nexus spring 2009

1

Warwick Business School Alumni Association magazine: spring 09

3

As we move into 2009, the events of the past six months leave many of us daunted by the prospect of what a new year will bring. Needless to say it has been an incredibly challenging time across industries and across the world. Indeed, the events of the global financial crisis have impacted on many of our alumni and associates and we have acted swiftly

to respond to your needs: from careers advice to relevant events and networks, tackling what can appear insurmountable challenges.

I cannot recall a time in the past five decades when business and management education was so crucial. We have a responsibility to ensure our current students and alumni are ready for the increasingly competitive markets and to lead and contribute to business and society as informed, focused and ethical global citizens.

Little did we know when we planned this edition of nexus, how relevant entrepreneurship as a theme would be. Not only do successful entrepreneurs share their top tips, but we learn how to be more entrepreneurial and innovative in our approaches as individuals, as businesses and indeed, here at WBS, through our enterprise activity.

As we strive to securely place WBS in the top echelons of European schools, with a renowned global brand and international community and focus, we continue to be enterprising and innovative, articulating what we need to do over the next six years. As we look towards Warwick’s 50th anniversary in 2015, we have worked alongside other University departments to outline key

message from the dean

initiatives that we will focus on and, working with our advisory boards, key volunteers, alumni and associates, we are aiming for success.

Success does not just equate to our ranking and our brand, although these are crucial, but to our commitment to addressing global issues and creating leaders who will direct and act to conquer uncertainty and deliver value in management of health, global energy, low carbon, security and resilience, international finance, and government, to name but a few. These areas all contribute to the ‘WBS Vision’ which can be viewed online at www.wbs.ac.uk/downloads/#vision2009 and are being directly supported through our Development Fund (see P21).

We hope our ongoing commitment to providing better services for our alumni and associates will continue to bring you value. We have asked you how we can improve, through our recent alumni survey, and in the next edition of nexus we will feedback the results of this and how we intend to respond. As I have reinforced over recent months to staff at WBS, this is not the time for us to be complacent. Quite the contrary – we intend not only to explain the lessons to be learned from the current economic situation but also to rise above the economic challenges and to drive ahead our strategies. We look forward to working with you in this process.

3

contents

Development and alumni relationsAlumni boardWBS newsInnovation rules! Professor Stephen RoperThe Reed interview Professor Alec ReedThree decades of entrepreneurshipProfessor David StoreyThe art of luxury Kevin BakerThe enterprise hubProfessor Roger Mumby-CroftIdeasForTheKids.com Manny Coulon Providend Christopher TanSkyrota Richard Chadwick Jargon PR Simon CorbettVillas for travel Kathryn Bullock Moneyvidya.com Gautam KshatriyaWBS Entrepreneurship NetworkWarwick Entrepreneurs and Business AngelsMentor programme launchWBS development programmeUK & Overseas event reviews, SIGs and regional groups Events calendar 2009 Alumni news

45

6–9101112

1314

15

16

17

18192021

22–24 25

26–27

In this edition of nexus we focus on entrepreneurship6

17

11

25

15

nexus: spring 094

the development and alumni relations office

contact detailsAlumni AssociationWarwick Business SchoolUniversity of WarwickCoventry CV4 7ALUnited Kingdomt +44 (0)24 7652 2813f +44 (0)24 7652 3719E [email protected] www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni

Pam BarnesAlumni Publications Officert +44 (0)24 7652 4396e [email protected]

Alison BondDeputy Director, Development and Alumni RelationsT +44 (0)24 7652 4176E [email protected]

Kathryn Chedgzoy Development and Alumni Relations Officer (Corporate Affairs)T +44 (0)24 7615 0515E [email protected]

Development & Alumni Relations AdministrationT +44 (0)24 7652 2813E [email protected]

Ann JacksonDevelopment and Alumni Relations Officer (International Affairs)T +44 (0)24 7652 8197E [email protected]

Tracy LynchDevelopment and Alumni Relations Officer (Student & Regional Affairs)T +44 (0)24 7652 8487E [email protected]

Ben PlummerDirector of Development and Alumni RelationsT +44(0)24 7652 4188E [email protected]

Charlotte WilkesAssociate Director, DevelopmentT +44(0)24 7615 0075E [email protected]

Jen YoungDevelopment and Alumni Relations Events and Office Co-ordinatorT +44 (0) 24 7615 0171E [email protected]

In–house photography by John Weatherly

nexus is the magazine of the Alumni Association, Warwick Business School T +44 (0)24 7652 4306

The views contained in nexus are those of contributors and not necessarily those of Warwick Business School or the University of Warwick

Design by Morse–Brown Design w www.morsebrowndesign.co.uk

WBS alumni and friends have achieved great things in 2008, despite the challenges of an unprecedented year. Many of you have shared your strategies and successes, both professional and personal. We continue to look forward to hearing from you and sharing your success.

Collectively, our community remains a force to be reckoned with; together in 2008 we held over 100 events internationally, established new professional groups in Entrepreneurship , Global Energy and Finance, re-launched the WBS Mentoring Programme, held our first International Volunteers Day and greatly strengthened alumni groups, particularly in Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore. A huge thank you to all of you who have contributed to this momentum.

The alumni survey carried out towards the end of the year attracted a huge response and indicated that 71 percent of those who responded wish to actively increase their involvement with our Alumni Association, whether it be through the offer of time, expertise or financially. This is excellent news. Over the coming months we shall be working hard with alumni and friends to build upon these opportunities and we will report back to you in the next issue of nexus.

2009 will bring challenges for each and every one of us. WBS will continue to offer support and opportunities to take us through this period of volatility. We already have plans to increase our network of social and professional groups, to invest in the development of alumni online services and to broaden the range of careers services for alumni.

We can achieve so much more during this challenging time though by drawing on the experience and energy of you, our alumni. Never has there been a better opportunity for us to unite and to celebrate our community;

to fellow alumni, graduating students and those just embarking on their studies. If you can offer advice, job vacancies, projects or ideas, please do get in touch.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘The future depends on what we do in the present.’

Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2009.

Alison BondDeputy DirectorDevelopment and Alumni Relations

4

5

as they graduate and leave, secure in the support the Alumni Association can offer as they develop their careers.

Alumni professional groups have developed in Global Energy and Finance, and connections made with professional bodies. You can expect to see more of this in the spring. The WBS Entrepreneurship Network (WBS–EN) has also gone from strength to strength (see P18).

We focused internationally in 2008, as 35 percent of you are based in around 135 countries worldwide.

alumni board

2008 was a busy year for your Alumni Board and 2009 is set to be even busier. Our primary focus is building up the numbers of you who are actively engaged in making alumni activity happen, for the benefit of your alumni colleagues. This culminated in the first Volunteers Day held at Warwick in September, an opportunity for those of you who make things happen to come together and share experiences, find out what’s happening at Warwick and let us know what you need to do an even better job. This event will now be a regular fixture, and the date for your diaries in 2009 is 3 October.

In 2009 we would like to build a group of volunteers to represent cohorts and groups of students over the last 41 years of the Schools’ history. If you have a passion for bringing people together around your shared experience, however long ago that was, then this could be you. Do get in touch to learn more.

Alumni membership starts when students arrive at Warwick, and we are building strong bonds with existing students across all courses to enhance their Warwick experience and support their transition into the outside world

We have been building our understanding of what you need to develop groups of your own and share experiences with others, partly through direct contact and through the Volunteer’s Day, with virtual and physical participation from the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy and Nigeria. In 2009 expect to see a focus on supporting the development of new groups in countries where there is a critical mass of you and building a guide to good practice and support that you can all draw from wherever you are.

Underpinning all of this, we are focused on

• building a better web presence to make alumni and activity more visible and accessible

• helping those individuals who want to mentor or support students in a personal capacity get involved

• making alumni more visible on a day to day basis within the School buildings – all 24,000 of you, and the great work that the several hundred committed active volunteers do for you.

Gill Thewlis (FTMBA 1989–90)Chair of the Alumni Board

Alumni board members join Special Interest Group volunteers to share ideas at the Volunteers’ Day in September

Alumni board member Rob McCulloch trials a new ‘live’ remote access tool

5

nexus: spring 096

staff newsDr Andrew Sentance was one of several new members of staff for the new academic year. With the role of part-time Professor of Sustainable Business at WBS, you would expect him to have another job, but Andrew’s other job is rather rare. He is one of the four external members of the UK government’s Monetary Policy Committee, which plays a key role in stabilising the UK economy against the background of the ongoing financial turmoil.

WBS news

teaching programmes The Global Energy Initiative was formally launched in October 2008. It is a Warwick MBA tailored for the energy sector, together with research projects and initiatives to tie in with current WBS and University research on energy issues such as policy and regulation, climate change, energy sources, and security of supply. The Global Energy MBA is aiming for an intake of around 50 and will commence in May 2009. Taken over three years of part-time study, it will be delivered through blended learning – a mix of face-to-face and online learning, and home study. David Elmes, Academic Director of the new MBA, comments, ‘The global energy industry is facing varying challenges and opportunities. Managers need a broader understanding of the industry, the skills to establish partnerships across the globe and the critical thinking to see options that are possible. This part-time programme also recognises the industry’s need for top-tier talent to remain in the workplace while accelerating careers.’

Another new programme will launch through WBS winning a major contract to work in partnership with the UK’s National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) to design, develop and deliver a new Masters and Diploma programme in Police Leadership and Management. This means that cohorts of at least 50 police per year will come to study at Warwick over the next nine years, led by the Public Management & Policy teaching group.

For undergraduates, a new BSc in International Management will take its first cohort in Autumn 2009, with a target intake of 35. The third year will be spent outside the UK, with English the working language, either studying with a partner institution and/or undertaking an approved work placement .

Finally, our MA courses have undergone a review and relaunch for 2009. This includes new names for the three degrees: the MA Industrial Relations and Managing Human Resources, (previously MA in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management); MA International & European Employment Relations, (previously MA European Industrial Relations); and MA Management and Organisational Analysis, (previously MA Organisation Studies). These new titles better reflect the changes to be incorporated into the curriculum.

At the annual US-based International Council for Small Business conference in Canada earlier this year, Professor David Storey was selected as one of three recipients for 2008 to be given the status of Wilford L. White Fellow, for his ‘unwavering dedication to small business’.

Professor Robin Wensley joins WBS Dean Howard Thomas in being granted the award of recognition as Companion of Honour of the UK’s Association of Business Schools (ABS). Companionship recognises the significant contribution at national and international levels to making a positive difference to the UK Business School sector.

Dr Sotirios Paroutis and Dr Duncan Angwin between them won the Best Paper for Practice Implications Award at the annual international Strategic Management Society (SMS) conference, held this year in Cologne, Germany. The primary criterion for this prize is practitioner relevance.

WBS Dean Howard Thomas was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Swansea in Wales, for his contribution to the field of business strategy. Why Swansea? – Howard is a proud Welshman!

WBS goes greenerAs well as the paper, plastic, CD and ink cartridge recycling ongoing across campus, WBS is now using a higher percentage of recyclable and recycled paper for its printed stationery and brochures.

It is also, thanks to the efforts of staff in the Information Systems Support Unit, to reduce its annual carbon footprint over the next year by around 40 tonnes. This is due to changes in power management settings and the increasing use of virtualisation in our server infrastructure, and represents an annual reduction in the electricity bill of approximately £7,000.

Other indirect savings are also likely, such as reduced air conditioning bills as less heat is being generated by the computers, and longer equipment life.

Dr Andrew Sentance

Sotirios Paroutis and Duncan Angwin

nexus: spring 09 7WBS news

student newsWBS students from all levels of study have been doing great things and winning great prizes. Here are just a few examples:

Jenny Leong, 3rd year undergraduate, visited China in July, after winning a place on the China Synergy Programme for Outstanding Youth, a programme run by the Chinese government to provide talented students with the opportunity to learn more about China and Chinese culture. Jenny was one of more than 200 students from around the world to be awarded a place this year, and was one of only three in the group chosen to give a speech in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Other undergraduates heaped honours on themselves at WBS. Three second-year WBS undergraduate students won prizes for their outstanding performances in the Financial Management module, taught by Principal Teaching Fellow Dr Peter Corvi. The prizes were generously sponsored by the investment bank UBS. Keshav Bhajanka from India won first prize, whilst Erik Wottrich from Sweden, and Nancy Chen from China shared second and third prizes.

The Association of Corporate Treasurers donated prizes for the best performances in Finance 1 and Finance 2 undergraduate modules. Finance 1 winners were Nicholas Morgan and Christos Symeou, and Finance 2 Katarzyna Godlewska and Christos Symeou – again.

Lily Fu, from China, helped to boost WBS media coverage when project work for her MSc in Management Science and Operational Research hit the headlines. Her report revealed that the real cost of the disastrous summer 2007 floods in the UK amounted to £90 million in our local county of Warwickshire alone. A county spokesman said, ‘As weather events become more intrusive, their effects need to be understood and prepared for in order that we can continue to deliver high quality services... this report is a crucial first step in achieving this.’

Jenny Leong

UBS Director of Investment Banking, Marco Buonaguidi (centre) presents the winner’s cheque to Keshav Bhajanka

Antuela Tako, WBS doctoral student from Greece, picked up the Dana Meadows Award at the System Dynamics Society Conference in Athens in the summer. She is only the second non-North American to do so in its eight-year history. The prize celebrates and recognises high quality student work in the field of system dynamics. Stewart Robinson, Antuela’s supervisor, put her work in context, ‘In winning this award her work is being recognised as a major contribution to the choice of simulation method.’

The MBA sailing crew of Bobo Baudin, (Skipper), Panagiotis Anastasiou, Chris Best, Matthew Delaney, Emanuel Fasie, Alexandr Galkin, Irina Motovilova and Filippo Riva did WBS proud in the annual MBA’s Cup regatta, held off the Mediterranean coast near Genoa this summer. They came 4th overall, ahead of other prestigious business schools such as INSEAD, LBS, Wharton and Harvard.

Early November saw the arrival at Warwick Business School of 20 executives from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, to stay in Europe for five weeks and gain an international perspective of business.

Lily Fu

on a high note WBS has retained its top 30 world placing in the international Financial Times MBA rankings, our BSc Accounting & Finance is rated number one in the UK, and thanks in no small part to you, our alumni, WBS international media coverage rose by 12 percent over the past year.

IIM executives meet current students at WBS

stop pressThe UK government’s 2008 Research Assessment Exercise rated 75 percent of WBS research at 3* and the highest 4*, placing us in the top echelons of UK business schools. WBS submitted 130 academics for assessment, nearly 90 percent of its faculty, so this statistic reflects the high quality running across the breadth and depth of research at WBS.

Fore more news items, features, podcasts and media coverage, visit our press centre W www.wbs.ac.uk/news

nexus: spring 098

Dr Giles Hindle and Dr Alberto Franco, ORMS, recently ran a series of stakeholder workshops as part of an Attitudes of health professionals to giving advice on fitness to drive research project, carried out by the University for the Department of Transport. Their purpose was to collect qualitative data on healthcare professionals’ attitudes to the current DVLA system to deliver Medical Standards on Fitness to Drive and to examine how barriers to improved participation might be removed.

Summaries were developed using Decision Explorer software and a set of themes identified within the data using modelling tools from Soft Systems Methodology. One set constituted ideas for improving or ‘tuning’ the existing system and the second alternative views or philosophies for possible system re-design. The summaries indicated differences in attitudes among the various healthcare professionals, although all groups were concerned with the need to collect empirical evidence linking medical conditions with road safety. Views ranged from making the standards more user friendly, providing faster web access, producing a range of simple hard copy guides and look-up tables, and making the decision-making process faster.

The project forms part of an ongoing Action Research programme which aims to develop and test methods and tools for the innovation and development of large organisational systems.

research review

Professors Paul Edwards and Paul Marginson, IRRU, are to receive one of four 2.5 million Canadian dollar grants awarded in 2008 by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) through its Major Collaborative Research Initiatives programme (MCRI). They are part of an international team led by the Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT) that will conduct a vast study of work and employment in a global context.

The CRIMT team will examine the involvement of institutional players in dialogues about change and seek to gain a better understanding of the capabilities required to evolve and thrive in this new environment. Key issues include the cross-border organisation of production and care, citizenship in the workplace and the implementation of public policies that redistribute work rights and risks, new forms of collective representation, and the social aspects of comparative institutional advantage.

In recent years, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has recruited qualified accountants with significant professional financial reporting experience gained in professional practice in order to fill an expertise gap. However, a new report by Dr Lynne Oates and Dr Penelope Tuck of WBS has identified areas where their expertise could add more value. ‘There is less recognition of the other management skills that they bring to the HMRC Large Business Service from their previous careers.’ Lynne explains. ‘For large corporate taxpayers, the increased use of accountancy expertise by HMRC has potential to reduce antagonism resulting from Revenue officers pursuing inappropriate issues during enquiries as a consequence of not fully understanding the accounting which underpins the tax computations. At the same time there is reduced scope for taxpayers and their advisors to ‘pull the wool over the eyes’ of Revenue officers and to some extent a diminution of the ‘knowledge superiority’ previously possessed by the taxpayer.’

Giles Hindle Alberto Franco Lynne Oates Penelope TuckPaul MarginsonPaul Edwards

WBS Associate Professor of Operational Research, Dr Vladimir Deineko, has been awarded funding of £200,000 by the EPSRC (the government-funded

Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council) for a two year project to study how Coventry City Council can make the best possible use of their service vehicles. This research project, called Special Structures in Vehicle Routing Problems will look at optimising how Coventry City Council use their fleet of vehicles for purposes such as waste collection, repair services, and passenger transport. A trained mathematician, Vladimir will be overseeing research which has a wider base than logistics alone, and hopes to enable the Council to provide a better service for less cost and less wear and tear on vehicles and staff.

Vladimir Deineko

Recently published research by Dr Stuart Fraser, CSME, has examined the small business credit market using data from the UK Survey of Small and Medium Finances (UKSMEF)

where summary comparisons have shown that there are much poorer credit outcomes for Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs).

Analysis of loan denials and interest rates points to differences in creditworthiness rather than ethnic discrimination as an explanation for poorer EMB credit outcomes. Dr Fraser notes that the increasing use of credit and behavioural scoring systems, which do not allow transactions to be tainted by dubious judgements based upon ethnic perceptions by loan officers, is the main

Stuart Fraser

Current research by members of the Local Government Centre includes:

An ongoing major contract with the Department for Work and Pensions looking at improved and joined up services for older people.

Reviews of transport governance arrangements in four major city regions of the UK (Leeds and West Yorkshire; Sheffield and South Yorkshire; West Midlands; Tyne and Wear) – jointly with Atkins.

Ongoing evaluation of Local Area Agreements and Local Strategic Partnerships, for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

A major development programme – the Leadership Academy – for senior elected members (councillors) in local government.

The ongoing activity of the Warwick University Local Authorities Research Consortium and the Local Authorities and Social Exclusion Network.

reason for the lack of discrimination in the UK. The research has highlighted a number of factors which need to be addressed in order to reduce ethnic variations in loan denial rates: lack of financial skills and advice; poor financial performance; and ethnic and cultural differences.

nexus: spring 09 9

Since Spring 2008, Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor, Strategy, Organisational Learning and Resilience (SOLAR) Research Director and Dr Layla Branicki, Research Fellow, have developed networks and partnerships with a range of almost 200 companies (including

hot off the press

The Truth about Innovation by Max Mckeown, WBS Doctoral Researcher, published by Pearson. Transforms today’s most important innovation research into 50 proven ‘truths’. Provides guidance to overcome the innovation-related problems all managers

face and improve managerial effectiveness. w www.maxmckeown.com

Strategic Marketing, 9th edition, co-authored by Professor Nigel Piercy, MSM, publisher McGraw-Hill/Irwin. With a clear emphasis on analysis, planning, and implementation, this new edition uses a decision-making process

to examine the key concepts and issues involved in analysing and selecting strategies. w tinyurl.com/6246fq

Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career co-authored by Colin Gautrey (DLMBA 1999–2007), published by Wiley. Based on the authors’ experience of coaching managers, they offer

practical tools and real-world tips for turning dilemmas into opportunities. W tinyurl.com/6xtkfl

Public Services Inspection in the UK co-edited by Howard Davis, LGC, published by Jessica Kingsley. Provides a detailed account of the changing role of inspection in public services management – outlines the continuing

debates about providing inspection that encourages not only accountability but also effective service provision and best practice. w tinyurl.com/6kkrc6

Challenges in European Employment Relations: employment regulation, trade union organisation, equality, flexicurity, training and new approaches to pay edited by Professor Linda Dickens, IROB, published by Kluwer. Offers a deeply informed comparative

perspective, drawing on empirical research on changing conditions within and beyond the EU. w tinyurl.com/5zcqjb

Accounting Reform in Transition and Developing Economies by Professor Robert W McGee (PhD 1982– 86), published by Springer. The fourth in a series about the dramatic changes that have to be made to the accounting and financial system of a transition economy.

W tinyurl.com/5nvhno

Postdemokratie by Professor Colin Crouch, IGPM, Part of the Themes for the 21st Century series, published by Polity. First published in 2004, now available in German translation, Postdemokratie goes beyond current complaints about

the failings of our democracy and explores the deeper social and economic forces that account for the current malaise.

Managing to Improve Public Services co-edited by Professor Jean Hartley, IGPM, published by Cambridge University Press. Shows how management can be harnessed to improve a range of public services (eg policing, health, local

government) by examining them through different theoretical lenses (governance, innovation and change, performance metrics and management). W tinyurl.com/5qvot8

Your GPS for outstanding leadership co-authored by Per-Egill (Frosty) Frostmann (BSc ManSci 1971–74), published by HKG. The fourth in a series it aims to help members of organisations spend more time on strengths and less on weaknesses,

in order to significantly boost their performance. w www.yourgps.no

research review

More information about WBS research can be found via the Press Centre in news and features w www.wbs.ac.uk/news

Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor Layla Branicki

FTSE 100) who participated in the research in the ‘Assessing Organisational Resilience: The Capacity of Organisations to cope with the Threat or Actuality of Extreme Events’ project.

13 round table focus groups have been held across four regions of the UK (Midlands, North West (Manchester), North East (Leeds) and South West/London) to collect data on the current perceptions and action being taken in relation to the risk and threats facing a wide range of organisations. These events were co-hosted and supported by AWM, BT, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham International Airport, Birmingham Resilience Forum, CBI, Co-Operative Financial Services,

HSBC, Jermyn Consulting, Leeds City Council, Government Office for London and London First.

The study and the findings have been showcased at a number of academic and practitioner internal and external events. Bridgette and Layla are now in the process of analysing the data and will be developing a survey in 2009. For further information visit:W www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/research/solar

nexus: spring 09 entrepreneurship10

innovation rules!Stephen Roper, Director of the Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (CSME), explains how recent research suggests that innovative firms are better able to withstand market downturns.

Global markets are weakening and even Ireland, the Celtic Tiger, has moved into recession as declining GDP replaces annual growth rates of 4–7 percent pa over the last decade. In China too and the other rising powers – India, Brazil and Russia – economic growth is weakening if not stalling entirely. So how should companies respond?

One necessity is keeping lean – minimising costs wherever possible and re-engineering business processes to take out cost. Strategies based on cost-reduction will only take you so far, however, in the face of global competition from low-cost economies. Instead, all our research suggests that building sustainable competitive positions depends on effective innovation, or the successful application of new knowledge. Innovative firms – our research suggests – grow faster, are more profitable and productive and, vitally in the current economic climate, are better able to withstand market downturns.

So where do we start with innovation? Well, let’s start with the obvious. You don’t know everything – but you may know someone who does. Or, at least, you may know someone who knows someone who knows what you need to know! So the first rule is don’t do it alone. Innovation is a collaborative process undertaken in partnership or networks. These reduce risk, bring new knowledge to the problem and accelerate the process. Moreover, research at Warwick and elsewhere has shown that this ‘co-innovation’ leads to more and better innovation.

Your choice of partners is also important. For the majority of firms their innovation partners are suppliers or customers, but increasingly companies are also partnering with universities in market-focussed projects. And, here WBS may be able to help.

For example, CSME has recently been given £660,000 to support new innovative Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and CASE studentships. Jacky Swan, Harry Scarbrough and others in the IKON group have also helped firms and other organisations to develop effective innovation partnerships.

Even for a partnership, however, R&D and innovation can remain a risky activity and ensuring the effectiveness of your process remains a key concern. To help firms with managing effective innovation we have developed the notion of the innovation value chain. There are three key links in this chain:

• knowledge gathering – collecting together the knowledge you need to create a new innovation

• knowledge transformation – the process of translating knowledge into a new physical product, process, or organisational structure

• knowledge exploitation – marketing and selling the new product or service to generate value for the business and its stakeholders.

This all sounds very complex but it really is a recipe anyone can understand. Think of it like baking a cake – gather the ingredients, bake the cake and then sell it! The key point here is that this is a value chain comprising different links. If each link is not working effectively then the whole process can be wasteful and costly. So the second rule is to ensure your organisation’s innovation value chain is working effectively.

WBS can help here too. Jean Hartley and John Benington and their IGPM research group have been working with public sector organisations to strengthen their innovation value chains. While Giles Hindle, ORMS, and Simon Collinson, MSM, have worked with firms to help diagnose weaknesses in their innovation value chains and develop effective and creative solutions.

It is worth stressing two other key lessons from recent research. The first relates to the power of cross-functional teams to boost firms’ innovation outputs. These can help to increase creativity, improve knowledge sharing and accelerate further the innovation process. Empowering teams,

selecting appropriate team members and assigning team leadership roles all emerge as important management competencies in boosting innovation outputs. So the third rule is to develop cross-functional innovation teams wherever possible and give them scope and resources to develop creative solutions.

Finally, innovation is something that most companies will do on a regular basis and so learning from success and failure is also important. After action reviews or debriefs, internal intranets and effective knowledge management all become important here in helping to capture the ‘learning’ from projects and avoid repeating mistakes. Rule four then is to ensure that learning from innovation projects is captured, codified and utilised.

Choosing to invest in innovation in difficult times can be a tough call. Hopefully, the rules will help to ensure your success and lead to new, exciting and profitable services or products.

Stephen is Professor of Enterprise at WBS and was recently appointed Director of the CSME. He was previously a Professor of Business Innovation at Aston Business School and Assistant Director of the Northern Ireland Economic Research Centre Belfast. He is currently Director of InnovationLab

(Ireland) LTD, a consultancy specialising in Innovation Policy.

Stephen is a member of the Economic and Social Research Council Strategic Priorities Board, UK Committee of the Regional Science Association and a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He has acted as a consultant for OECD, DTI, BERR, Small Business Service, EMDA, AWM, Scottish Executive, Invest Northern Ireland, Forfas (Dublin), Enterprise Ireland, Northern Bank, InterTradeIreland, Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment (Belfast), Department of Education and Learning (Belfast).

...all our research suggests that building sustainable competitive positions depends on effective innovation.

the author in minute

11nexus: spring 09 entrepreneurship

• know the real profit margins • continuously innovate • nurture young talent • think radically • be pro-active • think and re-think • keep questioning • don’t always look for something new • keep a portfolio of plan B’s you could do

ready for when something doesn’t work.’

And Alec Reed’s final word of advice is: ‘People aren’t remembered for being good business people, but for bringing about change – change for the good.’

w www.reed.co.uk

the Reed interviewHighly successful entrepreneur, educationalist, and philanthropist Professor Alec Reed, CBE, founder of Reed, one of the largest recruitment solution providers in the UK, kindly agreed to be interviewed for nexus.

How do you respond to new ideas?

‘I have always been proactive and this is fundamental to the philosophy of the Reed Group. Naturally one has to react to things like dot-com but then you need to ‘think, re-think and Reed-think.’ Hundreds of ideas continually come in from co-members and they are dealt with, in my terminology, in a quick and dirty fashion. Nevertheless, ideas regarded as valuable are always rewarded even before testing to see if they work.’

‘It is important to think through ideas despite a desire to drive ahead, because otherwise you can leave an opportunity for a competitor. One doesn’t really need to always find something new – you’re just increasing the risk – you can reinvent and bring additional value.’

Through the Reed graduate trainee scheme, many new ideas have been generated and acted upon. For example, Reed developed its own job search engine, reed.co.uk, and listed its own jobs on the site. However, one bright graduate trainee proposed the company should make their website free for the competition to use. Through this radical thinking, Reed went massive overnight, twice as big as any competitor (and the graduate trainee earned a £100K reward). Now Reed online keeps a core service free, with tailored pages for which there is a charge.

Do you have any advice for budding entrepreneurs?

‘My top tips for how to succeed in business would be:

Topics ranged from his second book and its current relevance; to the development of his philosophy from his early days as an entrepreneur. He also shares his top tips for success.

What was the background to your last book Capitalism is Dead: Peoplism Rules?

‘Its content is proving extremely relevant today, especially in the light of the current financial downturn. In an age where human talent is the only provider of competitive advantage, economic, political and social power has shifted from capital to people, and what I term ‘peoplism’ has now superseded capitalism. ‘Peoplism’ defines the economic state where individuals own and control the most important factor of production: their human ability.

‘There has been a paradigm shift – a technological revolution in business has replaced the industrial revolution. Profit margins are far lower and most assets are not what they used to be. Furthermore, intangible assets such as patents and copyright are no longer important; even brands have lost value as products are commoditised.’

‘All of this therefore poses an opportunity and a threat for entrepreneurs. There is more of an intellectual market base to be tapped into, but it is harder to create sustainable business in this context. So I believe that the antidote to these paper-thin margins is the innovation of better products and services.’

Where and when did you start your company?

‘I opened my first branch of Reed Executive in May 1960 in Hounslow, West London, and by September 1961, I was married and already establishing my third branch in Kingston. Rather than trying to compete in generalist headhunting, we became specialists. For instance, Reed Executive was launched to recruit qualified accountants, as we recognised that a different approach was needed to help recruit for such positions.’

And the rest as they say is history… Reed now has over 400 offices in 10 countries and over 4,000 co-members (employees).

Professor Alec Reed CBE is the founder of Reed Executive, one of the largest recruitment solution providers in the country. Reed has over 400 branches in ten countries and online, www.reed.co.uk is currently Europe’s largest commercial job site. The Reed Group comprises: Reed Executive, Reed Personnel Services, Reed Employment, Reed HealthCare, Reed Learning, Reed Managed Services and Reed in Partnership.

With an abiding interest in education, Alec Reed set up the Reed Business School, The Academy of Enterprise and the West London Academy. He has published two books Innovation in Human Resource Management and Capitalism is Dead: Peoplism Rules, published in 2002 by McGraw Hill, with contributions by two WBS Board members, Professor Andrew Oswald and Sir George Cox. Alec Reed is also involved in a range of charitable activities and is the founder of Womankind Worldwide, Ethiopiaid and The Big Give.

He was appointed as an Honorary Professor at Warwick Business School in 2003.

Alec Reed in minute


What is worrying is that despite these improvements in the policy environment there has been little change in the number, quality or performance of new firms.

Three Decades of Enterprise Culture: Entrepreneurship, Economic Regeneration and Public Policy by Francis Greene, Kevin Mole and David Storey, published by Palgrave MacMillan w tinyurl.com/53eoxz

three decades of enterprise cultureWBS researchers Francis Greene, Kevin Mole and David Storey of the Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (CSME), review the role of enterprise and enterprise policy in Teesside.

official government data, over the period from 1980 until 2005, if anything formation rates in Teesside are somewhat lower compared with the national average than they were in 1980. However, the research does not focus exclusively upon official statistics. Indeed about 40 percent of the new businesses on Teesside that appear are not registered for VAT. However, even for unofficial businesses there is little evidence of an increase in enterprise creation in the period.

Turning now to the performance of new firms, we find that new firms established in either the 1980s or the 1990s are no more likely to grow in terms of employment and are no more profitable than new firms established in the 1970s when there was no enterprise support policy. The typical new firm has three workers and less than half have more workers than when they began to trade for the first time. 45 percent of all new firms fail within four years.

In terms of changes in the characteristics of people starting new businesses, we do see some changes, primarily in the new firms started in the 1980s. During that time many more new firm founders were likely to be unemployed immediately prior to starting the firm than was the case during the 1970s or 1990s. This is likely to reflect both the higher prevailing unemployment rates during that decade and the government policy (Enterprise Allowance Scheme) that financed new business creation by the unemployed. What changes hardly at all is the gender composition (30 percent female) the age when people start (35/36) or those that have been in business before (30 percent).

So, what is clear is that the normal indicators of business quality suggest that there is little evidence of improvement in new firms created in Teesside during two decades of policy. In short the new firms started in the 1990s look little different from those started in the 1970s when enterprise policy did not exist.

Does this mean that policy has failed? Our overall judgment is that, in terms of the objectives policy makers set for themselves in 1980, they would have been pleased to see some improvements. For example, we feel they would have been pleased with our evidence that the take-up and satisfaction with business advice had improved markedly and also with our finding that overall, access to finance amongst new firms had improved.

Official government statistics on new firms show that in 2001, Teesside in North East England had a rate of new firm formation that was about half the national average. When official data was first published in 1980 Teesside rates were slightly higher, and the national average rates were slightly lower, so if anything its relative position on the entrepreneurial league table has slightly declined over twenty years.

Our controversial book Three Decades of Enterprise Culture is important, partly because Teesside has amongst the lowest new firm formation rates in England, but also because the area has effectively been an ‘enterprise laboratory’ for more than two decades. During that time just about every UK enterprise policy has been implemented on Teesside so as to encourage the creation of more and better new firms.

Its purpose is to ask what has changed in this enterprise laboratory as a result of the policy focus. It is in a unique position to assess change because prior surveys by David Storey examined new firms in Teesside, both at the end of the 1970s and the 1980s. The book moves this on to include new firms in the 1990s. This enables a direct comparison to be made between new firms created in the 1970s – when enterprise policy effectively did not exist – with those created in the 1980s and 1990s when enterprise policy was in full swing.

A second comparator is that new Teesside firms can be compared with new firms in the entrepreneurial county of Buckinghamshire – where new firm formation rates are virtually double the national average.

The research suggests that if policies to encourage enterprise have been successful one would expect to see in Teesside:

• an increase in the number of new firms• an increase in the number of new firms

compared with other areas in the UK• a faster growth and improved performance of

new firms• new firms being established by a different type

of person.

Unfortunately, there is very little evidence that, despite its role as an enterprise laboratory, there are marked changes in any of these four dimensions.

Although there have been fluctuations in the rates of new firm formation, judging from

Dr Kevin Mole is Associate Professor of Enterprise. Kevin’s expertise ranges across a variety of qualitative and quantitative research techniques: on external advice to small firms, the diagnosis of firm problems, policy choices in business support, firm growth and the adoption of new working practices in SMEs. He has worked for the Advanced Institute of Management and his client list includes the Small Business Service and Business Link University.

Dr Francis Greene is Associate Professor of Enterprise. Francis’ client list includes the UK’s Small Business Service, Shell UK plc, New Zealand’s Ministry of Economic Development, Business Insight, the Work Foundation and Her Majesty’s Treasury.

Professor David Storey was formerly WBS Associate Dean – Research and Director of the Centre for SMEs. David is Visiting Professor at the University of Reading, the University of Manchester and Durham University Business School. He is EIM (Netherlands) International Fellow; a winner of the 1998 International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research; and a Member of the UK Small Business Council. In 2008 David was awarded the status of Wilford L White Fellow by the International Council for Small Business. The award honours individuals who have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to small business and generated a significant impact on the field.

three authors in minute


the art of luxuryKevin Baker (FTMBA 1982 –83) CEO of Thomas Lyte, describes his entrepreneurial journey and the ethos behind this luxury consumer brand.

Kevin Baker is a leading commentator on the trends and dynamics of the international luxury brand market. Born into a family of eminent scientists, Kevin studied Material Science at Brunel University and won an MBA scholarship to the University of Warwick. His first jobs were brand management positions at SmithKline Beecham Consumer Products (now GlaxoSmithKline) and Hawker Siddeley (now BAe Systems).

In the late 1980s he was International Marketing Manager with Alfred Dunhill – at the time the world’s largest luxury brand for men. In 1994 he launched Aquascutum Corporate Gifts Ltd, and built it into one of the most successful business gift brands in the UK. Drawing from this experience he launched Thomas Lyte in October 2007, a new quintessentially English luxury consumer brand focused on craftsmanship, design, innovation and excellence.


My entrepreneurial journey really began at WBS on the MBA course; where I was inspired, nurtured and developed by a brilliant group of course leaders and classmates. Using a case study teaching style, the School produced an atmosphere of ‘real business’, highly competitive, team problem solving, but with a fantastic opportunity to shine. Undoubtedly, the seed corn of my business success in large corporates and subsequently as an entrepreneur was planted at WBS.

The commercial map leading to the launch of Thomas Lyte began during my time at Alfred Dunhill, which I joined in 1989 as International Marketing Manager. By 1992/93 most global luxury markets were dealing with recession. As we shall see during 2009, in recession new markets develop.

A new market sector to emerge in the early to mid 1990s was the use of luxury brands in corporate gifts. Promoted and developed by Tiffany & Co. in the US, they offered businesses the opportunity to celebrate milestones with a beautiful piece of silver or crystal. This could be engraved or etched with a company logo and commemorative message, supplied in quantity at a specific time and to a budget. Clearly this new market offered a strategic window of opportunity for a new entrant.

My first entrepreneurial venture was launched to exploit this newly emerged sector in 1995. Sitting inside a holding company called The Phoenix Luxury Company Ltd, under licence we launched the British luxury brand Aquascutum into the business gift sector. We raised £60,000 and extended the brand into the business-to-business market with an extensive range of sterling silver accessories, jewellery, writing instruments and timepieces.

Thomas Lyte was born out of a passion for luxury and a strong determination to protect and nurture the industry’s original philosophy. The original concepts of luxury were born out of the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement that valued products which were bespoke, individual, handmade and exquisite quality. The consequence of this ‘craft’ philosophy being replaced with a ‘bottom-line’ philosophy has meant luxury goods companies have been big contributors to the closure of craft workshops.

In October 2007 Thomas Lyte was launched in defiance of this erosion in critical product values. In the planning stage we decided on five core values which would guide our product development programme, our marketing associations and our company operational practices.

The team decided Thomas Lyte would be; English in personality; incorporate where possible elements of England’s heritage; the brand would be ethical, ensuring we support all workers who make our products and minimise any damage to the environment through the manufacturing process; to be strongly associated with art; and a modern brand, capturing the free-thinking spark of innovation of English artists from the sixties through to present day.

It has been an incredibly busy first year. In January 2008 we introduced The Thomas Lyte Modern Heritage Award with the Crafts Council to search out and inspire new design and craft talent in this country. Our winner, glass artist James Maclachlan is now working on designs for our products to be released this year.

We also launched our own charitable trust, The Thomas Lyte Foundation, with a commitment to support designers and artists as well as art initiatives throughout England and abroad. We give 10 percent of profits to this foundation and are planning new initiatives.

We opened our own silver workshops, Thomas Lyte Silver, by buying and merging with one of our suppliers. The new company can boast a history of over 100 years in silver

making combined with a modern marketing management team. Our crafts people have made or restored iconic sporting trophies like the refurbished FA Cup or a replica Ryder Cup almost completely by hand. We are investing in silversmithing, with a mission to ensure the industry survives and grows.

The Thomas Lyte brand generated just under £2 million of sales in the first twelve months to October 2008, with an expectation of doubling this turnover in year two.

2010 and beyond will see the global expansion of our English luxury brand. I have always wanted to build a global brand and believe organisations should make a difference to their environment. Thomas Lyte is both luxurious and principled. Our employees will benefit directly from the growth of the company and by the time of the retail launch in autumn 2009, our range of luxury goods will be as ethically sound as possible.

My top tips: • Don’t wait for your perfect idea to come

along. Passion and persistence will fine tune most reasonable ideas into a perfect proposition.

• Invest in technology especially your web strategy – it is the future to brand building and selling.

W www.thomaslyte.com


the enterprise hubRoger Mumby-Croft, Professor of Enterprise, charts the progress of the Enterprise Hub since its inception.

Established in August 2007, the role of the Enterprise Hub is to support the development of enterprise education within the Business School as well as offering services to regional SMEs and other organisations within the School’s hinterland. WBS has an enviable research reputation in this area through its Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (CSME). The Hub aspires to match this research profile within its own field of applied enterprises.

The emphasis of the Hub in the first year has been to take an integrated approach to setting up initiatives within its internal and external markets.

Working globally: Whilst the Hub is supporting different internal and regional groups, it is vital for three main reasons to have an international perspective:[i] it allows us to interact with enterprise initiatives in other countries, [ii] it adds to WBS’s high profile internationally [iii] it allows the School to offer enterprise support to our alumni around the world.

A specific project has been launched with the Gothenburg Region of Municipal Authorities in Sweden taking thirty students from twelve European countries to Sweden annually for a ten day intensive enterprise programme. In 2008 two Warwick first year undergraduates attended. We hope to take four Warwick students in 2009.

Work in the region: A major social initiative with a national magazine has resulted in the Hub supporting four social enterprises in various areas of deprivation in England.

In conjunction with Warwick Science Park (WSP) we are launching an innovative two year online business start-up and development programme branded ‘Business Life’ that will help to improve survival rates for new SMEs in the West Midlands .

The Hub is also creating strong links with the B2B networks that exist within the region. These include Sector Skills Councils, Business Links and Chambers of Commerce and through these agencies and WSP we are hoping to re-launch the Enterprise Fellows Scheme whereby approximately six people with very good business ideas can be supported for a year in the creation of a rigorous company from their original creative idea.

A series of short courses are planned on subjects aimed at helping local SMEs to be better equipped to deal with becoming recession resistant.

Work with students & alumni: There is a Business Growth Programme which has been running for over seven years, and recently a WBS alumni meeting was hosted with over 50 SMEs in attendance. This will lead to close two-way links with the group as we support their desire to be a more effective network and they come into the School to work with our students.

The Hub has supported the excellent undergraduate programmes in enterprise taught to both engineers and WBS students by Nigel Sykes and Francis Greene. The Hub has responsibility for the delivery of enterprise electives on the MBA programmes, the delivery of which was rated by students at 4.7 out of a maximum of 5.

Another initiative aims to look at the provision of enterprise education and business awareness training for science-based PhD students, Research Fellows and faculty across the University. The Hub is also working with the Student Society of Warwick Entrepreneurs to provide a programme to support those students who either want to start a business or who wish to gain a greater understanding of the enterprise agenda. This programme will be open to students from across the university.

WBS–EN: One of the Hub’s most exciting projects is its support for the WBS Entrepreneurship Network alumni special

interest group which aims to be a truly global group within the next eighteen months. Alongside this is a potential collaboration with corporate partners to create a Global Enterprise Network based in their offices around the world, offering not only help to alumni and students but also regional entrepreneurs.

Work with schools: There is an exciting collaboration with the Reed Foundation to look at the provision of enterprise education to the 16–19 age group within regional schools and companies, as well as the University and Warwickshire College. The aim of this programme is to create a template that can be used by all the parties involved. This programme will culminate in a Summer School and Conference in July 2009.

IGGY: In 2008 the Hub was involved in the development and delivery of a two-week Enterprise summer school for the International Gateway for Gifted Youth (IGGY) Programme which the university boldly took on to deliver last summer. The programme, for very bright 11–16 year olds, was a great success and in December we delivered it again, this time in Singapore.

Roger is Director of the Warwick Enterprise Hub. He was previously Assistant Dean at Oxford Brookes Business School from 2001–2007. He founded and ran his own company (Seaking) from 1980–1991. Prior to that he was Marketing

Director at Herronstowe from 1974–1980. Roger has links with DTI/HGFCG, is a Business Fellow, a Management member of Enterprise Education UK, Management member of EFMD Enterprise Network and Fellow of Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is also a member of the Institute of Management Consultants and has undertaken extensive consultancy with fast growing companies.

Research interests: Marketing/Enterprising Interface; Growth and Decision making in medium sized companies; the business history of the UK Fishing Industry.


IGGY students at the Enterprise summer school


When Manny noticed that there were no websites with comprehensive listings of child-friendly venues and attractions for kids in the UK, an idea was planted which culminated in him launching IdeasForTheKids.com

Research in the evenings over a few months confirmed that whilst a few local or national sites did exist, none were close to being comprehensive. A survey of parents confirmed that they too had given up on the web, having found little of any use. This spurred Manny to investigate whether or not filling this gap in the market could be made to work as a business.

Web businesses are notoriously difficult to make financially viable. Making the site free to use and offering free listings to attractions in order to ensure comprehensive coverage limited revenue generating opportunities, but this was felt to be the right strategy for rapid growth and to maximise the value of advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

Manny has funded IdeasForTheKids.com through his existing management consulting

Having a keen interest in providing personal financial advice, I became a financial planner in 1998 with Prudential Assurance Company Singapore. However, after three years with Prudential, I found that I could not really give the most independent advice to my clients. I could write the most comprehensive financial plan but with just insurance products available, I was not doing my clients justice. So on 11 September 2001, armed with the Warwick MBA, I started my own independent private wealth management firm, Providend.

After a thorough strategic analysis, I decided on a fee-only advisory model, which meant only taking a fee for advice and returning all commissions back to the clients. I have opted for this compensation model not only because we are the only one in Singapore doing so, which gives us a differential advantage, but also because this allows us to be truly working for our clients without any potential conflict of interest. Together with a partner, I poured my life savings into obtaining a Financial Adviser’s license and setting up the practice. The initial few years were tough and I hardly

IdeasForTheKids.comManny Coulon (FTMBA 98–99)

business – a fortunate position since the current economic climate is not conducive to fund internet businesses through more traditional routes.

2008 was a year of rapid growth with IdeasForTheKids gaining two top awards and seeing a 20-fold increase in traffic. Users exceeded 400,000 and the underlying trend is for continued growth, driven by improvements to the site, daily updating of content, various marketing initiatives and, importantly, word of mouth. The site is on track to hit 1 million users in 2009 and hopes to average 1 million pages per month by year-end.

Income has been slower than anticipated in part due to attractions slashing marketing budgets after two summers of poor weather and advertisers waiting for the site to build a track record and demonstrate significant growth. The next 12 months will undoubtedly be tough, but there is growing interest from advertisers, sponsors and more recently potential investors.

Top tips from Manny? Make sure you have a good business plan from the outset. Get it critically reviewed by people who know the sector and keep it regularly updated. Challenge the business model and your cash flow. Can you cope with revenue taking twice as long to reach target levels or if a key funding source dries up?

ProvidendChristopher Tan (DLMBA 1996–01), Singapore

brought home any income. But today, we manage in excess of SGD200 million worth of assets, and are one of the top financial advisory firms in Singapore. The firm has also grown to medium size practice with 31 staff comprising of CFPs, CPA, CFAs and lawyers. Of the many accolades we have won, the sweetest is probably the Singapore Prestige Brand Award – Promising Brands conferred in November 2008. We are the only independent private wealth management firm in Singapore to have won it.

Going forward, we want to continue to be the light of the financial world. Not only will we continue to give the most honest, independent, and competent financial advice, we also want to set up a wealth management learning institution to empower individuals with the knowledge to plan for themselves financially. The journey of an entrepreneur is paved with hardships and difficulties. I have learned the only way to overcome them is to clearly know your business purpose and be passionate about it. Otherwise, it would be so easy to give up when things get rough.

Manny Coulon w www.IdeasForTheKids.com

Christopher Tan w www.providend.com


but remember – you see hurdles as learning experiences, they see trying as the first step to failure.’

‘Skyrota is our way of giving back’

An efficient, ultra-quiet, consumer wind-turbine in the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) format, the Skyrota is a synergy of technologies – based on skill sets from renewable, marine & automotive industries, tied together through painstaking research at several of the UK’s leading Universities.

Its inventor Richard Chadwick is an experienced director of global, industrial and educational renown. During many years in the automotive sector, he sold manufacturing plants to Mexico, set up manufacturing plants in Poland and ran manufacturing plants in the UK.

During his MBA, the devastation of the West Midlands Automotive industry began. Richard valiantly ‘jumped ship’, but to no avail, the house of cards fell down. With lots of ideas but no money Richard undertook teacher training and spent the next three years teaching. This time, along with various grants and awards funded by AWM, drove forward the project.

A boost came when the BBC realised the worth of this invention and aired it on the ‘Dragons Den’ TV programme in 2007. Through this a linkage with Limgear was made. Limgear are leaders in the field of robust and working green technology. During 2008 the technology has been tested and trialled and many pre-orders have been taken for deliveries in 2009. Perhaps the most prestigious accolade is to be aired on C4’s ‘Grand Designs’ programme.

Richard’s top tips: • no excuse when it comes to staying ahead

in technology • the UK has some of the best and most

accessible universities in the world • you need to prepare for where the markets

will move – viewing media, attending shows and events

• now you know where you want to go, apply to your local RDA for a grant

• never give up.

According to Richard: ‘You will find plenty of people very able to point out your failings –

Skyrota Richard Chadwick (EMBA 2000–05)

I was working for a mid-sized international tech PR agency, when I attended an international management meeting and came away feeling totally disillusioned. There was little or no strategic plan and the team was frustrated and disappointed with the senior management, who had little idea of what was happening in each of the international offices. It was clear no one believed in the business or its future. I knew I could do better so I left to launch Jargon Public Relations!

I had worked in the technology PR industry for a number of years before starting my own agency, so I was fortunate enough to know a lot of people and have a fair amount of experience. The business is entirely self-funded. Jargon Public Relations is now one year old and so far things have gone very well. We have a dozen clients, all technology companies that range in size from start-ups through to Oracle and the UK User Group.

Managing a business is more hard work than I ever imagined, in fact I don’t think I have ever worked harder, but the rewards and

the satisfaction are fantastic. In the next 12 months I would like to continue to expand the team, bringing on more junior people who I can train for the future. I would also like to open a US office as several of our clients are international.

I feel WBS definitely encourages entrepreneurship. Several of the lectures I have been invited to at Warwick have featured or discussed entrepreneurship and I have also attended some excellent social networking events in London.

My undergraduate degree is in Business Studies and Marketing and my MA in Organisation Studies. I enjoy studying and hold the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) postgraduate diplomas; I also lecture on the CIM course in Oxford.

Simon’s top tip: Success is not about loving the products you sell, but is much more about self belief, tenacity and drive.

Jargon PRSimon Corbett (MAOS 2001–2)

Simon Corbett w www.jargonpr.com

Richard Chadwickw www.limgear.com


Gautam Kshatriyaw www.moneyvidya.com

Kathryn Bullockw www.villasfortravel.com

It was when I used to rent houses for friends for long weekend reunions and discovered how difficult it was to find the right type of property that I found my business opportunity. I thought how much better it would be if you could browse for properties across a range of countries, see decent sized photos and have more in depth information on the houses. There was definitely a gap in the market for providing this online service.

I realised that as the low cost airlines made it easier to book flights, independent travellers were getting more confident about booking accommodation online but were still unsure about sending money overseas to pay for house rentals to individual owners. Thus the idea of Villas for Travel was born as a way to make it hassle free for customers and without upfront cost for people to rent their villas abroad. The web site was set up as the place where villa owners and agents can feature their properties and also get much broader distribution across the UK travel trade.

From the books and articles that I read, the life of the entrepreneur sounded incredibly romantic – creating an innovative and useful product, surrounding yourself with a team of hard working and passionate individuals, selling your product to the customer, and creating a brand that others recognised. Even the stories of initial ‘hardship’ – counting pennies like one did when one was a university student – sounded like fun.

From the day I set out to set up MoneyVidya.com – a Facebook for Investors and Traders – that’s exactly what it has been: fun.

After graduating with an Economics degree in 2005, I worked as a Financial Services (FS) Management Consultant for almost two years. I had always been a keen follower of the social networking phenomenon, and I suppose my experience in FS helped me come up with the concept for MoneyVidya.com. In October 2007 I took a four month sabbatical, and left for India. After talking to a lot of people (prospective customers, people in Industry, other entrepreneurs), about the concept, and then building up a business plan to see if the numbers made sense – I took the plunge.

Villas for TravelKathryn Bullock (FTMBA 1990–91)

I knew I would need additional money to fund the business so, having already put in about £75,000 of my own money to prove the concept, I sought venture capital from Stargate Capital. I was one of the first female-led businesses to receive money from their Trapezia fund in December 2006. It was a completely new experience and I learnt new jargon such as ‘tag along’ and ‘drag along’ when setting up the investment agreement. So far I have raised £550,000 over the past two years and my investors have been extremely supportive. Kathryn’s top tips: We did a lot of research including primary research with an internet consumer panel to demonstrate the potential interest in our service and market research to validate our market size and projections. You also have to measure what works and what doesn’t and this is especially true of marketing spend and your suppliers. If you can’t measure it, don’t do it. We invest a lot of time and effort measuring how happy our customers are and where we need to improve.

MoneyVidya.comGautam Kshatriya (BSc Economics 2002–05), Mumbai, India

It might sound like a cliché, but ‘building a team’ is the hardest part of starting up. ‘No team’, however, is not an excuse. Keep working on the idea – and simultaneously keep looking for prospective team members. Ask friends, ex-colleagues, other entrepreneurs, go to start-up networking events, visit start-up web sites. It can take a long time – I worked alone in our little basement office for nearly ten months before my first business partner joined.

Now our team has grown to seven and we’re really gaining momentum. The response to our invitation only ‘alpha release’ has been great. Next step is to roll out new features, and build the community. The future holds exciting possibilities for MoneyVidya.com: we are talking to stockbrokers to try and integrate our web site with an online trading platform.

It’s very exciting but there never seems to be enough time to do everything! So if you’re interested in joining – drop me an email on

e [email protected]

Kostas Mavroulakis (3rd year under-graduate student)Website and co-ordination with other Warwick Entrepreneurship groups

e [email protected]

Kathryn ChedgzoyDevelopment and Alumni Relations Officer (Corporate Affairs)WBS liaison

e [email protected]

WBS Entrepreneurship Network

18

Manny Gill, current DLMBA student and founder, charts the progress of the network from its formation and sets out its strategy and vision for the future.

The WBS Entrepreneurship Network (WBS–EN) was born from a desire to be immersed in a world-leading entrepreneurship experience. My own ‘start-up’ experiences and MBA learning helped shape my understanding of what such experience could be, so as a distance learning student I started an entrepreneurship special interest group where entrepreneurs, funders and subject-matter experts could get together to explore exciting business opportunities. Interest was, and remains, phenomenal, and on the premise that entrepreneurship needs no formal qualification, I quickly moved the student online forum to the alumni web space ensuring access to students.

In August 2007, WBS launched their Enterprise Hub, and since then WBS, specifically Alison Bond, Deputy Director of Development and Alumni Relations, and Roger Mumby-Croft, Professor of Enterprise, have been incredibly supportive in pulling together a great team consisting of alumni, students and WBS staff who have created and will deliver a brave vision and strategy for WBS–EN.

In July 2008, WBS–EN aligned our aspirations with Dean Howard Thomas who offered his endorsement and support.

Our Vision – WBS–EN will: • deliver a world-leading entrepreneurship experience • continuously facilitate and deliver great wealth generating

opportunities across the globe (intrinsic and extrinsic)

Our strategy to achieve our vision – WBS–EN will: • have a unique and dedicated on-line forum with relevant content,

networking functionality, sharing of knowledge and experience (www.wbs–en.com)

• run face-to-face learning and networking events (see events calendar P25)

• partner with the Warwick Enterprise Hub to bring together teaching, research and practice

• provide help and support to entrepreneurs and investors, eg (and not limited to), business plan construction and risk assessment, access to research and subject matter experts, mentoring, early stage support and assist in raising finance

• act as a communication channel with all other entrepreneurial groups at Warwick

• raise finance to help deliver the above

As a volunteer group, we would very much appreciate any help in creating this world-leading experience, so should you feel you can; please do not hesitate to contact us.

John Ryder (DLMBA 1999–2007)Raising finance, growth strategies and exits

e [email protected]

Peter Quintana (MSc Business Management Systems 1992–96)Corporate relations

e [email protected]

Andy Weller (DLMBA 2005–08)Website and innovation

e [email protected]

Manny Gill (DLMBA Student & Founder)Service design

e [email protected]

Steve Martin (MMBA 1996–2000)Raising finance and service design

e [email protected]

Gabriella Smith (FTMBA 2007–08)Programme leader for strategic themes

e [email protected]

1919

Warwick Entrepreneurs (WE) is a society helping to prepare Warwick undergraduates and postgraduates for a career in business as an entrepreneur or intrapreneur. We provide a platform for personal development through regular workshops and enterprise initiatives. By collaborating with societies like Warwick Action Team Event Management or Warwick Marketing, we can provide greater networking opportunities for like-minded people to meet. We also welcome graduates to get involved with the society as associate members or speakers.

Our Be Your Own Boss business ideas competition provides students with the opportunity to win £1000 and support to develop their ideas from our sponsors and

Following two highly successful workshops in 2008, the WBS and Minerva Business Angels (run by Warwick University’s Science Park) are planning a third free workshop in March 2009.

Over 40 WBS Alumni and several existing Minerva ‘angels’ attended the last event in June 2008 and all were very enthusiastic about the outcomes. ‘We were delighted with the responses we received,’ says Harry Stott, former Director of Minerva Business Angels, ‘to have 40 potential business angels in a room and provide them with all the expert advice they needed was very rewarding. It all bodes well for the workshop in March.’ The March event, again funded

Three Warwick Business School final-year undergraduates entered their online start-up e-resistible in a ‘Be your own Boss’ competition run by the Warwick Entrepreneurs Society, sponsored by Merrill Lynch and Accenture. They came top of over 50 entries, winning £1,000 and free business mentoring for the next 12 months.

The three directors Stephen Leguillon, Steve Barnes and Velin Djidjev – all final-year Management students at Warwick – set up e-resistible six months ago to enable people to order food via a single online portal from a variety of take-aways and restaurants in their own locality. Starting in Coventry, the business has expanded and now covers

partners. Last year’s competition (formerly known as BIZCOM) was won by Jonathan Halpern with his MilkOMeter milk tester invention. See below for more details about this year’s winners.

Our Young Entrepreneurs Forum brings together Warwick students with the country’s finest young entrepreneurs. In May 2008, Fraser Doherty of SuperJam and James Eder of studentbeans.com provided students with inspiration and advice from their success stories. If you are interested in getting involved with the society please visit w www.warwickentrepreneurs.com

Kostas Mavroulakis, PresidentWarwick Entrepreneurs Society

Warwick Entrepreneurs

angels win the realms of gloryThird Business Angel Workshop planned for March 2009

by AWM, the RDA for the West Midlands, will include similar presentations and talks. In June, participants heard speakers such as Professor Roger Mumby-Croft, Ted Stanley, an experienced practising ‘angel,’ and Harry Stott. They also had presentations from Gary Telford of PricewaterhouseCoopers on taxation and business valuation issues and from Peter Angel of Manches, a lawyer highly experienced in business angel investment matters.

Following a networking lunch the afternoon session will again be devoted to presentations from real businesses seeking ‘angel’ investment, giving the event a practical ‘hands-on’ feel.

WBS student entrepreneurs come out on topnearly 150 restaurants, in areas including Birmingham, Bristol, Reading, Gloucester, Cheltenham and parts of London.

Director Stephen Leguillon explains how e-resistible came through the competition, ‘We were shortlisted following submission of a 250-word written statement and invited to attend the final. The team of three submitted a further business plan and delivered an interactive presentation, engaging both the audience and the judges. Our pitch was to demonstrate our slick efficiency, and we finished with a live demonstration of the ordering process culminating in a pizza delivery to the judges. Following a Dragon’s Den-style pitch, four judges – including

respected executives from Merrill Lynch and Accenture – cast their votes and unanimously chose e-resistible as the winner. An impressive 47 percent of the audience agreed with the panel, voting via electronic keypad.’

w www.e-resistible.co.uk

Register early...As demand for these ‘business angels’ events continues to run high amongst WBS alumni, we suggest you register your interest early for the March event.

To reserve your free place for March 2009 please e-mail e [email protected] or call t 024 7632 3122.

Kostas (top right) with WE Society committee members

20

WBS mentor programme launch

20

WBS launches its mentoring programme this spring, inviting newly recruited mentors to meet up at WBS on 23 January. The day is about establishing the key ingredients of a successful mentoring programme, sharing ideas and support and giving our mentors the opportunity to meet their mentees for the first time. Demand is high and we have already filled 50 places. It is hoped to expand the scheme in the coming months. Here the Mentoring steering group share their thoughts on the programme:

‘Whether you think you are using a mentor as someone to talk to or as a useful networking enabler – you are likely to find they will also offer you a broader perspective on life. In these present days, more than ever we need to hone our world-wide vision, and enjoy maximum usage of communications technology while retaining a healthy personal and business resilience to any challenges faced. A good mentor has the potential to offer calm and stability in an uncertain economic climate,’ says Peter Summerfield, who holds both a Masters and PhD from Warwick and is leading this new initiative. Peter, who held senior posts at both Rolls Royce Plc and BA Systems plc, is also involved with the Prince’s Trust mentoring scheme and particularly enjoys mentoring budding entrepreneurs.

If you would like to apply to join this new initiative or are looking for a mentor please email e E: [email protected]

I believe one of the major barriers to success for many bright people is the

lack of someone with whom they can talk in a confidential and non (career) threatening environment – this leads to problems being bottled up and often eventually getting out of hand.’

Don Barratt, Prince’s Trust mentor and Senior Consultant, Connaught Executive

I have worked in and across many cultures, starting up businesses in new

markets and developing others we have acquired. Choosing your partners and keeping the relationships on a sound footing is key to doing business internationally and I am glad to share knowledge and review strategies.’

Brendan Kelly, (BSc Accounting & Finance 1980–3) Chairman, Overseas Exhibition Services Ltd

I’ve benefitted enormously from a number of mentors during my career.

This initiative is a great way to provide current and former students with an independent sounding board and help them in their chosen career paths.’

Richard Hughes (FTMBA 1995–6)Chief Operating Officer, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc

A number of people having completed an MBA, Masters or professional qualification

wonder ‘what next?’ either in terms of career or personal development. A mentor can help by providing new and different insights or assisting mentees to generate options, as well as supporting them in integrating and applying their new learning and knowledge.’

Daryl Rush, (DLMBA1994–2003), Country Director, France Telecom (C/O Orange PCS)

next issueThe summer 09 issue of nexus will focus on Energy. If you work in the energy sector and would like to contribute then please email the editor: E [email protected]

If you are interested in advertising in nexus then contact the editor for more details.

nexus onlineDemonstrating our commitment to sustainability, we will be offering the option of receiving future issues of nexus electronically. In the summer 09 issue there will be the opportunity to sign up for an online version – do look out for it and cast your vote. To view an electronic version of this issue go to w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/nexus

alumni personal & career developmentWant to move your career forward? Then leverage the WBS network for career advice and global job opportunitiesW www.wbs.ac.uk/careers/alumni

2121

WBS development programme

challenging minds and changing lives

WBS is supporting three key priority areas via the Fund for Academic Excellence; the learning environment, our students and our faculty.

The School is committed to addressing global issues through its research and related activity, promoting knowledge for the growth of business and society. There are several areas of focus for research that will be prioritised over the next five years. Here are some of these:

Management in sportThe newly launched Centre for Management in Sport, is internationally unique; providing interdisciplinary sports management and society research, building on the highly publicised position created through the successful Certificate in Applied Management for professional footballers (graduates include Mark Hughes, Stuart Pearce, Paul Ince and Aidy Boothroyd).

Collaboration is currently with organisations including the Football Association, League Managers Association (LMA), the Premier League and Deloitte & Touche Sports.

A critical mass of colleagues and publications has been identified across academic departments and linked to Warwick’s excellent sports facilities.

Research will focus on performance (both performance metrics in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, Glasgow’s 2014 Commonwealth Games and England’s World Cup 2018 bids and qualitative comparisons between performance in sports and arts); sports and health (the role of sport in childhood obesity); globalization of sports brands (both in football, cricket and linking with researchers in Cornell on basketball and other internationalising US sports) and sports and society (the role of sport in inner cities with young people addressing crime prevention and racial equality issues).

Sustainability, Global Energy and the Low Carbon SocietyWBS is increasing research into the new business models and regulatory frameworks necessary for the energy industry to support the world’s demand for more energy with less carbon emissions. As part of research across Warwick, WBS is seeking to understand how sustainable sources of energy can be deployed faster and how greater energy efficiency can be woven into our society. The School is also taking an economics perspective of what frameworks and instruments will be needed to achieve a sustainable, low carbon society. The energy industry is critical to economic stability and development across the world and we are helping develop its future leaders through the new Warwick MBA for Global Energy.

EnterpriseRoger Mumby-Croft, Professor of Enterprise, talks about the Enterprise Hub on page 14.

Security & ResilienceBusiness continuity and resilience is crucial to the viability of global economies, and the capability to manage and to strategise for uncertainty is seen to be a key factor in contemporary business success. However, little research has to date been conducted into how managers deal with the uncertainties created by the threat (and sometimes the actuality) of extreme events such as terrorist attacks, severe weather, fuel crisis, or pandemic flu. One result is that practitioners respond to coping with uncertainty typically either defensively (‘we have done all that could reasonably be expected of us’) or fatalistically (‘an attack is inevitable and will be overwhelming, so there’s not much point worrying about resilience’).

WBS is examining the extent to which business leaders and agency managers can generate a more organisationally proactive, informed and effective stance toward extreme events. The research aims to enable UK business to be more informed in the face of uncertainty, to learn from organisational experience from across UK sectors and regions and ultimately to assist organisations in the development of adaptive capabilities in the face of extreme threats and events. The findings will inform both policy and practice and has received initial funding from both the UK Cabinet Office and the University of Warwick.

The major research themes that WBS will focus upon for the next few years are: • Business & management of health • Enterprise • Financial markets & financialisation • Global energy research • Knowledge management & innovation • Security & resilience • Management in sport

If you would like to find out more or discuss a donation in further detail please contact the Development and Alumni Relations Office.

T +44 (0)24 7652 2813 e [email protected] can also find more information on w www.wbs.ac.uk/about/development and give online through the Giving to Warwick website.W www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/development/donate

Donations to WBS: • Create the leaders of tomorrow who will change the face of business, government,

public services and non-for-profit organisations • Create global citizens who will contribute to business, society and communities • Promote knowledge for the growth of business and society • Generate ideas for sustainable competitive advantage

Dr Susan Bridgewater Director, Centre for Management in Sport

summer ball

On 19 July, 150 alumni, graduands, friends and family joined WBS staff in a luxurious marquee on campus for the WBS Summer Ball. The evening began with Bellini cocktails, followed by speeches from Dean Howard Thomas and Gill Thewlis, Chair of the Alumni Board. After the sumptuous dinner, David Taylor, Honorary Professor at WBS and author of the best-selling Naked Leader books, entertained the guests with his inspirational and witty stories. Then WILD took everyone on a rock’n’roller coaster ride through time with music from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s until the early hours. For more photos see w tinyurl.com/9otbcr

22

UK events review

WBS fora

The first of the WBS Forum 08/09 series set the benchmark with over 90 participants packing out the lecture theatre. Dr Kevin Wilson from Zeus Capital delivered an engaging presentation entitled Fear and Loathing in Financial Services: A cautionary tale of over-exuberance, unrestrained greed and clueless regulation, where he described the conditions that led to the recent financial crisis and reviewed the consequences for the Private Equity industry. The supper afterwards offered an excellent opportunity for networking and further discussion.

Two further successful fora were held in the autumn term: Iain Coucher, CEO of Network Rail addressed Future challenges on Great Britain’s Rail network, and Donna Covey, the CEO of the Refugee Council spoke on Passion and professionalism: how can charities stay true to their values in an increasingly competitive environment.

See podcasts on web site w www.wbs.ac.uk/news/podcastsFor details on the spring series w www.wbs.ac.uk/events

academic update

The second Academic Update in July 2008 focused on Financial Markets – Lessons learnt & new opportunities. Sir George Cox spoke on Innovation and competing in today’s climate. Professor Anthony Neuberger’s presentation was entitled Did financial engineers cause the crash? while alumnus and Honorary Professor Phil Ashdown of Altima Partners chosen topic was Opportunities from the credit crunch. A timely opportunity for the audience to hear the latest thinking from some key players in the field of finance.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

The Telecoms SIG group was set up to support the WBS alumni community who work in the telecoms, internet and new media sectors. The group holds regular conference calls which centre around presentations on topics relevant to these markets. Recent

subjects have included the Liberalisation of Telecoms in Emerging Markets, presented by Professor Martin Cave OBE, Director, Centre for Management under Regulation, and The Future Growth Outlook for European Mobile Operators, presented by Sandeep Heer, European Strategy Manager at Orange/France Telecom group.

Attendance on the SIG conference calls is open to all WBS alumni and students active in the industry, and in particular, the group would like to hear from anyone interested in speaking about an area of interest on the next audio call. It provides a great forum at which to network with potential contacts and explore new ideas. Conference facilities will be provided.

Interested? Please contact the Group Chair, Sandeep Heer :E [email protected] or Kathryn Chedgzoy E [email protected]

The other Special Interest Groups are Entrepreneurship (see P18), Information Systems Management, Public & Voluntary Services, Finance and Global Energy.

phot

ogra

ph b

y D

augi

rdas

Tom

as R

acys

Sandeep Heer

Dr Kevin Wilson

UK events review

23

volunteers day Reviewed by Fiona Williams (FTMBA 2006–07) Women of Warwick network. ‘On Saturday 27 September, I joined alumni and students for WBS’ first Volunteers’ Day held at WBS Scarman Road. The main aim of the day was to enhance alumni engagement and Dean Howard Thomas opened the proceedings. He was as entertaining as ever as he outlined the WBS 2015 vision, plans to expand the Business School and improve ratings. He was ably supported by Ben Plummer and Alison Bond, from the Development and Alumni Relations Office, and members of the Alumni Board, including Chair Gill Thewlis. There was a podcast from Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE who is leading the UK Government initiatives on volunteering. Peter Summerfield, one of WBS’ four mentoring champions, led the mentoring presentation and the enthusiasm of our future mentors was felt by all. ‘During the day, there were workshops on the themes: special interest groups, regional groups, international groups, student and cohort representatives and mentoring. Overseas alumni also tested out the Live overseas connection technology and looked at how this could be used to assist networking, distance learning and mentoring. Other discussion topics were codes of conduct for alumni group representatives, handling of member data, how to engage students/alumni and the draft best practice guide. One of the main messages which came out of the day was that WBS

Regional groupsLondon First Friday

In September rain stopped play but not the fun as the five-a-side alumni and student football ‘teams’ gathered in the small but charming Fusilier public house, close to Hyde Park corner.

And in November, All Bar One proved a popular spot for the last London get together of the year. As Mohamed Bechir, (FTMBA 2005–06) commented, ‘We shared success stories, mistakes and viewpoints on topics from the US election, global economy and the UK strategy in supporting small business to overcome recession. It was good to see new faces and to welcome the University graduates who all relished the opportunity to hear about current happenings at Warwick.’

Thames ValleyAlumni and partners met up for a relaxed evening meal at Chronicles restaurant, Reading, in October, hosted by Jacqui Bozeat (MMBA 2000–01). The support group is keen to hear from alumni with an unusual hobby or interest they would like to share. Interested parties please email [email protected]

MidlandsHaving turned out in force for the autumn term Fora series held at WBS, Midlands group members decided to join forces with students to share in the festive spirit at Episode in Leamington in December. The students welcomed the respite from end of term exams and the opportunity to meet their ‘future selves’ in 5+ years’ time! The dinner party was organised by Dupe Adeoye (MMBA 1997–2004), with drinks hosted by the Alumni Association.

North West; South West & Edinburgh regionsWhilst no events were held in these areas in the latter half of 2008 we do hope alumni are still keen to meet up. At time of going to press we have received some offers of support, which is encouraging. In some places we can appreciate our alumni base is not only smaller but also more widely dispersed and so it is far more of a challenge to connect.

Anyone wanting more information on joining or forming a support group in their region please contact: e [email protected]

The team at WBS would like to thank all the support group volunteers for their help and advice both last year and for the year ahead: Harry Briggs; Miltos Drandakis; Antonios Kastanas; Vanessa Nelemans; Peter Quintana; James Rock; Clive South; Dupe Adeoye; Steve Martin; Giles Mason; Bernie Ritchie; Paul Nicholson; Penny Sykes; Ben Couzens; Jacqui Bozeat; Natasha Higman; Alex Clark; Fiona Williams; Duncan Bratt; Patrick Luk; Dean Cooper; Angus Turner; Rob McCulloch; Gill Jeffries and Martin Noblet.

and the alumni groups could use more technology to improve communication with members and potential members.’

Sincere thanks to all who took part in making this event an overriding success. The Volunteers’ day will become an integral part of the alumni calendar and in 2009 will take place on Saturday 3 October.

Buenos AiresPictured with Ann Jackson, Development and Alumni Relations Officer (International Affairs), in Buenos Aires on 11 September is Demian Martinez (FTMBA 1999–2000) and Manuel Arias (MAIR 2004–05).

overseas events reviews

24

India visitIn November 2008, Alison Bond and Ann Jackson spent time in Delhi and Mumbai, getting to know not only Warwick alumni but also members of key organisations, including the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the India Office of the CBI, the British Council, the UK India Business Council and the British High Commission.

Interest from alumni in India is high, not only in helping to organise and deliver the Inaugural Warwick Global Conference in Delhi in November 2009, but also in strengthening the alumni networks in India and reaching out to the education and corporate communities to promote and strengthen the WBS and Warwick brands.

Working together, in 2009 Warwick and India alumni will deliver: • a series of events in Mumbai, Delhi and

Bangalore. Events in Delhi and Mumbai in February 2009 will be attended by the Vice Chancellor (see events calendar)

• the Global Conference in November • a campaign aimed at increasing corporate

engagement with WBS and its alumni • an India web portal via

w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni

If you are interested in joining the Bangalore, Delhi or Mumbai alumni groups, or attending the February events, please contact Alison Bond at e [email protected]

StockholmSam Brook, MBA International Exchanges & Full-time Programme Student Services Co-ordinator hosted a successful alumni event at the Nordic Sea Hotel on 25 October.

Kuala LumpurGeorge Tee (FTMBA 1984–85) shared his secrets on Investing in Property Profitably with alumni and friends at Warwick Alumni Malaysia’s inaugural dinner talk in Kuala Lumpur in August. Organiser Teh Chi-Chang (BSc AccFin 1990–93) is looking for ideas and volunteers for future activities.E [email protected]

Demian, Ann and Manuel at the Cabana las Lilas

Warwick Alumni Malaysia’s inaugural dinner event

DelhiThe alumni dinner in Delhi in November brought many Warwick alumni living and working in Delhi together and provided them with a platform on which to build a strong network. It was also heartening to see the university’s commitment towards its alumni and passion to promote the university and business school brands globally.

I strongly believe the Inaugural Global Conference, which the university plans to take place in Delhi in November 2009, will help to realise its vision. The Delhi alumni group is enthusiastic about contributing and is already discussing the best way to take this forward. A social event is also planned to increase the interaction among alumni before the conference. Manish Poddar (FTMBA 2006–07)

Alumni event at Tonino’s in Delhi

MumbaiThe dinner hosted by WBS on behalf of the University in November was attended by nearly 40 alumni (including two who

Alison Bond and Ann Jackson meet alumni at the Taj Lands End in Mumbai

flew down especially from Bangalore and Ahmedabad). The event not only reflected the growing number of alumni in Mumbai but also their shared enthusiasm in having an active chapter. A few alumni have tried independently but met with limited success. Introduced to each other by Alison Bond during her visit, they have now agreed to form a core group to activate a Mumbai chapter.

The plans are to create a comprehensive database of Warwick alumni in the Mumbai region (Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa) and hold our next alumni events in February 2009. Janak Sheth (BSc ManSci 1982–85)

Moscow Alumni and current students enjoyed a sociable gathering in the historic setting of the Metropole Hotel in October. The evening provided an excellent opportunity to get together and hear the latest news from WBS staff attending MBA and Masters recruitment fairs.

The next event will take place in Moscow on Friday 27 March and will be hosted by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Nigel Thrift. For further information contact Alison BondE [email protected]

SingaporeProfessor Bob Johnston and Warwick’s representative in Singapore Mavis Ow hosted a successful alumni event at the Trader’s Hotel on 4 November.

Professor Bob Johnston meets alumni in Singapore

www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/forthcoming.cfm

janu

ary

feb

ruar

ym

arch

apri

lm

ayju

ned

ecemb

ernovem

ber

october

septem

ber

augustjuly

19 WBS Forum22 Winter graduation23 Mentor induction day24 Alumni Board away day

04 MBA & Specialist Masters Project evening06 First Friday London social09 WBS Forum20 Alumni event: Mumbai with Vice Chancellor,

Professor Nigel Thrift21 Alumni event: Delhi with the Vice Chancellor23 Entrepreneurship Network 25 Alumni event: Bangalore25 Thames Valley region social

02 WBS Forum03 London region social10 Alumni Board meeting 12 WBS/Detica series27 Alumni event: Moscow with the Vice Chancellortba Business Angels workshoptba South West region socialtba North West region social

01 East Midlands Business Sector talk03 First Friday London socialtba Singapore alumni drinkstba Entrepreneurship Network

20 Reading Business Sector talk tba Finance Special Interest Grouptba South West region social

05 London region social17 Alumni Board meeting 20–21 Warwick reunion weekend/WBS academic

updatetba WBS/Detica series

13–17 Summer graduation

tba South West region social

04 London First Friday social09 Midlands region socialTba Warwick Global Conference: London 2009 Tba North West region social

03 Volunteers Day13 Alumni Board meeting, London19 WBS Forum

06 First Friday London social09 WBS Forum30 WBS Forumtba WBS/Detica seriestba Warwick Global Conference: Delhi 2009

tba Warwick Global Conference: Hong Kong

nexus: spring 09 WBS events calendar 2009 25

26

alumni news

26

firm resolveConsulting, coaching and interim management firm Resolve Gets Results LLP, founded in 2006 by Mark Ashton (FTMBA 1996–97) and involving other WBS alumni, recently launched two new business streams. Resolve2Excel is a committed team of respected leaders and coaches from sport, the arts and business. Resolve Special Situations is a group of seasoned executives willing to take interim responsibility in stressed and distressed companies.

The WBS alumni involved with RGR include Mark’s former classmates Stuart Cross and Phil Ashdown, and Gill Jeffries (DLMBA 1996–99) who met Mark at an alumni event in Manchester. w www.rgr.uk.com

doctor’s ordersCongratulations to Otto C Frommelt (FTMBA 1993–94) who was awarded a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree by the Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) after seven years of study.

Besides research at Nottingham, Otto had study interludes at Harvard, Wharton and inter alia Oxford. His thesis, entitled ‘Strategy, Scenarios and Strategic Conversation: An Exploratory Study in the European Truck Industry’ highlights both a research gap and contributes to the limited literature on strategic conversation linked to scenario planning as a learning process in practice. Since 2005, Dr Frommelt has been Managing Director of Volvo Austria GmbH and is General Manager for the operations of Volvo Truck Center Austria.

study and start-upWhen Alison Watts (MMBA 2001–2008) began her studies at Warwick in December 2002, little did she imagine she would be running her own business within the year. Six years on, not only has she graduated, but her management training and development company, Icendris, has grown to be a highly successful and well respected supplier within the industry. Key clients include: QinetiQ, Cisco Systems and Metronet.

As an SME employing a small office staff and a team of 44 associate consultants, the MBA has provided Alison with the validation necessary not only for Icendris, but also when working alongside such high profile clients. The company offers high quality consultation as a lead in to excellent development initiatives, achieving real behavioural change. w www.icendris.co.uk

making moviesSimon Woods (MPA 2000–03) has become a film producer and distributor. He completed his first movie, The Mandrake Root, based on the comedy hit of 1518 by Niccolò Machiavelli to be sold as a VoD through the internet.

According to Simon: ‘We think The Mandrake Root appeals to a broad global audience and Bluetooth marketing combined with internet distribution allows us to take the risk of judging audiences to be brighter and more

courageous than TV broadcasters and film distributors imagine.’ Although shot in Sardinia, the high-definition film was almost entirely produced in Birmingham. Prior to setting up his company Simon was chief executive of the Birmingham School of Acting. w www.europeandrama.net

business in BudapestWill Clothier (BSc ManSci 1994–97) emailed: ‘After riding the Dot.com bomb wave from 1999 to 2004 with Band-X Ltd in London, since 2004 I have set up a new property development and management business in Budapest, Hungary, and we have just closed our second fund at 5m euros, taking our total assets under management to around 10m euros.

It’s not big in the grand scheme of things and there is a long way to go, but my time at Warwick studying Management Science certainly set some very good fundamentals for starting a new business in not the easiest of environments!’ w www.wiclo.com

hall of fameStuart Cross (FTMBA 1996–97) is one of three outstanding consultants from diverse disciplines inducted into the global Million Dollar Consultant® Hall of Fame. He is the first British consultant to achieve the honour and one of only 13 consultants worldwide. Stuart’s citation read: ‘In a dramatically brief time created and expanded his solo practice by boldly focusing on dramatic and strategic growth, while also sharing his expertise through teaching in major business schools.’

A recognised expert in business strategy and growth, in just two years Stuart has attracted market-leading clients including Alliance Boots, Avon Cosmetics and PricewaterhouseCoopers and his work has taken him to six countries across Europe as well as North America.w www.morgancross.co.uk

independent interviewDustie Houchin (FTMBA 2006-07) was interviewed in The Independent in October under the headline ‘Women change the whole dynamic’. In the article Dustie talked about her experience of the Warwick MBA, the strength of the women on the course and the fact that in her opinion, when women enter a group, the dynamics of the team change, and if the team is well chosen, the different genders can bring out the best in each other and a more balanced environment can occur; such as better listening and negotiation.

Dustie has a background in small business and has subsequently set up the Women of Warwick network with former classmates. ‘I set up the network so that we could all share our experiences. Women do face totally different challenges in this environment,’ she concluded. w www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/wow

27

alumni news

building foundationsThomas Lahrs and Carsten Renken (both DLMBA 2001–06) have set up the UK subsidiary of Kurt Fredrich in the University of Warwick Science Park. They met whilst studying at WBS. ‘Thomas and I got on really well right from the start of the programme. When he wanted to expand his business and focus on Britain it was a great opportunity for us to do something together,’ explained Carsten.

Thomas is based in Germany as MD of Kurt Fredrich Spezialtiefbau GmbH. Founded in 1957, the company has a strong track record in foundation and sheet piling. The company had its first UK order in King’s Lynn where the foundations for a paper mill had to be piled. Carsten confirmed: ‘It all worked like clockwork – we came in on time and on budget.’ E [email protected]

For more news of WBS alumni visit w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/news

appointmentsNick Adderley (BSc ManSci 1979–82) takes on new role of Commercial Marketing Director at BAA.

Iain Hildreth (FTMBA 1996–97) becomes Director of Marketing for TheTrainline.

Albrecht Lange (FTMBA 1992–93) appointed Managing Director of HT Troplast GmbH (profine Group).

Jon Lavelle (DLMBA 1996–2001) appointed Vice President UK & Ireland, of SHL People Solutions.

Ian Lees (DLMBA 1988–94) appointed to the Board of SEB Bank AG as Chief Financial Officer.

Dr Ian Livsey (DLMBA 1989–93) appointed Chair of SummitSkills, the Sector Skills Council for building services engineering.

Jack MacLachlan (DLMBA 1990–95) appointed acting Director of Metinvest Holding’s Steel and Rolled Products division, based in Ukraine.

Premal Madhavji (FTMBA 1992–93) joined Goldman Sachs as Vice President – Head of Sales Trading India, based in Mumbai.

Gerardo Montoya (EMBA 2002–05) appointed VP Business Development for Latin America at Volvo Financial Services based in Curitiba, Brazil.

Teh Chi-Chang (BSc AccFin 1990–93) is Economic Advisor to Penang Chief Minister and Democratic Action Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Adrian Wooldridge (FTMBA 1999–00) promoted to Freight Trading Manager for Oil and Products Shipping in Shell’s Barbados office.

Dr Mark Wyatt (MMBA 2001–04) appointed Manager, Biosciences Ventures, for the Imperial Innovations Group plc.

Leo Yip (DLMBA 1987–91) appointed Deputy Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

new openingDavid Myers (FTMBA 99–00) is CEO of Sleeperz Hotels, a new company seeking to establish a chain of compact lifestyle hotels throughout the UK, appealing to both business and leisure travellers. November 2008 saw the opening of their first hotel in Cardiff. David explains: ‘Sleeperz will offer an affordable and quality alternative to mainstream limited service hotels and the more expensive mid market hotels in the Welsh capital. The site in Cardiff fits perfectly with our ethos of utilising irregular shaped sites very close to mainline railway stations to create distinctive landmark buildings.’

Similar developments are expected to be introduced in Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Winchester. w www.sleeperz.com

update from AustraliaProfessor Gary Stockport (FTMBA 1986–87) is Professor in Strategic Management and Director of the Executive MBA Programme at The University of Western Australia Business School. He runs his own strategy consultancy company and has consulted and taught Executive Programmes for over 50 organisations in many countries including Alcoa, BHP Billiton and Mittal Steel in Australia and South Africa.

Gary has recently published a strategic analysis of Amazon.com in Johnson, Scholes and Whittingham’s textbook, Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases published by Prentice Hall.

28

visit us at www.wbs.ac.uk/alumnior call us on +44 (0)24 7652 2813or email us at [email protected]

Connect, learn, developh Online directory of alumnih Access to Business Source Alumni Editionh Calendar of forthcoming eventsh Latest school and alumni newsh Volunteer alumni mentorsh Career resources and vacanciesh Networking opportunities

To login to view the directory or online journals you will need your alumni number. This is your old student number and is printed on the address and update sheet enclosed with your magazine. Alternatively you can contact the Alumni Association, [email protected], who will supply it to you.