Arab nations rocked by popular uprisings in recent months face complex, precarious, and often divergent paths toward establishing democracy, says Stanford democracy expert Larry Diamond.
A program using cell phones to get anti-malaria drugs to the rural spots that need them most is one program that has helped lower deaths from malaria in Africa Silvio Gabriel, an executive with Novartis Pharma, told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience.
Silicon Valley isn't the only area in which technology companies can flourish, says Niklas Zennström, who founded the high-flying internet communication firm Skype in Luxembourg. Populations and internet use are growing fastest outside of the United States.
Believers in free market capitalism were appalled when the U.S. government spent $82 billion to bail out General Motors and Chrysler. But the money saved an important U.S. industry and averted a national economic catastrophe Steven Rattner, the man who led the rescue operation, told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience.
When oil began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico last year, scientists, engineers, and operations workers all had different ideas about what to do. The biggest lesson may have been getting these different groups to work together, Marcia McNutt of the USGS told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience.
Text of Op-Ed Published in Financial Times
The United States has recovered from high debt in the past but there are no easy solutions to today's estimated $14 trillion bill, panelists told a business school audience.
By 2040 Africa will have a larger workforce than China or India, speakers told a Stanford Africa Forum 2011 conference, exploring opportunities for business development in the 50-plus nations of that continent whose business opportunities are often overlooked.
A shortage of middle management talent is slowing business development in Africa, but the continent still offers opportunities for entrepreneurs who recognize the differences between Nairobi and Silicon Valley, say business school conference speakers.
