Stanford MBA Program

The relationships that you form at the Stanford Graduate School of Business are close and long-lasting--one of the benefits of our small class size. Our active alumni chapters are evidence of this, with events both formal and informal taking place all over the world.

On 7 June, GSB alumni and newly admitted students gathered in Mumbai at the Taj Mahal hotel for a discussion with Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. As Deputy Governor, Mohan is in charge of monetary policy, financial markets, and economic research and statistics for India's central bank.

Mohan's visit, which was sponsored by the GSB India alumni chapter, featured extensive Q&A. Attendees traveled from areas such as Bangalore and Kashmir to hear the presentation. For those of us who couldn't make it to the event, Mohan will be a visitor at the Stanford Center for International Development this fall.

From left to right: Akhil Gupta, MBA 1981, Jo Pattabiraman, MBA 2002, Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Nadir Godrej, MS 1974, Dr. Rati Godrej, Naushad Forbes, BAS 1981, MS 1982, PhD 1987, Farhad Forbes, BS 1977, MS 1979, Sloan 1991, and Jagdish Malkani, Sloan 1993

The GSB's Global Study Trips offer abundant opportunities for learning well after the trips are over. MBA students return--from locations as diverse as Ghana, Peru, and Scandinavia--with knowledge, stories, and advice that they pass on to the campus community. Recently, students from a spring study trip to Mexico were inspired to bring to Stanford the musical group Los Tigres Del Norte. The group--who regularly packs stadiums in Latin America--shared with the GSB the inspiration behind its Grammy-winning music.

Watch the video of Los Tigres' visit. You can also learn more about the GSB's Global Study Trips on our website.

It was just announced that our own Garth Saloner will be the ninth dean of the GSB, effective 1 September 2009. Saloner joined the Stanford faculty in 1990 and is a scholar of entrepreneurship and business strategy. He was also instrumental in creating and implementing the new MBA curriculum.

>> Learn more about our new dean

Bob Joss announced that he will retire as dean of the Graduate School of Business at the end of his term, completing a decade of service to Stanford. Recently published in the Financial Times, this essay gives you insight on the experiences that shaped Dean Joss, who in turn helped shape the GSB and the future of management education.

>> Read the essay

At the end of every admission cycle, the GSB posts the upcoming year's application and notification deadlines. We typically do this after our Round 3 response deadline. However, because we have moved up the date for applying for Round 1, we decided to post our deadlines now to give you a bit more time to prepare. You can find the deadlines here. In July, we'll be adding more information to our site, including the admission application and instructions, so make sure to check back.

Also, as we do every year, we've posted the new short-answer essay questions; the two longer-format essay questions remain unchanged. You can find all of the questions, along with essay-writing tips from Derrick Bolton, our director of MBA Admissions, here.

As is customary for many business schools, we will post the new class profile when our students arrive in September. Until then, happy application planning!

It was announced today that Anthony Wilder Miller, MBA 1992, has been nominated by the White House to be the Deputy Secretary of Education for the Department of Education. Miller will be joining Jim Shelton, MA/MBA 1993, who was recently named Assistant Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.

Other alumni who have made their mark on the hill in the Obama administration include Corey Booth, MBA 1995, Chief Information Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission; David Lee Katz, MBA 2008, Special Assistant to the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy; Aditya Kumar, Director and Special Assistant for the Chief of Staff's Office at the White House; and Penny Sue Pritzker, JD/MBA 1984, national finance chair of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

The GSB faculty has voted to retire the Certificate in Global Management beginning with the MBA Class of 2011. The Global Management Program and the Center for Global Business and Economy will continue to enhance the global nature of the Business School.

Our original reason for creating the Certificate in Global Management back in 1994 was to provide a catalyst for more global content within the MBA Program. Even at its inception, our hope was for obsolescence once the MBA curriculum and our students were more global in perspective and experience. I am happy to announce that the deans and faculty have assessed that this time has come. Over the last 15 years, we have dramatically expanded the global nature of the Stanford MBA Program. With the introduction in 2007 of the Global Experience Requirement and the required Global Context of Management class, as well as an increase in global offerings across the GSB, it is inaccurate to suggest that some of our students are "global" and others are not. We believe that all of our students now graduate with a broader and deeper sense of how to manage effectively in the global economy. We hope you share our excitement that the School has achieved this notable milestone, and all of us in the Global Management Program look forward to supporting our students' development as global leaders.

--John Roberts, Faculty Director, Global Management Program

Want to control your Wii using just your mind? In the market for a robot that can help you communicate from home? Need your Prius to get 100 miles per gallon? This year's Stanford Cool Product Expo, co-sponsored by the GSB, the Stanford Product Design & Manufacturing Club, and the Product Realization Network at Stanford, featured all this and more.

The mission of the Cool Product Expo is to generate interest in and excitement around "cool" products and companies in the field of manufacturing and design at Stanford and the community at large. This year's participants included start-ups, university research lab projects, and global manufacturers, all exhibiting products that aren't yet on the market. Many products focused on green technology---like Visible Energy's UFO, which allows consumers to "see" how much energy they're using and then helps reduce that amount.

Other products ranged from handy, to life-saving. D.light Design, co-founded by Sam Goldman, MBA 2007, and Ned Tozun, MBA 2007, exhibited the Nova lamp, designed to replace dangerous kerosene lamps with a clean, safe, and affordable lighting option for families living without electricity. Jane Chen, MBA 2008, one of the co-founders of Embrace (see "Incubator" entry below), was at the Expo displaying a low-cost, portable infant incubator. Many of the exhibitors are hoping to bring their products to market soon. Chen, for example, is in the final stages of development and funding for the incubator, and says, "Our goal is to get this global within the next five years."

We have extended the deadlines for both Many Voices: Perspectives on Diversity and XX Factor: Women Changing The World. You may submit your application to attend by Monday, 13 April 2009, 5PM Pacific Time.

For more information on these events visit:
Many Voices
XX Factor

Hope to meet you during one of these events,

Ciao,
--Rita

All right...you know who you are. You've been to our website, started an application, maybe even drafted an essay or two. All the while, you've been wondering, "Should I or shouldn't I?" "Is now the right time?" "Do I stand a chance of getting in?"

The media hype says that business school applications soar when the economy is bad and, as such, there won't be any spots left for third round applicants. This simply isn't true. And we worry that some great people may delay applying because of these misperceptions. Historically, we've found that applications follow demographic cycles more than economic cycles.

We assure you that we admit outstanding individuals in all three rounds--this year is no exception. While it is true that the final round typically is smaller than the first two, we do admit excellent candidates in Round 3--including our current Director of MBA Admissions.

So the real question to ask yourself is when do you want to enroll? If the answer is September 2009, then you should apply now in Round 3. If you're admitted, great. If not, then you're in a better position for September 2010 having already begun the self-reflection process for your first-round application.

There is still time to put together a thoughtful and thorough application by the Round 3 deadline of 8 April 2009. So if you've started, take that final step. The bottom line is we can't admit you if you don't apply.

The diversity of our students and our community is what makes the GSB such a dynamic place. People often ask us how we define diversity. For us, it's really about the breadth of perspective our students bring. You've probably read Derrick Bolton's thoughts on the subject, but if not, take a look here.

The breadth of perspective at the GSB is incredible. If you're interested in seeing this in action, there are two upcoming events you might be interested in. The xxFactor: Women Changing the World event will be held on 16 May. Hosted by the Women in Management club, the alumnae Women's Initiative Network, and the MBA Admission Office, this conference is geared toward women who are interested in applying to business school. This year's conference will focus on who attends business school and why, what kinds of opportunities are available for MBA graduates, and why experiential learning is transformational. All prospective students are welcome to participate. Applications are due 10 April. You can find more information here.

Many Voices: Perspectives on Diversity is hosted jointly by the Asian Society, Black Business Students Association, Hispanic Business Students Association, and the MBA Admission Office. This event provides the opportunity for you to meet GSB alumni, students, faculty, and staff, and to gain insight into our admission process. The event will be held on 17 May, and again, all are welcome. To attend Many Voices, you need to apply by 10 April. More information is available here.

Seeing the range of ideas and talent within our community might just help you envision how you would make a difference at the GSB. We look forward to meeting you at one or both of the events!

Every year 20 million premature or low-birth-weight children are born, many of them in rural areas of developing countries where they have no hope of receiving the medical care they need to survive. Enter Stanford's Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability, a two-quarter course, co-taught by the Business School's Jim Patell in which graduate students across the University look for practical solutions to the problems of the global poor. One of its promising products is the Embrace, an inexpensive ($25 estimated) portable incubator designed to resemble a sleeping bag and heated by a material that keeps bag and baby at a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees for four hours without electricity.

The Embrace organization is itself in the incubation stage. The four-student team came up with the idea and developed it in class in 2007. Last June, two of the original team members, Jane Chen, MBA '08, and Rahul Panciker, PhD '08, Engineering, won an Echoing Green Fellowship, which provides seed funding for the project of up to $90,000 over two years. The organization has since received nonprofit status, the incubator and its heating system has a provisional patent, and Chen and Panicker are now in India conducting clinical tests of the Embrace. If all goes well, they will return to India later this year to test it in a community setting. See EmbraceGlobal.org.

Source: Stanford Business

As of this morning, we have invited 275 second-round candidates to interview. We will extend an additional 100-125 interview invitations to second-round candidates in the next couple of weeks.

During that same period, we plan to interview some of the first-round candidates who accepted spots on the waitlist without having interviewed.

I hope this is helpful,
Derrick

We're excited to announce that second-year MBA student Andreata Muforo won the Social Equity Venture Fund (S.E.VEN) "Entrepreneurial President" essay competition and a $20,000 scholarship. Assuming the role of policy advisor to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, she wrote an essay on "Developing Rwanda's Private Sector through Entrepreneurship," which will be presented to President Kagame.

Andreata's essay was selected through a competitive review process that included a jury of leading business executives and development experts. Her essay was chosen from more than 650 submissions, received from more than 450 institutions and 35 countries, with submissions from places as diverse as Iran to China, and Peru to Burundi.

Andreata, who was born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe, is understandably very excited about receiving the award, but she says she also feels "humbled by the opportunity to potentially impact a country."

For more information, visit http://www.sevenfund.org/press-release-feb-2009-president-awards.php.

It's award season for the U.S. film industry, culminating with the Oscars on 22 February. Many GSB alumni play a significant role in the entertainment world, including Jeff Bewkes '77, President and CEO of Time-Warner, Inc.; Micheline L. Chau '76, President and COO of Lucasfilm, Ltd.; Yair Landau '89, President of Sony Pictures Entertainment; Ali Rowghani '02, CFO and Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for Pixar Animation Studios; Tom Staggs '87, CFO and Senior Executive Vice President of The Walt Disney Company; and Andrea Wong '93, President and CEO of Lifetime Networks.

After leaving eBay, Jeff Skoll '95 founded Participant Media, which has produced many Oscar-nominated films, such as Murderball, The Kite Runner, and Good Night, and Good Luck, while its films Syriana and An Inconvenient Truth were both winners. If you watch the Oscars, keep an eye out for the Best Actor category. Richard Jenkins is nominated in this category for Participant's film The Visitor.

The arts are thriving right here on campus as well. Membership in the GSB's Arts, Media, and Entertainment Club has grown steadily, and now includes more than 140 MBA students. Many members have held positions at MTV, Disney, Universal, and Fox, to name a few. The club's big initiative this year is the Breaking into the Industry series, which brings industry insiders to campus for discussions about specific entertainment functions such as production, digital media, and corporate strategy. Also popular on campus is the Leadership in the Entertainment Industry course, which will be taught again this spring by Bill Guttentag, a two-time Oscar-winning documentary and feature film writer, producer, and director.

And finally, here's a movie viewing tip: The film Bottle Shock was released this month to DVD. Produced by GSB alumni Marc Lhormer '86 and J. Todd Harris '86, the movie chronicles California wine making and the now-infamous blind wine tasting of 1976 which changed the future of the wine industry. The film was an official selection at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, so look for it at your local video store.

What better way to start the new year than to pay a visit to the Stanford MBA Program? It is never too early or late to visit, no matter if you have already applied or are thinking of applying in the future.

Please know that visiting campus truly has no effect on your candidacy. We offer events so you can experience a typical day in the MBA program.
- We begin offering Class Visits, Lunch with a Current Student, and Tours of the GSB on Monday January 12, 2009.
- Registration is required and space is limited, so be sure to make your reservation before you arrange your travel plans. We cannot guarantee participation without proper registration.
- It is wise for applicants thinking of applying in future years to visit campus in the Winter or Spring terms (January-May). The availability for Class Visits, Lunch with a Current Student, and Tours of the GSB are limited during the Fall term.
- For more information and to register for events, visit us here.

The MBA Admissions office is open from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. We are always happy to meet with applicants and prospective applicants.

Take care,

Brad Lindeberg
Admissions Counselor

One unique aspect of the Stanford experience is how porous the walls are between the different schools here. We all are not only located within walking distance on the same campus, but we also work to increase the ease with which students at one school, such as the GSB, can leverage the academic experts and future colleagues at other schools. This is something that is valued at Stanford from the President's Office to the individual faculty, staff and students.

The value of multidisciplinary education is not new at Stanford. The Joint MA in Education/MBA has existed in some form since the early 1970s. Nearly forty years ago, Stanford had already realized that pairing organizational management with deep subject matter expertise was a powerful combination. You may hear of other schools that have launched similar programs in the last decade, but the Joint MA in Education/MBA at Stanford also has a tradition of supportive faculty and staff, as well as a community of hundreds of active alumni.

How does the Joint MA in Education/MBA program work? You either apply to the MBA Program during your initial application to the joint program or you apply during your first quarter at the GSB. You experience the program with about 20 other Joint MA/MBA students and begin taking classes at the School of Education as early as your second quarter. During your third quarter, you enroll in the Proseminar, which is a required course you take with the entire Joint MA/MBA cohort. Through this thoughtfully crafted course, you get to know your classmates, meet the faculty of the School of Education, and gain a broad view of the educational landscape. During your second year, you, your School of Education faculty advisor, and I work together to develop a comprehensive program of study that focuses on preK-12 education, higher education, or an individually designed concentration if you have interests outside preK-12 or higher education. Most Joint MA/MBA students complete the program in six or seven academic quarters.

Alumni tell us that the three most valuable components of the Joint MA/MBA program are learning to bridge communication and work styles across business and education, sharing a strong cohort and alumni presence in this niche area, and having the ability to complete the program in approximately two years.

There are many benefits to getting a joint degree, but let me focus specifically on what the School of Education has to offer. At the School of Ed, you'll be part of another great school at Stanford with small classes where master and doctoral students study together, bringing the future practitioners in contact with the future theorists to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing education. You'll find a high degree of faculty interaction as well as engagement with other School of Education students which leads to very rich discussions with a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds.

If this sounds interesting, please visit us here.

You can also learn more about other joint programs with the GSB here.

Even if you're not considering a joint degree program, we encourage you to take a few classes outside of the GSB and see issues through a different lens. The Stanford MBA provides you a world-class education in the midst of a world-class university with a long-standing commitment to multidisciplinary thinking.

Nereyda Salinas
Director of Leadership Degree Programs
Stanford School of Education

As of mid-week, we have extended around 400 interview invitations to first round candidates. We expect to invite an additional 150-200 applicants to interview in the next few weeks, as we read and evaluate first round applications before the notification deadline of 22 January 2009.

On the January 22 first round notification deadline, we also may ask 50-100 applicants to join the waitlist without having been interviewed, and may interview those candidates later.

I hope this is helpful. Best wishes for the holiday season.
Derrick

On December 3rd, 370 first-year students showed up for the final exam for Strategic Leadership, one of our core classes. But unlike most testing situations, everyone was wearing a suit. At the same time across campus, more than 160 senior level alumni and executives were being drilled on how to judge student performance. The all-day test is not a written exam, but is something called the Executive Challenge, and while it does count as a final exam for the class, it also serves as a unique opportunity to gain real-world learning from some of the most influential global leaders today.

The judges included current and former CEOs from multiple Fortune 500 companies and high-profile startups, managing partners of well known VC firms, and senior executives in finance, consulting and a myriad of other industries. Most flew in for the day - many from international destinations - excited to engage with students one-on-one and participate in a uniquely Stanford experience.

Working in teams of eight, students had to complete four experiential leadership challenges throughout the day, each simulating a typical situation faced by senior executives. One challenge required students to play the role of Chairman and CEO, working to convince reluctant board members to pursue an acquisition. A successful effort required both good business analysis and strong interpersonal skills. Alumni judges played the board members, each of whom had objectives and personalities that could have derailed the meeting if mishandled. One of the judges, Stu Francis, an alum from 1977 and Vice Chairman of Barclays Capital, told us, "It is very interesting to watch the students deal with things that come up in a day-to-day context in business. You do not learn it until you do it, except at Stanford. You learn it here."

The student response was overwhelmingly positive. One explained, "The Executive Challenge was terrific, particularly as it put learning in a real-world context where we were graded not on specific frameworks but on actual efficacy." It also served as a vehicle for connecting students with the deep alumni network. Many students and the alumni they met have since exchanged emails, or arranged to get together for coffee or dinner. Most students were floored to see how many high-profile alums made the time to stay connected to the school, making themselves accessible and providing valuable feedback.

The final exam ended as uniquely as it started, with a party-like atmosphere, as hundreds of students, alumni, faculty and GSB staff packed in an auditorium to honor the day's winners. But the biggest winner was clearly the Stanford GSB community as a whole, and everybody there feeling like a real part of it.

Congratulations on a job well done!

Mike Hochleutner, MBA '01
Executive Director
Center for Leadership Development & Research

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