MBA 12s at Work: The Strategic Side of Gucci

Grad: Eamonn Courtney, MBA 12.

Working as: Business Analyst to Gucci President & CEO, Patrizio di Marco in Milan. “At a high level, my role is to support Mr. di Marco with analysis that enables him to make data-driven decisions on strategic business issues. In practice, my responsibilities range from ideating on new services that can enhance customer experience to evaluating the financial productivity of our stores across the world.”

Gucci because: “Gucci’s management team is incredibly accomplished. The opportunity to work closely with these industry talents directly out of business school is truly special.” Courtney also appreciates Gucci’s active adaptation to the new ways clients shop and interact with brands.

Fabric cutting in Italy for ready-to-wear

Inside Gucci: “I travel to HQ in Florence quite a bit for work. When I’m there my colleagues and I will sometimes head over to product development to watch Gucci’s artisans at work. On one visit, the artisans happened to be making Blake Lively’s shoes for the Gucci Premiere commercial, so we were able to get a sneak peek before the rest of the world!”

Job search strategy: “Following my heart. I had to wait until mid-June for my offer from Gucci , which was incredibly stressful at times, but I knew it was what I wanted. I can’t tell you how it felt when I finally got that call.” Mock interviews were one tool Courtney used to prepare. “The Career Services staff has an adept lens through which to view you as a potential candidate since they are constantly talking to recruiters to understand the qualities that really resonate with interviewers.”

Classroom lessons in action: “One that I consider almost every day—and studied in Leading People with Prof. Don Moore—is bias and how it can impact data and behaviors. I frequently come across qualitative studies produced from numerous sources, and for each it is necessary to critically consider the source and how perspective might bias what they say. Otherwise, taking action on the data could be quite detrimental.”

The BILD approach:  “As an MBA, there are skills that are simply expected of you, and rightfully so. Thus to create unique value for your company you must be able to innovate. PFPS is an asset to Berkeley MBAs because the skills taught can differentiate you at any company, in any position, at any stage of your professional career.”

The Milan life: “Shopping. Milan is world-renowned for design across the board—fashion, industrial, etc.—so there are amazing local shops for all sorts of products. The people in the shops here also have incredible passion for their craft, so you can learn a tremendous amount at the same time.”

One of Courtney’s favorite shops in Milan–in addition to Gucci, of course!

Winning Approaches: Understanding Both Patient and Physician Pain Points

Second Place in Emory’s Leadership in Healthcare Case Competition: Felice Espiritu, Christine Chu, Alana Tucker, and Alex Leung.

The competition: Emory Leadership in Healthcare Case Competition at Goizueta Business School, Feb. 15.

The outcome: Second place.

The team: Alex Leung, MBA 15 in the Evening & Weekend MBA Program, and Christine Chu, Felice Espiritu, and Alana Tucker, all MBA/MPH 14.

The field: Included Emory, Vanderbilt, and USC, with Vanderbilt coming in first.

The challenge: Provide a recommendation on whether to implement a Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) system at a hospital in the Emory Healthcare system (CPOE provides for electronic entry of physician instructions for patient care). In the final round, the top three teams presented their recommendation and strategic plan to hospital physicians to gain buy-in for CPOE implementation.

A winning approach: “We addressed the impact of a CPOE on both patient care and physician workflows,” says Tucker. “Physician resistance appeared to be the biggest hurdle, so we conducted root cause analysis to understand underlying concerns and developed corresponding recommendations.” The team’s ideas included providing on-the job training rather than classroom training to save physician time and engaging peer champions to promote adoption. In Round 2, Berkeley-Haas was the only team to create an entirely new presentation in the hour allotted. “We completely tailored our tone, presentation format, and content to physicians rather than hospital administrators,” says Tucker.

A winner because:  Judges hailed the team for understanding the pain points for both patient and physician and the resulting opportunities for a CPOE to improve their experiences. They also called out the team’s grasp of current healthcare regulations.

The H factor: “Not only were we able to bring our own work experience to the case, but we also tapped into the work experiences of our classmates,” says Tucker. “These included a physician who had practiced in the UK’s National Health Service and a former employee of a leading electronic health record software company.” Tucker also notes that Haas Healthcare Association activities, such as career treks, enabled their team of like-minded people to find each other from across programs.

 

Concept…Prototype…Product!

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From children’s shoes to clean shirts and from plant care to cooking, students in this year’s course on Managing the New Product Development Process turned Berkeley-Haas into a maker’s lair.

The course, an experiential learning offering that is part of the Berkeley Innovative Leader curriculum, attracts students from across campus, including from the College of Engineering and School of information. Industry professionals from such firms as Smart Design, Salesforce, and Autodesk provide coaching to the teams, who work on a product from concept generation through prototype development—and share their efforts in a semester’s-end trade show.

Christian Barsakow, MBA 13, and his teammates developed the “Rejuvenator,” a steaming, scenting, and drying chamber that would give shirts a just-washed quality, without the wear and tear of actual laundering. “What most people seek is the scent, smoothed fabric, and visual cleanliness,” says Barsakow.  The “Rejuvenator” steams out wrinkles, releases a light scent and zaps clothes with UV light to kill odor-causing bacteria, then ventilates to dry them.  “All while you sleep!” says Barsakow.

Brian Feth, MBA 13, and teammates sought to improve the plant ownership experience with “Grow,” a semi-automated plant watering system that allows the owner to monitor soil moisture remotely, receive a text or app notification when the moisture goes below a set threshold (specific to plant type), and enables remote watering through the push of an app button. “Our customer interviews indicated that most people value the responsibility of caring for plants, but don’t want to spend a lot of time,” says Feth.

If the Shoe Fits…

Pablo Molinero, MBA 13, and his team observed that young children outgrow shoes before wearing them out, forcing parents to replace shoes in “like-new” condition. “Between the five members of our group we have seven children; and we have all shared the frustration of “underutilized” shoes,” says Molinero. “We initially started with expandable shoes that would grow with the child’s feet. However, going through the product development process in class, we were forced to start with a focus on the problem instead of on a specific solution we thought might work.”

Using the design thinking process that is part of the course allowed the team to draw a comprehensive picture of the problem, discuss and prototype dozens of concepts, and ultimately create“ Smart Fit.”   Made of 3D mesh (a material similar to foam but more versatile and breathable), “Smart Fit is an insert that goes into a shoe larger than the child’s foot and then compresses as the foot grows, so the shoe continues to fit and stay comfortable and stable.”

Sarah Fisher was part of the Joint.ly team, which dedicated itself to alleviating the challenges of the long-distance romance. “We heard through our interviews that couples were tired of the monotonous ‘daily report’—a check-in that tends to feel like q requirement in long distance relationships,” Fisher says.

Joint.ly , a small lighweight camera that can be clipped on effortlessly to the user allows couples to easily capture and share moments from the day and spark more meaningful conversations. Couples may also print a joint album of photos taken throughout the month.

“I was very interested in learning about the product life cycle – from problem statements to concept generation to prototyping,” says Fisher. Having the opportunity to work alongside engineers was also a learning experience. I enjoyed the cross-functional nature of the course and being able to materialize an idea from paper to prototype.”

Barsakow also thrived on the interdisciplinary nature of the course. “Everyone brings something different and the quality of the work is amazing,” he says. “We truly have rocket scientists at this university.”

Career Changes: From Grant Applications to Music Apps

Student: Stephanie Lai, MBA 14 in the Evening & Weekend MBA Program.

Then: Grantmaking Operations Coordinator at The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Now: Marketing specialist at Smule, creator of social music-making apps such as Magic Piano, Glee, I Am T-Pain, and Ocarina. “I manage customer acquisition and app monetization. Internally, I work with product managers to optimize advertising, publishing, and cross-promotion of our apps. Externally, with mobile ad networks and monetization platforms.”

Why Smule: “Smule’s mission to connect people through music resonates with my own life mission. As an avid cellist, I’ve longed for people to experience the joy of making music. With our apps, you don’t need an instrument or musical talent – all you need is your mobile device.”

Inside Smule: “Our SF office has a grand piano, guitars, and drum set, and we periodically rock out in impromptu jam sessions using our apps and real instruments. While most company holiday parties involve hiring a band, the staff at Smule perform their own acts, including opera, jazz, rap, and a homegrown musical!”

Call them Maybe: Lai (lower l.) with the Smule band. Video here.

How she did it: “After spending 5 years in philanthropy, I realized I wanted to make a direct impact on people’s lives, rather than funding others to make a difference,” says Lai. “Given my passion for music, I searched for an innovative music start-up with a fast-paced, creative environment.” Lai say Luke Kreinberg of the Career Management Group encouraged her to network and ask friends about any music-related start-ups. “It turned out that my college pianist friend knew the CEO of Smule, and he introduced us via email. Without this connection, I doubt I would have gotten my first interview!”

Haas connections: Two Haas alums work at Smule – the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Marketing. “I met Jessica Wan, Smule’s Marketing Director, when we performed at the same wedding in 2009. When I applied, she kindly helped me prepare for my interview by answering my questions about the company. In addition, Smule’s CFO, Sunil Pareenja has shared tips on the Berkeley MBA courses he’s found to be most valuable in his career.”

Life Lessons: “From Mark Rittenberg’s active communications class, I have applied Rule #6 — don’t take yourself too seriously! This reminder has been especially helpful as I learn the ropes of the mobile ecosystem. When making a career transition, it is important to be open to change, new ideas, asking questions, and receiving feedback.”

Winning Approaches: Wharton Latin American Private Equity Competition

Winning at Wharton: Javier Aranguiz, Dani Alonso, Carlos Prada, and Alex Igoshin

The competition: Wharton Latin American Private Equity Competition, Feb. 2.

The outcome: Tied for first with Chicago Booth.

The team: Dani Alonso, Javier Aranguiz, Alex Igoshin,  and Carlos Prada, all MBA 14.

The field: In addition to Berkeley-Haas and Booth, Wharton, NYU, Ross, and HEC.

The challenge: Presenting an investment opportunity in Latin America to a committee of managing directors from leading firms including Acon, CVCI, General Atlantic, Amzak, and IIC (Inter-American Investment Corp.).

The winning approach: “For the first round, we proposed a buy-and-build strategy to assemble a sizeable regional multi-brand fast food chain,” says Prada. “This would start with the acquisition of one of the leading fast food chains in Chile, a platform for future strategic acquisitions in Colombia and Peru.” For the final round, Booth and Berkeley-Haas went head-to-head on a case seeking recommendations regarding investment in a Colombian private energy generation company under financial distress.

Won because: “Our investment opportunity had all the features of an attractive investment for a private equity fund,” says Prada, citing the proven business model, strong brand equity in Chile, and relationships with real estate developers. “The judges also found the proprietary nature of our deal appealing–we selected a below-the-radar target company, demonstrating familiarity with the market.”

The “H” factor: Leadership Communications and Finance were the main courses from which the team drew essential skills and knowledge. “We kicked off the first presentation to the judges with storytelling and had a clear outline that allowed the judges to fully understand the structure of our presentation,” says Prada. He also notes that the team’s diverse background was an asset, with Aranguiz having worked in public equity investments, Igoshin in private equity, Alonso in consulting and retail, and Prada in private equity and consulting. Igoshin says an understanding of team dynamics, honed through the Teams@Haas component of the Berkeley Innovative Leader Development (BILD) curriculum, played a role as well.

The benefits: “Hearing directly from the industry’s leading practitioners in Latin America about the rationale behind their investment analysis process, their motivations to invest in the region, their thoughts on the future of the industry in the region, and their firms’ career opportunities,” says Prada. “From fellow students—our future colleagues and industry leaders–we sought to learn from their experience and establish relationships for future deal sourcing.”

Winning Approaches: First AND Third Place, Kellogg Biotech & Healthcare Case Competition

First place winners Yelena Bushman, MBA 13, Kristian Lau, MBA/MPH 13, Ken Su, MBA/MPH 13, Brian Feth, MBA 13, Ji-Hong Boo MBA/MPH 13

The competition: Kellogg Biotech & Healthcare Case Competition, held on Jan. 26.

The outcome: Haas teams placed first and third.

The teams: First place: Yelena Bushman, MBA 13, of the Evening & Weekend MBA Program; full-time MBA students Ji-Hong Boo, Kristian Lau, and Ken Su, all MBA/MPH 13; and Brian Feth, MBA 13. Third place: In third place were Nick Mascioli and Darya Rose, both MBA 13; Anthony Baldor and Chris Burke, both MBA 14; and Alana Tucker, MBA/MPH 14.

The Field: A total of 38 teams applied, from which 10 teams were selected to compete: two teams each from Haas, Booth, and Kellogg, plus teams from Harvard and Cambridge.

The challenge: “We were asked by a large pharma to value the lead drug in development at a smaller biotech acquisition target,” says Brian Feth. “The drug was in development for obesity and had a number of risks that made the valuation not straight-forward. “

The winning approaches: Team Goldenbear Biosciences, which placed first, built a bottoms-up valuation model based on narrowing the potential patient population to an addressable market and ultimately to revenues. “Given the short timeline, and the nature of the deliverable (powerpoint presentation), we realized that the ability to communicate the process clearly would be far more important than getting every detail of the model perfect,” says Feth. “We spent the early part of the week preparing and reviewing the model together, and the latter half of the week building the story and populating slides. We did make sure to sense check assumptions and try and triangulate various assumptions against each other. It was clear that some teams had not done this by the unrealistic valuations they presented.”

What made them winners: “We were told by the judges that we had the best overall mix of logical valuation methodology, communication style, strategy, and patient understanding,” says Feth. “One judge told me that we built the model and told the story in exactly the same way that they would at Abbott/AbbVie.

The H factor: “Confidence without attitude helped us to present our findings and answer questions candidly and with confidence, as we would with a client or management,” says Feth. We were noted for discussing the “patient journey” which is something that has roots in the course Problem Finding Problem Solving, as well as being discussed regularly in pharma companies as a key element of their customer focus. Tucker says skills from PFPS and Leadership Communication also played a role in the third-place team’s strong showing and in their ability to put together a succinct and compelling story. “Most importantly,” she says, “we worked well as a team to test one another’s assumptions and come to consensus, which Haas emphasizes throughout the curriculum.”

Why it matters: “The increasing rates of obesity in the US are driving much of the increasing healthcare costs – obesity is one of the huge problems facing our generation that will require path-bending leaders to solve.,” says Feth.

How an Evening and Weekend MBA Student Moved from Idea to Acquisition–in Eleven Short Months

Amit Paka is not a man who wastes time. Three semesters into the Evening & Weekend MBA Program, he realized he wanted to be an entrepreneur. And in 11 short months, he hatched an idea, relocated, launched a venture—and sold it to eBay.

When Paka, MBA 12, began his MBA studies, he was a senior program and product manager with Microsoft, working in online advertising with Bing. “I entered the Haas program to broaden my perspective and explore all opportunities that were out there,” he says of an open-minded approach. The Seattle-to-Berkeley commute for Saturday classes was challenging, he acknowledged, but worth it.

Courses and seminars taken during Fall semester of his second year, such as Entrepreneurship and Competitive Strategy, became the game changer for Paka, introducing him to new ideas, frameworks, and people. “Becoming part of an entrepreneurial universe leaves an impression on you,” he says.

Launching a Mobile Conversation Platform

The impression made on Paka led him to take even more entrepreneurship classes, network extensively, at least once a week whether in Seattle or San Francisco, and to come up with an idea and a game plan. By the end of his second year in the Berkeley MBA Program he left Microsoft and relocated to the Bay Area, ready to commit to Flockish, his idea for a mobile conversation platform. “Flockish combines the status feed concept of Facebook with the location awareness of Foursquare to create conversation among people gathered in the same locations, such as a concert or a sporting event,” says Paka.

“I felt this was the right space, a big enough market and that I had the expertise to execute on it,” says Paka. eBay apparently agreed: Their event ticket site, StubHub, purchased Flockish and snapped up Paka to head their mobile apps division. In his new role, Paka was able to scale StubHub’s mobile apps, releasing a new iPad app that Apple featured on the App store.

Paka says one of the most important things he learned at Haas is to Question the Status Quo and to ask questions of other people. “If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to go talk to customers, you have to go talk to your investors,” he says. “You can’t just have an idea and hope that it will somehow become a successful product.”

A Full Entrepreneurial Education

Just how you approach those investors and customers matters too. Paka took Confidence Without Attitude, another of the Haas School’s four Defining Principles, to heart in presenting himself and Flockish to the entrepreneurial community. “When VCs connect you to other VCs, they put their reputations on the line,” he says. “It’s a very close-knit group, so people will hear about it if you come across as anything other than genuine, clear about your goals, and free of arrogance.”

eBay’s purchase of Flockish meant that before he even graduated, Paka engaged in a full entrepreneurial education–from idea generation to launch and all the way through the due diligence required for an acquisition. “I learned a lot about IP and trademark infringement,” he says.

Paka says that since he’s launched Flockish and joined eBay, “Mind-blowing opportunities come up every day.” The most recent one took him from StubHub to a group product manager role with PayPal’s Digital Wallet product team, a group he believes is well positioned to develop and scale the smart-phone-as-wallet. The rapid pace of personal recognition and capture of opportunity mirrors what Paka sees around him. “In this valley you have to keep moving,” he says.

MBA 12s at Work: Chevron Technology Ventures

Feriante conducts a site inspection in Kona, HI.

Grad: Jarom Feriante, MBA 12

Working as: Business Development Analyst with Chevron Technology Ventures. “I champion the integration of new technologies into Chevron’s organization,” he says of his work analyzing  promising startups and developing utility scale solar projects to test their products.

Most excited to be working on: “Developing the most sustainable and cost effective energy resources of the future!”

Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) because: “I sought the Berkeley MBA because I wanted to make a larger impact in the sustainable energy industry. Although I have an entrepreneurial background, transition to Chevron was welcoming. “I work on a small team and have a lot of flexibility in choosing how best to drive value for the organization. The role is very entrepreneurial and fits my work style.”

Inside CTV: “I’m based in Houston, but have managed projects in Argentina, where I led a team to identify strategic electrical enhancements for a Patagonia oil field, and in Hawaii, where I manage the engineering and development process for a utility scale solar R&D project.”

Networked: Feriante often encounters Haas alums while interacting with Bay Area clean energy startups. “This has helped to establish connections and more quickly reach a level of trust with new organizations.”

Job search strategy: Feriante participated in company presentations and conferences to network and learn about organizations, finding that he was able to focus on management consulting early in the recruiting season and energy companies in the late season. “Interestingly, I ended up in an internal energy consulting role.”

The BILD approach:  “I’ve been surprised by how often I use processes learned in Problem Finding, Problem Solving  and Haas@Work to understand and address business needs. Procedures I’ve learned at Chevron have added even more structure to identifying, framing, and analyzing opportunities.”

Living the Houston life:  Feriante is on the road a lot for work, but says that Houston’s airport access (and favorable weather) also work well for his passions–rock climbing and year-round motorcycle riding. “The best thing about Houston, though, he says, “is its people.”

Evening & Weekend MBA Startup Makes SXSW Finals

A Berkeley MBA venture aimed at making travel decisions easier and even more appealing has just been named one of eight finalists in the South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive tournament Student Startup Madness. Traverie, co-founded by Gaurav Agarwal, MBA 13, has also been selected as one of the top travel innovations of 2012 by PhoCus Wright, a travel market research company, and made strong showings in previous competition.

Described by Agarwal as “an interactive magazine that helps you explore travel through friends,” Traverie emerged from an original field of 64 startup teams competing for a finalist slot at SXSW.

Agarwal and co-founders Jimming Cheng, and Tiffany Yang will make their final pitch in Austin, TX on March 11, presenting before a judging panel of investors and entrepreneurs for top honors and technology tools provided by Google.

“SXSW has become a premier destination for digital media innovation and we thought it would be a great platform to represent Berkeley, compete with other top schools, and create awareness for Traverie,” says Agarwal. “We believe our team and focus on helping consumers discover relevant, trusted content amongst the plethora of data available on Facebook were what made us competitive in this nationwide tournament.”

Agarwal has said that classes such as Problem Finding Problem Solving and New Venture Finance, along with the Startup Board of Mentors Program at the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and the UC Berkeley Startup Competition all greatly contributed to the team’s success. “At Haas I’ve learned how to create a business out of an idea and how to build a strong team, which is the most important asset in a knowledge company.”

MBA 12s at Work: Honest Tea

Welcome to MBA 12s at Work, a periodic series on the new career launches of the Berkeley MBA class of 2012.

Grad: Jenny Burns, MBA 12.

Working as: Brand Manager with Honest Tea in Bethesda, MD, responsible for all bottled tea and “ade” (e.g. juice) products. Her role includes product development and innovation, packaging, retail marketing and partnerships, and brand advertising.

Most excited to be working on: Helping develop a new line of zero-calorie sodas called Honest Fizz–the company’s first foray into carbonated drinks. “I feel such a sense of ownership and pride over the finished product.”

Honest Tea because: “I went to Berkeley-Haas specifically to work for a small, sustainable food or beverage company. I’m now in the exact role I described wanting in my admissions essay.”

Inside Honest Tea: “After 15 years (and acquisition by the Coca-Cola Company), our R&D lab is still located in our office, right next to the employee kitchen. I’m often greeted by boiling tea and wonderfully fragrant smells as I grab my breakfast each morning.”

Best career search strategies: Burns attended industry trade shows to stay on top of trends, new products, marketing tactics, and recent corporate acquisitions. “I was able to speak like an insider during interviews.” Mentoring and open office hours with the MBA Career Management Group provided “invaluable professional guidance before interviews and during negotiations.”

Classroom lessons in action: A Stonyfield Yogurt case from Wasim Azhar’s Channels of Distribution course detailing the structure and incentives of channels in the food industry helped Burns tailor Honest Tea’s bundle partnerships, marketing materials, and discounts “to better meet the needs of each of our key retailers and its shoppers.”

The Berkeley Innovative Leader Development (BILD) approach: “I took Entrepreneurship for my experiential learning class and the tools for developing an investor pitch have proved applicable to my work at Honest Tea. Managers are often too busy and impatient to deal with a lot of ‘process,’ but you still need to get everyone aligned before getting too far down a path. I’ve found creating mini pitch decks with a few key visuals and actionable insights are the best way to sell ideas up the chain.”

Living the D.C. life: Drinking wine and dancing to French pop music at an embassy party with classmates Asher Burns-Burg and Chelsea Tanaka felt “like such a ‘D.C.’ way to spend a Saturday night.”