Miami MBA Global Consultancy 2009…Closing Comments

Tom Speh and I have returned from China and Europe resepectively  and after comparing notes have concluded this was by far the most successful Global Consultancy in the 4 years of the program’s existance.  We are very appreciate and impressed by the effort and results delivered by our students this year.  They clearly “raised the bar” for future classes!   We also want to thank our host companies….Dell, Eaton, Penske, Valvoline, Procter & Gamble, UTi and Dimerco….for their investment in our program and students.  In these difficult economic times, it would have been easy for companies to shy away from intern programs, but we found these firms to be committed and eager partners.

Finally, we would share these thoughts:

If you are a potential student considering the Miami MBA Program….the following blog will show you an aspect of our program that is unmatched by any other full time MBA in the USA.  This is global business up close and personal.

If you are from a company that has business locations outside the US, please consider partnering with the Miami MBA global consultancy project in the future.

If you are a friend or relative of one of the Miami MBA class of 2009…..you should be getting some great gifts from far off lands this week!

Miami MBA’s Stimulate the China Economy

The final stop for Tom Speh in China was with the Dell Team in Xiamen.  The team was Isabell Haage, Danielle Caralis, and Renee Sauerland and based on their luggage heading home, they found a little free time for shopping!   Of course they also delivered on their supply chain project for Dell…so much so that Tom has been fielding offers from other Dell locations to host a team next year.  

 

The picture below is our team with their Dell hosts.

This was the first time the program had a team in Xiamen and with Del and from all accounts was a unique and positive experience.  Shanghai is becoming common place for students to  visit, but a chance to live and work in another major Chinese city is hard to beat.

Final Stop in Europe…Amsterdam

Arrived in Amsterdam on Sunday evening and had the chance to catch up with the UTi Team of Adri Pienaar, Kaywan Ghazi and Christopher Burton over dinner. Turned out that several of the other Euro based students were in town for flights out Monday morning, so we gathered together for some post dinner celebration.
As you can tell, it is not a hard city to find some fun!

The UTi team presented their findings on Monday morning and handed over a very comprehensive packge to their hosts. Once again I think our students delivered way beyond the company expectations….providing real value to UTi. Here is picture of the team outside the office waiting on the “lunch bus”.

Dimerco Team Wraps Up

June 19 2009

The Dimerco Team of David Dai, Francesca Angeletti, and Scarlett King made their final presentation to a very pleased Dimerco management team today. It also looks like Chinese fashion will be moving into the Italian market in the near future.

Finally, after a challenging week of final presentations, several of the Shanghai based students are able to get Tom out for one more dinner!

Valvoline Team Delivers Big in Rotterdam

June 19, 2009

The Valvoline Team of Matt Flynn, Jeff Wallace (both shown above in action), David Franko, and David Strecker were divided into two teams each with a challenging project for the European marketing group based here in Rotterdam. While I can’t share the details of the project, the local management team were thrilled with the results. A couple of quotes by one of the Valovline staffers says it all: “your students got more done in 4 weeks than real consultants would have” and “Miami must be quite a University to produce students of this quality”. Sounds like we have found our new advertising campaign!

Below is a picture of the two Davids with the Valvoline staff they worked with.

Finally, the team stayed at the local Best Western (a Euro version, not a US BW!) and the hotel staff was happy they did!

Penske and Eaton Teams Present

June 18, 2009

The Penske and Eaton Teams presented in Shanghai today with

appreciate host companies sad to see the time end.  The

pictures below are first of the Eaton team followed by Don

and Kevin….with their farewell cake.

Chocolate Time in Brussels

June 18, 2009

A team of  Miami students came to Brussels 5 weeks ago to help

turn around P&G’s European business but found a slight

distraction along the way….Belgium chocolate!  I have never

seen people eat dinner so fast so they can get to the desert

course….and for good reason

Of course, good multi-tasking Miami MBA’s can also deliver

some quality work which they did today at P&G’s European

Innovation Center.  While both projects are confidential, they

were presented professionally to a packed conference room.

They received a great deal of support from Lieven Deketele,

who is shown with the students shortly after the presentation.

Tom Speh in Shanghai Again

June 17,2009

Tom Speh arrives in Shanghai to see Miami MBA’s in action

with Penske, Dimerco, and Eaton. They start with a night on

the town…eating traditional Chinese Mexican!

1st Stop…Copenhagen

June 16, 2009

Arrived in Copenhagen to a beautiful summer day. Walking through the main square was surprised to a guy in a suit hanging from a trapeze….guess the job market is tough all over!
I was able to meet with Alex Wowro, class of 2008, to talk about his firm Radiometer hosting a global consultancy in 2010….looks very promising

Miami MBA Global Consultancy

It is the time of year for Miami MBA students to take their game on the road…to China, Belgium and the Netherlands as the capstone event for their degree. Dr. Tom Speh and myself (Brad Bays) will be visiting with each team this week and observing their final company presentation. Tom will be in China with 4 teams and I will handle the three companies in Europe. This blog will capture the visits in words and pictures.