tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2009:/nicholascenter/blog//14 2009-03-18T15:33:37Z Movable Type Open Source 4.1 tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2009:/nicholascenter/blog//14.1010 2009-03-18T15:10:46Z 2009-03-18T15:33:37Z

by Kevin Urbani, Nicholas 2009 You are a finalist! I am a student in the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking Specialization at the Wisconsin School of Business MBA program. I recently participated in a worldwide business plan competition. The premise...

Barb Peterson http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter by Kevin Urbani, Nicholas 2009 You are a finalist! I am a student in the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking Specialization at the Wisconsin School of Business MBA program. I recently participated in a worldwide business plan competition. The premise of the competition was to create a business plan which would provide a small island the resources to power the island with windmills. I was excited about the broad scope of the competition because it required me to think about multiple aspects of business not just the finance piece. I entered this competition just before Thanksgiving break in 2008. That Friday I received a message from the competition committee with four simple words in the subject line, "You are a finalist." I could not believe it! I was invited to fly to Copenhagen to compete against business students from around the world. It was then I realized how the University of Wisconsin MBA program prepared me to compete on an international level. As promised I met with students from all around the world. A student from the University of Singapore made the trip as well as students from Berlin and Ireland. There were quite a few Americans there but, there was also an American studying in Spain, and an Englishman studying in New York. I did not get the opportunity to see the other competitors' presentations, but simply looking through their slides I realized that I was competing against some of the smartest people in the world. While I did not win the competition, I can truly say that it was an honor just to have the opportunity to compete against these individuals. I believe the University of Wisconsin prepared me for that day as well as any of the other schools represented. My focus on finance allowed me to create a plan to finance the business. In addition, the core curriculum that I received equipped me to tackle other business problems such as marketing and strategy. I am grateful for the experience that I was awarded and thankful for the preparation that I received. ]]> tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2009:/nicholascenter/blog//14.1000 2009-02-19T18:15:40Z 2009-03-18T15:35:59Z

by Kevin Urbani (Nicholas 2009) The University of Wisconsin-Madison was recently named the winner of the ACG Cup for the Wisconsin Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG). The ACG provides a network for individuals that focus on corporation...

Barb Peterson http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2008:/nicholascenter/blog//14.926 2008-10-07T13:54:38Z 2008-10-07T14:02:02Z

by Papi Valmond (Nicholas 2010) Upon arriving in DC on Thursday night, I took the advice of many people who had previously attended the conference and sprung for the hotel nearest the event. It is a good thing because as...

Barb Peterson http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter by Papi Valmond (Nicholas 2010) Upon arriving in DC on Thursday night, I took the advice of many people who had previously attended the conference and sprung for the hotel nearest the event. It is a good thing because as I approached the lobby I could already tell there was a lot going on. I ran to my room for a costume change and went to my first corporate reception with Citi. Like many of these career events, there were more people than recruiters so my strategy was to try and make some meaningful interactions. Next was a closed event organized by AIG, but hosted by all of the big investment banks. I met some really nice people from Goldman and Deutsche Bank, not to mention some dynamic students as well. That night everyone was going out to meet at Love (apparently "the" night spot) to party all night. In retrospect, I wished I would have gone because I heard that many of the recruiters went out. The following day was the main day of the Career Fair. I had my list of people to hit and my elevator pitch ready, but once you get there it is almost intimidating. There were over 450 companies with elaborate booths and give-aways. I didn't get to all of the booths that I intended to, but once again I had some memorable engagements with some recruiters and even bumped into some friends I made from the Consortium Orientation Program back in June. All and all, it was a great time, I had a stack of business cards to follow up with when I returned to Madison. I definitely recommend this event for anyone looking for a leg up on the recruiting season and needless to say I will be back next year. tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2008:/nicholascenter/blog//14.919 2008-09-29T13:34:07Z 2008-09-29T14:56:30Z

by Apurv Johari (Nicholas 2010) Having little idea about case interviews and being excited about them, I was looking forward to the workshop "Crack the Case". This was David's second visit to the school. Nicholas students were privileged to have...

Barb Peterson http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter by Apurv Johari (Nicholas 2010) Having little idea about case interviews and being excited about them, I was looking forward to the workshop "Crack the Case". This was David's second visit to the school. Nicholas students were privileged to have a complete two hour exercise with him on top of the regular session that was being hosted in the newly inaugurated Plenary room. David was a former Manager at Bain & Company and now runs his own institute coaching about case interviews. For those who are not aware about case interviews, they are generally used by consulting firms to evaluate candidates. The broad skill set and limited time to accomplish things is what the case interview best measures. We started with the session and it was far more interactive than expected. David began with an explanation of the open approach for looking at problems, no matter how weird they may same. If there was one thing that everyone walked away from the session with, it was what is the best way to get started with the most horrible looking cases. It's simple, just look for the breadth of the issues you can think of, and then look for depth in each of them. Some answers may seem to be stupid, but don't discard them, note them down. The paper, pen and notes are your best friends for the case interview. What I really liked was the engaging approach of the program. After having a lesson of some key strategies, we were split into groups. All of us had least expected to have a case interview, with each other, right at that moment. I had no idea how we would handle these interviews. To top that off, we got the ugliest of the questions: "How many cabs are there in New York" and "How do you reduce the fuel costs of an airline". Trying our hands at the approach that we had just learned, we were happy to reach quite near the solutions to these problems. The session continued with input from all classmates on their experiences and problem solving methods. We frequently got involved in small exercises about how to do financial, marketing, and a whole bunch of other management analysis. The best part of these exercises was to make presentable notes and to tactfully ask questions to the interviewer, to act as clues to crack the case. As I thought, the toughest portion of the exercise was over, David then asked someone to volunteer for a "Mock" case interview. Feeling that it would be the best thing to do to learn from the session, I volunteered, and believe me, I had no idea of what was coming my way. Whithin moments I was interviewing, that too, in front of the entire class. It was an awkward but exciting feeling. David eased the pressure by throwing a couple of interview questions to the other classmates. We did a case on a manufacturing firm and I walked out with a great experience of being Case Interviewed. We wrapped up the first section and made our way to the next session in the Plenary room. All of the other MBA students waited there for the presentation to start. Some of the things that he said there were already known to the Nicholas Center students. He put up an interesting case about Canadian currency. Although I did not answer many of the questions that were thrown at the audience, I knew that I had answers to nearly all of them. Now when I look back on the afternoon that we started the "Crack the Case" session, I am reminded at how much I learned in just one day regarding these types of interviews. If someone asked me about the main takeaway of this session, I would say that now I look beyond the case interviews and try to solve many day-to-day business problems with a "Crack the Case" approach. tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2008:/nicholascenter/blog//14.917 2008-09-23T17:46:27Z 2008-09-23T17:55:23Z

by Peter O'Leary (Nicholas 2010) John Oros Jr's' 44th email of the week specified (again) the dress code. He need not have worried. He could be sure no students would raise eyebrows in even their most outrageous rabble wear when...

Barb Peterson http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter by Peter O'Leary (Nicholas 2010) John Oros Jr's' 44th email of the week specified (again) the dress code. He need not have worried. He could be sure no students would raise eyebrows in even their most outrageous rabble wear when Dean Knetter arrived at University Ridge Golf Course in a pair of shorts so gaudy they'd give Boo Weekley heartburn down in Kentucky! Shortly after lunch and drinks, sixty plus golfers got underway with a shotgun start. My playing partners and I teed off from the 2nd minus our alumnus fourth member who was stuck in traffic coming from Milwaukee. Now I don't claim to be a great golfer, or even a good one, but the quality of golf that shanked left and right off my oversized borrowed clubs (thanks John) was truly awful. Nonetheless, my partners were on fire and post arrival of our last member the game was on. Birdies at the 2nd, 4th and 5th put us on a high, but a bogey on the 6th erased our momentum almost as soon as it arrived. We'd heard some whooping and hollering of an extremely enthusiastic student alumni foursome in front of us so we knew our 2 under wasn't going to cut it. The "Beat the Dean" competition on the forth was our sole remaining opportunity to make our mark. Two excellent shots to within 12 ft left us in a strong position. Then up stepped Dean 'Tiger' Knetter with a superb 7 iron to what looked like 10 ft from the pin. Closer inspection gave us the win by a hairs length which may or may not have been poetic justice for those shorts... We battled bravely through the sunny afternoon but the pars piled up and we ran out of holes. Alas, it wasn't to be. The GBA Golf Day however was never about quality on the course but having a bit of fun with the guys who've been where we are in the Wisconsin MBA. I believe I wasn't the only one to take such a philosophical approach...there were some brutal golfers out there who also "chose" to enjoy the day rather than the competition. And that much was achieved. Everybody seemed to have a great time. Thanks to John Oros Jr. and the Graduate Business Association for organizing a hugely enjoyable event for the alumni and students alike. You can guarantee I'll be looking to make a bigger impact on the leader board next year. tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2008:/nicholascenter/blog//14.910 2008-09-16T15:19:29Z 2008-09-16T16:05:34Z

by Courtney Carlovsky (Nicholas 2010) My fellow Nicholas Center first-years and I attended the Economic Outlook Conference on September 12th. The four speakers presenting their thoughts on the economy were: Charles Payne, Principal Analyst and CEO Wall Street Strategies; Anirvan...

Barb Peterson http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter by Courtney Carlovsky (Nicholas 2010) My fellow Nicholas Center first-years and I attended the Economic Outlook Conference on September 12th. The four speakers presenting their thoughts on the economy were: Charles Payne, Principal Analyst and CEO Wall Street Strategies; Anirvan Banerji, Director of Research Economic Research Institute (ECRI); Doug Ramsey, CFA Leuthold Weeden Capital Management; and Clare Zempel, Principal Zempel Strategic. Each had his own view on what is going on currently in the economy, how we got there, and where it is likely headed over the next year. Some were messages of optimism while others were a bit more pessimistic. Overall, each agreed that we are in a recession; though, there were some varying thoughts regarding how much longer the recession would last. The signs of this recession were there early but its arrival was delayed due to a lack of volatility in the system. The majority of the speakers provided historical indicators of all recessions, including this one. The indicators followed the same pattern for this recession as those in the past. When times get tough, people often ask, "What is the government going to do to help us out"? However, there is only so much the government can do for the economy while we ride out a recession.

Charles Payne - America has to get back to embracing competition and intelligence because the days of non-competition are over. America will continue to fall further behind in the world economy if we continue to embrace the status quo.

Anrivan Banerji - Pessimistic views about the recession present an opportunity for businesses in the United States. He emphasized that timing is everything.

Doug Ramsey - The yield curve predicted the last three recessions. The stock market leads the economy by 6-9 months and as the stock market improves the economy will follow within the next year.

Clare Zempel - Housing has had a downward drag on the economy. The leading indicators, such as Real GDP, will improve as the housing market improves. While the housing climate has been bad, its affect on indicators could be worse. It was interesting to hear the different views about the economy and how a recession is measured through the eyes of different industry leaders. Only time will tell how all of this will play out. ]]> tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2008:/nicholascenter/blog//14.893 2008-08-29T13:25:44Z 2008-08-29T13:42:52Z

by Deanna Olson (Nicholas 2009) During my 12-week internship with Best Buy, I was able to really get a feel for what a Senior Financial Analyst does on a day-to-day basis. My position was in the Properties Group, supporting the...

Barb Peterson http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter by Deanna Olson (Nicholas 2009) During my 12-week internship with Best Buy, I was able to really get a feel for what a Senior Financial Analyst does on a day-to-day basis. My position was in the Properties Group, supporting the Real Estate team. My work was focused on helping the team to decide which possible locations for new stores would add the most value to Best Buy. I completed many projects and ad hoc requests during the summer, but there were three major initiatives I was able to support during my time with the company. In the New Store Opening Audit, I helped my team review new stores opened during Best Buy's 2007 fiscal year to determine if they had performed as our model predicted in terms of revenues and expenses. With this information in hand, I helped the team to determine what changes should be made in the predictive modeling process going forward so that they have a more accurate forecast for the profitability of new stores. This will help the team to be more accurate in their assessment of possible new store locations. A second project I worked on was helping the Environmental Affairs team assess the financial impact of rolling out Best Buy's consumer electronics recycling program nationwide. Finally, as part of the Summer Interns project, my team and I helped Best Buy create its own Eco-Labeling program to inform consumers about how Best Buy is going green, about Best Buy's consumer electronics recycling program, and to better educate the consumer so that they can determine which products they buy are most energy efficient when they are shopping our stores. I have really enjoyed my time at Best Buy. The people I met were smart, helpful, patient, and dedicated to doing great work for the company. The company's culture was relaxed and fun, and the internship program is well-organized and well-respected within the firm. I would highly recommend an internship at Best Buy to any student. tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2008:/nicholascenter/blog//14.888 2008-08-19T17:19:25Z 2008-08-19T18:42:44Z

by Andy Bruno (Nicholas 2009) Our adventure to Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting began with a seven hour car ride through the rolling hills of the Midwest, arriving in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday afternoon. The car was filled with eager...

Barb Peterson http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter by Andy Bruno (Nicholas 2009) Our adventure to Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting began with a seven hour car ride through the rolling hills of the Midwest, arriving in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday afternoon. The car was filled with eager Wisconsin MBA students thrilled to have the opportunity to listen to arguably the two greatest value investors of our time. Friday night consisted of eating at Gorats, which is a popular steakhouse often frequented by Warren Buffet. Luckily we made a reservation in advance, otherwise there was no chance we would have been seated. The place was packed wtih people who would be attending the shareholder meeting the next day. Saturday morning was the shareholder meeting, held at the Qwest Center. We woke up early to get in line, hoping to grab decent seats among the 30,000 plus who were expected to attend. Arriving at the Qwest Center at 6:00am with the doors opening at 7:00am, we found ourselves not first in line, nor were we the last. We were in the middle of a long line that curled around the outside of the stadium. Fortunately, another student had awoke at the crack of dawn and was at the front of the line, which resulted in our Wisconsin MBA group sitting on the floor about 25 rows from the "Legend of Omaha". I would recommend individuals who have a passion for valuation to attend this shareholder meeting. It was very educational, while very entertaining. Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger answered all the audience's questions, incorporating jokes to keep the audience entertained. In response to one question, Buffet did mention that the most important class MBAs could take was Valuation, which is one of the favorite classes in the Nicholas Center curriculum. We ended the exciting day with dinner in the Old Market District of Omaha, which was a great way for all of us to end an eventful and memorable weekend. tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2008:/acfin/blog//14.839 2008-04-16T20:37:58Z 2008-04-16T20:40:02Z

Crack the Case Workshop by Armah Ngafua When I heard that the “MBA Case” founder, David Ohvall was coming to campus to host a workshop on how to crack a case interview I was very excited. In July 2007, I...

Scott Davis Crack the Case Workshop by Armah Ngafua When I heard that the “MBA Case” founder, David Ohvall was coming to campus to host a workshop on how to crack a case interview I was very excited. In July 2007, I briefly attended one of David’s sections during the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management orientation in Indianapolis. As I ran out of David’s discussion, I plan to visit his website to purchase a copy of his MBA Case book. I didn’t. Hence, my excited about his coming to campus on February 8th. ]]> The day began with a gathering of MBA students from various specializations at FLUNO center. David Ohvall began his presentation by pointing out the importance of the case interview and by giving reasons why the interview is increasingly becoming a preferred method by employers. The case interview is very common in the Consulting and Investment Banking industries. But as David pointed out, former consultants and I-Bankers taking corporate roles are the champions of the case interview. According to David, proponents of the case interview would argue that the method gives an interviewer a good idea of a candidate’s analytical and problem solving skills because it is unlike other methods in that it challenges a candidate to think on his feet. During the opening section, David gave a good firm work on how to tackle a case. He talked about the qualitative aspect of the interview such as warm-up section, warmth and client readiness, integration and creativity, and thinking outside the box. With respect to the quantitative aspect, he talked about the use of charts/tables, estimations, equations, and data dump to draw insights on the case. He also stressed the need to ask follow-up questions and to close with a solid resolution of the problem at hand. After the opening section, the ACFIN students joined David in the afternoon for the workshop section. The workshop section was very interesting in that we were given cases to tackle. It was during the workshop that I learned about myself – I need more practice with the case interview. When we were asked to work in groups of three on a case, I did not know where to begin, how to firm the problem, and how to zero in on the key parts that were needed to crack the case. One of the cases went like this, “Company X is a threat to the wildly popular iTunes. Rather than insist that users buy their songs, company X will allow users to rent their songs…..Is this a real threat to iTunes? What actions should iTunes take?” We were asked to give a respond in a little under ten minutes. After stumbling over some possible solutions and running out of time, I was glad to have gotten help from David who walked us through the case. However, as we tackle a few more cases, I began to feel confident with my insight on how to crack a case. I left the workshop knowing that I need a lot of practice to become completely confident with the case interview. The case interview is like other interviews in that the more practice the better. I bought a copy of David’s MBA Case, because I know somewhere down the road I will walk into a case interview. tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2008:/acfin/blog//14.838 2008-04-16T20:05:36Z 2008-04-16T20:37:16Z

One of the countries that the Global Business Program traveled to this year was India. Thirteen students and one faculty member went on the trip. The trip was about ten days long over the latter part of winter break and...

Scott Davis One of the countries that the Global Business Program traveled to this year was India. Thirteen students and one faculty member went on the trip. The trip was about ten days long over the latter part of winter break and I was one of the students that went on it. Overall, the trip to India was fantastic. It was an eye-opening experience ..... It was an eye-opening experience for me. The only international travel I had done before the trip was to England, Belgium and the Caribbean; I had never been to an Asian country. When we first landed in Delhi and proceeded to baggage claim, I couldn’t help but notice the smell of smoke – not like the pleasant smell of campfire smoke or the smell of wood burning, but more like plastic or garbage burning. It was the kind of harsh smoke smell that urges you to look around to see what has caught on fire as it is unnatural. However, nothing particular in our immediate area was on fire and the smoke smell persisted throughout the whole stay in Delhi. During that time of year, the fog roles into Delhi and combines with the smoke of anything the homeless can get their hands on to burn. At least this was the leading theory amongst our group after a few days. In the first hour of being in Delhi I learned a lot about the country that was later confirmed in the trip. One, it is common for people to hackle you to buy something or tip them – a common trait of a country with high unemployment or a low-skilled population. Two, India is a developing country with limited infrastructure. Three, there are stark contrasts between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in India, which was analogous to being one step on either side of the entrance gate to our hotel – the worlds were totally different depending on which side of the gate you were on. Four, given the above three, there is a lot of room for India to grow in the future and they seem to be on the right path towards that growth. The trip to Agra, the home of one of the wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, was extremely telling of old-world India, the rural part of India that still is much of the country. The four-hour bus ride passed through small village, after farm, after small village. We saw camels and bulls pulling carriages filled with goods; scaffolding made of bamboo, tied at the joints with rope and stacked high on the sides of buildings; and miles and miles of farmland with rather poor looking people abound. Thinking about seeing the Taj Mahal from a distance reminds me of seeing Mt. Rainier in that it is a huge, almost out of place, structure surrounded by little else. Seeing the Taj Mahal up-close is like nothing else I have ever seen. The detail of inlayed precious stones in marble is magnificent in a dinner plate and is mind-boggling in something this size. You can easily see why this is a wonder of the world and why something like this will never be duplicated, as not only the resources but also the skills required are too great. We also met with many institutions while we were there: the United States Educational Foundation in India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, Kotak Investment Bank, Securities and Trading Corporation of India, a Bollywood producer and Merril Lynch’s Private Client Group. I learned a tremendous amount of information about the Indian economy and business climate first-hand from the professionals of the country. The last few days of our trip we spent in the tropical city of Goa. Goa was our time to relax and enjoy the casual part of India. It is a popular vacation spot and there were many eastern Europeans staying at our hotel with us. The hotel was very nice and I especially enjoyed the bar and pool. Having been located a block or so from the ocean, it was nice swimming in the salt water as well. We also ventured into the city one evening and I enjoyed seeing the market and just sitting at a bar watching a soccer game with the locals. I probably had my best meal at the hotel – a feast of tandoori grilled prawns and grilled snapper. One of the most important things that I learned about India was that India has a huge population problem. This has lead to high unemployment and a dearth of high-skilled workers. There is also a huge wealth gap with a lot of poor people walking the streets. It will be interesting to see how India deals with the population problem in the future. Although India has these pitfalls, the overall direction of India is positive and it sets up a situation for long-term growth of the country in the future. It terms of social issues, it was interesting to read about the problems that India has with the relationships between men and women. I saw a lot of stories in the paper about men/women issues. It was also interesting to see a lack of women out in public in Delhi. I saw more in Mumbai, but still the streets were dominated with men. To conclude, I saw a lot of optimism in the Indian business people. They seem to be very hard-working people. My experiences there have shaped my thinking by making me more aware of the emergence of the Indian economy. It has also made me very interested to see how India develops on my many fronts such as the attitudes towards women, the build-up of infrastructure throughout the country, and the overall market there for equities and debt. Now that I have traveled to India and met with business leaders, I have a much better understanding of articles on India that I read in publications such as the Wall Street Journal. I have a much different perspective now when seeing anything that pertains to India, such as the Indian film I recently watched, as I can relate my experiences now in many ways. More importantly, I can draw on these experiences as a business professional in my future career. tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2007:/acfin/blog//14.722 2007-12-04T04:53:11Z 2007-12-04T04:54:43Z

It has been awhile since my last post so I thought I would update everyone on what it's like to be a second year MBA this time of year. In a word, CRAZY!...

Scott Davis It has been awhile since my last post so I thought I would update everyone on what it's like to be a second year MBA this time of year. In a word, CRAZY! Or maybe busy, or tiring, or maybe exhilarating. Well, actually it is all of these things. It feels like a roller coaster ride at times. Basically the last month has been filled with at least 3 interviews per week. It seems that everyone is flying around the country at least once a week to meet with multiple people in day long interviews. At the same time, we are all trying to coordinate multiple group projects with people that are also interviewing and flying around the country. On the one hand, it has been frustratingly difficult to prepare for interviews, get school work done and enjoy the sliver of social life that is so great here in Madison. On the other hand, it feels great to be flown across the country, picked up by a chauffer, wined and dinned all because the company wants what you have. To that extent it is very encouraging to know that you possess a rare skill set that motivates some of the best companies in the world to go to such great lengths to get you on board. There have been lots of late nights in hotel rooms attempting to get group projects done via email and even more writing papers and practicing presentations in a last ditch effort to be prepared. Dealing with the pain of rejection after a second round interview can only be countered by the sheer excitement of getting an offer in hand. Things are settling down now and the effort exerted over the last month is starting to pay off. As Christmas approaches and our last semester looms near, our focus shift more towards our future careers. My future is starting to become clearer as I consider offers and weight the benefits and drawbacks of each job. I can now say with 100% confidence that deciding to pursue my MBA has been one of the best decisions of my life. It transforms your life in two years in ways that you could never expect at the onset. I have had more doors opened than I could possibly have imagined. tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2007:/acfin/blog//14.648 2007-10-21T23:12:15Z 2007-11-07T20:16:56Z

I said it was coming soon. Well the midterm around here was very hectic and now that things are settling down again I thought I would post about the China trip....

Scott Davis I said it was coming soon. Well the midterm around here was very hectic and now that things are settling down again I thought I would post about the China trip. The UW MBA Global Business Program has 15 students and 1 faculty member heading to China this coming January. The group is arriving in Beijing on January 4th, and visiting important cultural sites such as: The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, and Great Wall. We will also be visiting global business organizations - AOL, Motorola and more. Then, we will be traveling to Shanghai on January 9th. In Shanghai, we will participate in a factory tour, visit the local stock exchange, and meet with the local operations of a U.S. Private Equity firm. In addition, we will be checking out The Bund, the Jade Buddha Temple, and possibly the Yuyuan market. The group will be leaving Shanghai and heading back to the U.S. on January 14th. Everyone is extremely excited and attending weekly meetings focused on topics, such as: doing business in China, culture, and geography. Karl T. Poehls Applied Security Analysis Program University of Wisconsin MBA, Class of 2008 tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2007:/acfin/blog//14.647 2007-10-21T23:09:13Z 2007-10-24T16:56:13Z

I had mentioned this trip earlier but thought it would be interesting to give a more detailed description on this trip. Here is what one of the organizers had to say about it....

Scott Davis I had mentioned this trip earlier but thought it would be interesting to give a more detailed description on this trip. Here is what one of the organizers had to say about it. The Wisconsin MBA Global Business Program is sponsoring a student-led trip to India in January 2008. The trip has exceeded its subscription quota, and 14 students and one member of the faculty are participating. The group will fly directly into Dehli from Chicago, and start the trip by seeing the capital city of India. In addition, we plan to visit the nearby towns of Agra (location of the Taj Mahal) and Jaipur (considered the cultural center of India). After a few days in the area, we will fly to Mumbai to learn more about the business and economic aspects of the country. Finally, during the last weekend of the trip, we hope to fly to Goa, a beach town about 1 hours flying time south of Mumbai. After 11 days in India, we will fly back to Chicago from Mumbai. The trip promises to give the students broad exposure to the cultural, political, economic, and social highlights of India. Robert Trainer 2nd Year MBA Student Applied Corporate Finance (ACFIN) Stay tuned for a more detailed description on the China trip coming soon....... tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2007:/acfin/blog//14.646 2007-10-21T23:01:16Z 2007-10-21T23:05:59Z

M&A Case Competition: I-Banking Exposure: What would be better to get the feel for the investment bank life than actually competing in a case competition focusing on pitching an M&A transaction which is sponsored by Credit Suisse and Lehman Bros....

Scott Davis M&A Case Competition: I-Banking Exposure: What would be better to get the feel for the investment bank life than actually competing in a case competition focusing on pitching an M&A transaction which is sponsored by Credit Suisse and Lehman Bros. The experience so far has exceeded my expectations. Myself, as well as three 2nd year University of Wisconsin MBA's (two ACFIN, one ASAP) flew into Washington DC Wednesday afternoon and arrived at the event to a welcome reception of other teams we would be competing against. This welcome event was utilized to introduce students from other MBA programs, including a team from Singapore. Networking between students occurred, but the main focus was for the teams to get to know each other from a social aspect so they can talk about their MBA life, internships and prior work experience. Knowing we would all be competing against each other within 12 hours, we took it easy and ate dinner and consumed a few beverages.]]> The competition started early Thursday morning with training sessions on Bloomberg and other research databases. At 11am each team was handed the case study and proceeded to their respective strategy room. From this moment to approximately 4:15am, our team worked diligently to prepare a M&A pitch book for a transaction we would be presenting to the company's management in the morning. The case was not a typical case study where the event already occurred. Instead the case focused on the homebuilding sector and the options available to Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL). We discussed scenarios where European homebuilders would buy TOL, and TOL would acquire competitors in the homebuilding sector. Finally after one practice run on our PowerPoint presentation, we went to bed. I think I finally fell asleep about 5am. Hmmm, Wall St hours!!! I was rudely wakened to my alarm and a phone call at 6:15 am. Time to shower, suit up, and meet with my team members to run through additional practice presentations. By 9am, the first team from the competition was making their pitch. At this time I was asked to interview with Black and Decker for their Financial Leadership Program. The one great thing about this competition was the exposure to all the companies that sponsored the event. I-Banks and individuals from the corporate development and strategy groups from multinational corporations conducted interviews throughout the competition as well as judged our team presentations. Finally, 10am arrived and I found myself presenting to a panel of 8 judges, all with heavy finance backgrounds and ready to grill every assumption we made in our strategy direction for TOL and the valuations we arrived at for the acquisition we pitched. Q&A was challenging, but as a team we pulled together as excelled through their questions. Now here I am in the waiting room with other teams who have already presented. One guy is snoring, the rest are awake but really want to sleep. We are all waiting, wondering if our team is going to be called to finals to make an additional presentation. Upon my return to Madison, no mater the outcome, I cant wait to tell all about my experience to other students and encourage them to enter the competition with me next year. Andrew Bruno 1st Year MBA Student Applied Corporate Finance (ACFIN) tag:www.bus.wisc.edu,2007:/acfin/blog//14.629 2007-10-11T13:43:33Z 2007-10-11T16:06:58Z

This past Friday, several ACFIN students participated in a round of golf organized by the Graduate Business Association (GBA) and sponsored by a number of companies that regularly recruit Wisconsin MBAs. The sponsoring companies each sent representatives to team up...

Scott Davis This past Friday, several ACFIN students participated in a round of golf organized by the Graduate Business Association (GBA) and sponsored by a number of companies that regularly recruit Wisconsin MBAs. The sponsoring companies each sent representatives to team up with students, and so we not only had a beautiful day on the links but a great opportunity to do some networking. I wound up sharing a cart with a recruiter from Best Buy, which is one of my preferred employers for both an internship and a permanent job upon graduation. ]]>