The venture giant Sequoia Capital doesn't spend time or dollars developing markets, says founder Don Valentine. Rather it's interested in what kind of problems entrepreneurs are solving — and what they can contribute to markets Sequoia is invested in.
Each year, MBA student trips offer a brief but intensive learning experience in parts of the world of interest to Business School students. Alumni or classmates who have previously worked or studied in the countries involved may help students arrange meetings with leaders of major corporations and nonprofit agencies, as well as governmental leaders. Here are some observations from trip...
Saudi Arabia is nearing its goal to become one of the world’s top 10 investment destinations, with plans to spend $600 billion in the next decade, Governor Amr Al-Dabbagh, head of the agency responsible for promoting investment, told an MBA audience.
Zoe Cruz, once one of the most powerful and highly paid women on Wall Street before her sudden ouster from investment bank Morgan Stanley in 2007, was jarred out of her comfort zone after 25 years with the firm. The experience helped her grow as a person, she told the Women in Management banquet audience.
Having substantial cash on hand enabled Danaher Corp. to fund the acquisitions of 18 companies in 2009, "In 14 of them, we had little or no competition," Daniel Comas, MBA '91, vice president and chief financial officer of the firm, told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience.
Two Stanford experts on the finance industry distinguished between ethical and legal issues during a public analysis of the Securities and Exchange Commission's lawsuit against Goldman Sachs' allegedly fraudulent Abacus deal. Both came down in favor of stiffer regulation of derivative markets.
Even when the news is bad, helping employees understand reality leads to success, American Express CEO and Chairman Kenneth Chenault told a business school audience.
After being advised she was "too nice," Laura Sanchez ultimately learned that success meant ignoring the advice and letting her own personality show. Sanchez is the 2010 recipient of the Porras Award presented by the Hispanic Business Students Association at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Richard Rainwater's MBA classmates and friends of more than 40 years gathered to toast the man one called "the legendary financier of our generation" as the Stanford Business School Alumni Association named Rainwater the 2010 recipient of its Arbuckle Award.
In the next 40 years, a global power shift will see today's leading economic countries drop from having 80% of the world's income to 35%, says John Wolfensohn, former World Bank president. By 2030, two-thirds of people in the world's middle class will be Chinese.
