice, Baker McKenzie is poised to support me in these endeavors. I am ecstatic that my dream internship ended with an offer to pursue my dream job.

Olin students traveled to Madrid and Sarajevo to study entrepreneurship and serve as startup consultants in a new undergraduate summer program.

ACCENT’s July Newsletter features the 16 Olin students who studied the impact of startup businesses in cities undergoing economic transition.

While in Madrid, students examined the role of start-ups in the economy after Europe’s “Great Recession.” In Sarajevo, students analyzed the opportunities found in an emerging economy after war.

The program culminated in a group consulting project where student consultants shared opportunities for growth on a particular aspect of the startup company.

During the program, classwork was combined with rich opportunities to understand the historical, cultural, and economic environment of the European cities. Students visited museums and local companies, toured the cities, and participated in workshops from international lawyers and activists. 

Madrid and Sarajevo are considered ideal cities for start-ups with unique historical and economic environments, dedicated investors, and skilled young professionals.