Tag: Shanghai



Three Executive MBA students from Olin’s joint program with Fudan University in Shanghai spent a week in St. Louis this month to attend the EMBA Leadership Residency with students from the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver cohorts. Grace Zhou, Class 11, is Head of Reward and Benefits – Asia Pacific at Johnson Matthey in Shanghai; Thomas Cheong, Class 10, Vice President, Asia North Principal International in Hong Kong; and Michelle Cheng, Class 7, HR Business Partner GN Store Nord, based in Ballerup, Denmark.

Executive MBA students are required to attend four week-long “residencies” during their program that focus on different topics. The Leadership Residency – which occurs midway through the program – includes modules on formal and informal leadership.

Shanghai emba in STL

Michelle Cheng visits the Ding, a gift from the EMBA-Shanghai Class 1.

A section on creative thinking enhances your ability to generate strong ideas, the building blocks of innovation, growth, and entrepreneurship. Classmates brainstorm concepts for new companies, products, and services in preparation for an innovation project.

The EMBA program provides one of the most academically comprehensive curricula in the country, with 60 credit hours required for graduation. Courses, themes, and residencies focus on leadership development.

The Executive MBA curriculum includes four required residencies: the GO! Week Residency; the Business of Policy: DC Immersion; the Leadership Residency; and the International Management Residency in Beijing and Shanghai.

 

 

 




EMBA 45 students in China

Above: EMBA 45 students Jen Barton, Jared Hoover,  and Carson Pollastro watch as Logan Jones and Patrick Smith touch frozen, compressed CO2 harvested from the carbon capture process. 

EMBA students at power plant in China

EMBA 45 students Doug Fluchel and Carson Pollastro in the Shidongkou No. 2 Power Plant turpine room. Photo: Cory Barron

EMBA 45 explored fish markets, tea shops, power plants, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange trading floor during the group’s field study day in China. Eight teams fanned out around Shanghai with the assignment to visit three assigned markets, comparing and contrasting products, packaging, marketing, and store concepts.

Twelve 45s who work in the energy sector enjoyed a special tour of the Shindongkou No. 2 Power Plant north of Shanghai. This plant has a super-efficient carbon capture technology that was of high interest to the EMBAs.

On Saturday morning the teams presented their findings. Then, Lee Konczak led a discussion centered on the EMBAs impressions of business in China. After the morning session, everyone went shopping.

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




Mei Ye, Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company.

The theme today for the EMBA 45 class in Shanghai was “China is Big.” China has a big population, big cities, big opportunity. Everything in China is BIG. Class was held on the campus of Fudan University, Olin’s partner school in Shanghai – the second largest city in China with more than 27 million residents.

Mei Ye, a senior advisor at McKinsey & Company, emphasized China’s size as she talked about the country’s newest five year plan. The first leg of the plan is a directive for a healthier China—improvements in air, food, and water. By 2030, Ms. Ye says an additional 800 million Chinese will enter the middle class.

We finished our time at Fudan University with Bee Lan Tan, CEO of Columbia Health-China. She gave a comprehensive overview of the challenges and political structure of China’s Healthcare sector. Ms. Tan says with the demand for better healthcare increasing from the rapidly expanding middle class, healthcare is the sector to be in.

Click photos to expand gallery:

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




Olin alum Thomas Cheong, EMBA

When Thomas Cheong, EMBA-Shanghai Class 13, entered the Washington University–Fudan University Executive MBA program, he had already been working for 20 years, becoming a CFO at age 32 and a CEO by age 40.

“I wanted to go back to school to recharge and learn new skills to prepare for bigger roles in the second half of my career,” he says. He chose the program because of the reputation of the universities and the opportunity to learn concurrently from a Chinese and American university.

“The professors at both schools were top-notch,” Cheong says. Even today he sits in on lectures when he has time, thanks to the program’s lifelong learning provision.

After graduating, Cheong became a CEO at an asset management company in Taiwan. There, he doubled the company’s assets under management in one year by building a strong team, developing a strategic plan for the future and forging productive relationships.

“All the stuff I learned during the EMBA program was put to good use,” he says.

“I am thankful that the EMBA program—particularly its courses on leadership, strategic thinking, innovation and marketing—has prepared me well for my current role.”

From there, he was recruited to be vice president of North Asia for Principal Financial Group, one of the largest pension asset managers in the U.S. and South America. They were looking to grow their operations in Asia. Now, more than 500 individuals report to Cheong.

“I am thankful that the EMBA program—particularly its courses on leadership, strategic thinking, innovation and marketing—has prepared me well for my current role,” Cheong says. “And the friendships and support of fellow participants and the mentorships of professors have also helped me a lot.”

This article previously appeared in Asia Extra. You can read the full profile here

Article written by Rosalind Early

Image: Thomas Cheong, EMBA-Shanghai Class 13, with his son.