Alternative Energy

An anonymous reader posted a comment on one of my previous blog entries asking, “Are there opportunities for MBAs in alternative energy?” My analysis indicates that there are. There is a tremendous amount of investment in alternative energy right now, and investment implies the need for finance, entrepreneurship, and management skills. Alternative energy is alsoContinue reading “Alternative Energy”

Final MBAT Thoughts

Although I complained a great deal about HEC’s disorganization, the weekend was still a blast. Not to be a total geek, but it felt a lot to me like Harry Potter’s Triwizard tournament. There were schools from all over Europe and participants from all over the world. Each school had its own colors and culture,Continue reading “Final MBAT Thoughts”

MBAT Day 3

Today didn’t start out any better than yesterday. Our indoor volleyball team, which had never played together before, was quickly eliminated by Oxford. There was no time to dwell on it, however, as our beach volleyball pairs match, also against Oxford, started immediately afterward. My partner, Mario, was still swimming at the time so hisContinue reading “MBAT Day 3”

MBAT Day 2

The MBAT is off to a not-so-great start for IMD. It began this morning when our men’s soccer team finished its first game against host HEC with a 0-0 tie. Within the first minutes Chilean Jani, one of our best players, was out with a pulled hamstring. Czech Martin and Portuguese Pedro were also injured,Continue reading “MBAT Day 2”

Today Was Another Great Day!

Arturo correctly identified T2 as the “best movie ever” in Finance this morning. I can’t think of a better way to learn about real options. Strategy was very interesting this afternoon as well. We covered strategies for multi-business corporate entities: how many businesses can a conglomerate reasonably manage and which ones should it keep/grow/divest? TheseContinue reading “Today Was Another Great Day!”

Integrative Exercise v2.0 Is OVER!

Today was a great day. It marked the end of our final integrative exercise. So as not to ruin any surprises for next year’s class, my following description will be deliberately vague. Friday evening after class we received our first assignment, a case study of a company evaluating acquisition candidates. We were told that theContinue reading “Integrative Exercise v2.0 Is OVER!”

May Day

“First of May, first of May F%#&ing outdoors starts today.” –James Taylor Although it snowed briefly yesterday, the weather is still beautiful and I stick to my contention that Spring has arrived in Lausanne. People are coughing and sneezing a great deal in class so once again I am trying to remain physically and mentallyContinue reading “May Day”

Mini-UN

Our International Political Economy class discussions have really heated up over the past few weeks. The topics are intentionally provocative and Jean-Pierre does a good job of mixing class time between his expert knowledge and our inter-student debate. As we have 44 countries represented in our class, it’s like participating in a mini-UN. Before ourContinue reading “Mini-UN”

Third-of-the-Way-There Update

When I left the US for Switzerland, many people asked to be updated by email every once in a while about how I am doing over here. I finally sent out my first update, one third of the way through the program. The content was as follows: To those who expressed interest in receiving periodicContinue reading “Third-of-the-Way-There Update”