Made for PERSUASIONPERSUASIONthe art of public speaking

The Sydney Tank Stream

AGSM MBA STUDENT MAGAZINE | ISSUE 3 | JUNE 2014

Manufacturing in AsiaClash of the Imperial and Metric

Leading with a Career in Finance

Competitive Intelligence An interview with Maria Ioia

AGSM Start-up with a Delicious TwistmamaCOOKoo

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CONTENTSCONTENTS

From the Editor’s Lab 2

FEATUREMade for Persuasion the art ofpublic speaking 4

IN FOCUSThe Sydney Tank Stream 6

Leading with a Career in Finance 7

Manufacturing in AsiaClash of the Imperial and Metric 8

Competitive IntelligenceAn Interview with Maria Ioia 10

AGSM Start-up with a DeliciousTwist - mamaCOOKoo 14

Editor-in-Chief | Ace ChooCover photo | Ace ChooLayout designer | Ace ChooCopy-editors | Sam Lowe | Prasad Giribalan | Chandra Sekhar KonakanchiCreative Contributors | Kirsten Brito Photographers | Ace Choo | Stephen Liu

AGSM STAR Magazine (STARmag) is produced by MBA students from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM).

All published works are of the opinions of the individual authors and do not represent the view of AGSM or UNSW.

The ‘STAR Magazine’ logo is put together by Ace Choo using ‘Sommet’ fonts designed by Jeremy Dooley and ‘Cash Currency’ fonts designed by Jayde Garrow.

The blue and white AGSM logo remained the property of UNSW and any unauthorized use are strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved.

Website | http://stusoc.agsmclubs.com/

Corresponding email | editor.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

From the Editor’s LabWhile the Australian federal budget negotiation is underway, one could debate what the new budget will do to the wellbeing of the Australian economy in the long term. Cuts to education may or may not affect the rankings of the universities as well as the admission of prospective students. As for healthcare, I concur with the quote by Professor Fiona Stanley,

“by introducing a co-payment (charged on visits to the doctor), it will affect those who are the sickest, most marginalised, the poorest … and for that to pay for a medical research budget seems to me unpalatable.”

Share your thoughts on the budget by dropping me an emaileditor.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

Editor-in-ChiefAce Yu Leng Choo

Sydney CBD from Sydney Tower | Photo credits | Ace

Originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ace Choo moved to

Perth, Australia about 10 years ago to pursue a Bachelor of

Science (Biomedical) and subsequently a Master of Infectious

Diseases from the University of Western Australia (UWA).

After 5 years as a medical researcher and laboratory manager

in UWA, she aims to achieve a triple threat status with an

AGSM MBA: a medical scientist who dabbles in the arts and

skilled in business management.

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I waited excitedly in the STW offi ce, in the heart of Sydney for an interview with Justin Di Lollo. I looked around the conference room, surrounded by pictures of politicians and company partners as Justin entered with a burst of energy. Before I begin the array of questions, Justin recalled his debating days.

Justin was a State Champion debater in high school and continues his association with debating throughout his adult life. He was a member of the successful AGSM team in the 1999 debate against Melbourne Business School (MBS). In the subsequent 14 years, he has conducted a course on debating with each AGSM full time class, selected a team, and coached them for the annual debate against MBS.

AGSM has won 11 out of these 15 debates.

Justin oversees STW Group’s government relations companies and is part of STW’s data services strategy. The government relations advisory companies mentioned above include some of the largest and most successful lobbying consultancies in the region. His multi-awarded companies have been recognised as the most infl uential lobbyists in Australia (Australian Financial Review Power List) and the second fastest growing company in Australia (BRW Fast 100).

So how his career started?

“When you grow up in a family with strong political opinion, it is bound to infl uence you”.

MADE FORPERSUASION

interview bySankshep Vashisht

(President Public Speaking and

Debate, PSD, Club)

compiled byJisha Ramachandran

(Vice PresidentPSD Club)

Justin recalled dinner table conversations where his ‘left wing family’ would have endless discussions on politics. At the age of 16 he joined the Labor party. He was enrolled in the University of Western Australia majoring in political economics but at the age of 19, with the professionalizing of the political staffi ng in 1988, Justin secured the opportunity to work in politics.

Justin Di Lollo (left) with Sankshep Vashisht (right) | Photo credits | Ace

Justin Di Lollo (right) with MBA students, Sam Lowe (far left) and Chris Jordan | Photo credits | Ace

Currently, as an adjunct professor of Debating and Business Communication in UNSW, Justin noted that his favourite public speech is by Australia’s 24th Prime Minister, Paul Keating’s Redfern speech in 1992.

“It is very diffi cult to voice one’s opinion and share the truth with people when you are in politics. And at Redfern, he made it happened“.

So “be authentic” is Justin’s top tip to everyone who wants to speak in public. “If you are yourself and not concerned with how you appear on stage, that will help you not only be convincing but also infl uential”.

Has he ever gotten nervous on stage?

“Everyone gets nervous” Justin said but added that he loves the adrenaline rush of going out and speaking in public and especially when he knew that it went well.

Will he recommend more MBAs to join politics?

“Defi nitely! There is a huge prospect for MBAs in public sectors. Governments now function as corporate and require people with the right skill sets. In other words, politics needs MBAs”.

In his spare time Justin loves watching cricket. He is also the chair of the Sydney Symphony Vanguard, a body engaging younger philanthropists with the orchestra.

an interview with JJustin Di LoLollothe art of public speaking

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Leading with a career in FINANCEby Dan Wong(President Finance Club)

STAR 76 AGSM

GreySpark Partners Managing Director, Braian Szwarcberg-Poch fl anked by MBA students, Grace Loh (left) and Dan Wong | Photo credits | Stephen Liu

Consulting, entrepreneur or fi nance? The biggest dilemma faced by many MBAs.

For people who are undecided about their future career, club events are a good source to get more information that can help make up their mind. Different clubs coordinate with student society so that students can sign up as many event as they like without time confl icts. The AGSM fi nance club is dedicated to assist MBA students for future careers in fi nance through industry trend updates, company contacts and networking events with current fi nance professionals. We hosted our fi rst speaker event “Careers in Finance” in April and invited distinguished fi nance industry practitioners to talk about the challenges and opportunities in their respective fi elds. Many people who turned out the event have gained valuable feedback on whether fi nance is something for them. It is a tough industry with many cost cuttings and requires long working hours. For those determined souls that want to crack into the fi nance fi eld an MBA essentially makes them more marketable. It opens doors and gives greater depth of hope for the future. It isn’t a guarantee or promise, but a huge step in the right direction.

Recently, whilst enjoying a latte at my local caffeine depot, I was served a glass of tapTM water. Further investigation revealed this to be an environmentally friendly project sponsored by Sydney Water at over 400 cafes in the city. Even further investigation about the cleanliness of city water then shed some light on a very fascinating history of H2O in Sydney, and I suddenly found myself going with the fl ow of the tank stream. The reason that the new colony formed the way it did in 1788 had mostly to do with the location of fresh water. The source that supplied the settlement was soon supplemented with three large sandstone storage tanks, and the Tank Stream was born. The next several decades saw an attempt to control the cleanliness of the water (polluters were fl ogged), but in 1826 it effectively became the city sewer. Twenty years later it was converted to a storm channel and hidden underground, paving the way for modern sewer system design. You can now take comfort in the fact that your drinking water exceeds Australian and international standards, but next time you are in Martin Place, be sure to look for the ground markers identifying the route of the former Sydney water supply. And for those brave/crazy/interested enough, biannual tours covering a 60-meter stretch of the original tank stream are offered by Sydney Living Museums, but tickets are distributed lottery style via a balloting system (hard hats and wellington boots included). Alternatively, you can visit an excavated segment in the basement of the

The Get Tanked Manhattan Cocktail

In a shaker, muddle a small orange wedge and 5-6 dashes of cocktail bittersFill the shaker with iceAdd 50 ml of bourbon whiskey (I recommend Woodford Reserve)Add 20 ml of sweet vermouthShake vigorously for 5 secondsStrain into a glass over an ice sphereGarnish with a cherry or twist of orange

DOUGLAS NIGGLEYNationality | United States of AmericaLikes | Exploring, exotic fruits, creative cocktails, the many beaches of SydneyDislikes | Sultanas and sunburn

The Sydney TANK StreamGeneral Post Offi ce, and drinks are available nightly at the Merivale-run watering hole - Tank Stream Bar.

Joshua Corrigan (Milliman, Principal) | Photo credits | Stephen Liu

DAN WONG previously worked in equity derivatives and market risk in Melbourne and Hong Kong. He is passionate about the fi nance world and interested in promoting AGSM brand in the fi nance community. He is also a blogger in BusinessBecause, a contributor to the Star Magazine and an active member in the AGSM HK alumni network.

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Applied Materials had recently opened its fi rst manufacturing site outside the US, in Singapore, that year. As a Product Design Engineer, it made total sense to me. After all, most of our customers were based in Asia and it aligned perfectly with our corporate values to stay ‘Close to Customer’. Singapore as a manufacturing site made strategic sense given the taxation laws in the country, the cheaper labor rates compared to the US, location and the comprehensive IP protection laws. The plan was to leverage the manufacturing edge of Asia and improve margins. It was simple, clear and sounded right. As the manufacturing line rolled out products, we noticed steady piling of issues from Customers and not much improvement in operational margins. A team was formed to investigate into the matter. After two weeks of probing into the issue, we solved the riddle. The major issue was that all the transitioned products were made out of designs with Imperial specifi cations (inch). In Asia though, all our suppliers used Metric specifi cations. To maintain the interchangeability policy, the suppliers in Asia were forced to follow the Imperial specifi cations and they eventually ended up importing material. Though we shifted the manufacturing to Asia, the sourcing was still from US, effectively killing the advantage. There was no easy way to address this issue. We had hundreds of tools in the fi eld and it would not make business sense to convert all of those to

CHANDRA worked with Applied Materials (global pioneer in Semiconductor Manufacturing) for over 6.5 years. After spending considerable time on the technical front, he decided it was the right time to learn the business side and selected AGSM as his springboard for the future. He is passionate about technology, Innovation and Operations.

Manufacturing in ASIAMetric specifi cations. It was therefore decided that the legacy products will be manufactured only from the US. However, we designed the new products in Metric specifi cations and completely sourced them from Asia.

Another issue was that the manufacturing capabilities in Asia did not exactly match with those in US. In products where a difference of even a fraction of a millimeter could cause a fi nal process shift at the customer site, this mismatch between the parts coming out of the US and Asia resulted in different products and eventually varying process results at the customer site. In fact, many of the complaints were directly traced to this issue.

“Let’s proudly wave our American flags made in China” – bantered our Global Program Manager, on 4th July of 2010.

We therefore had to follow a GE style supplier engagement to make them understand the quality requirements. We had them target the ‘Golden part’ (same design coming out from a US supplier) by thoroughly reviewing their manufacturing processes.

While there is a defi nite cost advantage in leveraging on the manufacturing effi ciency in Asia, if a company does not invest time in properly devising the strategy, it can end up paying heavy “Tool Down” costs1 to customers and waste precious resources in trying to fi x the problems.

by MBA student Chandra Sekhar Konakanchi

Photo supplied by the author

clash of the Imperial and Metric

1Tool down cost: To leverage the risk, customers usually have a clause when they buy our systems. Should the tool go dysfunctional due to a design or manufacturing error, we pay for the equivalent units the tool might have produced had it been running. This is on top of the warranty costs.

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Gone are the days when the word “Intelligence” used to refer to either a person’s IQ or the famous CIA or MI5. In the past decade, the word has ascended into the business world and is now being attached to ‘markets’, ‘business’ and ‘competition’. But what exactly is Competitive Intelligence? In our quest for answers, we had a chat with the guru of Competitive Intelligence - Maria Ioia.

Maria is a Competitive Intelligence practitioner and thought leader with a wealth of experience in advising some of the largest and most reputable corporations in Australia including fi nancial services and insurance, energy and resources, retail and many other business to business service delivery clients. Above all, Maria is our very own successful AGSM Exec MBA Alumni member.

Maria founded and manages, Market Intelligence Agency, an organisation which provides large organisations with strategic external direction.

We asked Maria to explain how she landed where she is?

As Maria explains, “I was a child with an insatiable curiosity about the world, its people and how it all worked together. This naturally led me into the fi eld of customer experience

and consumer behaviour.” She describes how working as a consultant both on agency and client side gave her a solid foundation to work across industries, leveraging her expertise in many complex situations. Maria was always interested in a challenge and when the option for intra-preneurship establishing a Competitive Intelligence function within the Commonwealth Bank of Australia emerged, she jumped at it: “My advisory role at the time already saw me operating across the competitive environment, and this was my chance to create a much needed function within the bank.”

So what exactly is Competitive Intelligence all about? We asked Maria to share some of her key insights from her experience.

“Competitive Intelligence captures and analyses consumer, market and competitive information, focusing on generating insights for business decisions regarding future events. These decisions deliver a sustainable competitive advantage to the organisation.” Maria details how it is used at all levels of an organisation to make key strategic decisions as well as tactical ones.

She states “this area excites me and I wanted to share my skills and derive insights that would help many organisations at the same time. This is the main reason why I left the corporate life behind to start my

Competitive INTELLIGENCEan Interview with Maria Ioia

by Venkat Krishnan (MBA Alumni Class 2013)

own business.” Her ability to source any information in the public domain through her proprietary power searching techniques, and an integrated approach to analysis across three key disciplines, allow her to generate deep insights that can unlock untapped potential and be leveraged for business growth.

Maria’s answers have already blown us away. But how does she “actually” help her clients?

Maria has a passion for helping people get what they want from the products and services they are using. “With every organisation I work with, I look for how their brand can obtain a competitive advantage.” Maria describes that of the most common Competitive Intelligence business issues that she and her business work with, they mostly relate to:

• current competitor activities, • mergers and acquisitions,• strategic probabilities of future events,• customer sales and service, • long-term market prospects,• ways of minimising impending threats,• marketing activities,• knowledge management,• operations benchmarking,• measuring change,• new market entry strategies, or• technology assessment.

“Our ultimate aim is to assist in decision support and strategic direction for our clients.”

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What is in “The New Rules of Competitive Intelligence?”

Her book shares a wealth of knowledge and gives tips to assist anyone in a strategic role within business. The book provides examples of leading edge practices given the digital age as well as challenging current views and practices in an ethical way. Maria demonstrates the ability to synthesise a vast array of information into something which is easy to read and delivers many insights about how to stay on top of your competitive Intel. Her book is technical in parts yet also provides useful ‘how to’ applications that will enable anyone to enhance their strategy.

“When you link the understanding about people (consumers) with the way the world is emerging, you get a more complete view on what the market currently is, as well as how it is evolving. This provides an understanding of where opportunities exist, how to correctly position the business to tap into them and how to meet these consumer needs whilst differing to the competition.”

Maria goes on to say, “The secret is in the way an organisation harnesses information from looking across market factors, competitive circumstances and consumer that allows for the organisation to align itself with the external environment. It is only through doing this well that a compelling competitive advantage can be attained and revised periodically.”

The brief chat we had with Maria, has given us a key insight into the world of Competitive Intelligence. Her book “The New Rules of Competitive Intelligence” is available through Amazon online and all leading book retailers and is a must read for every marketeer who wants to make a difference in their organisation and for every aspiring marketing gurus. You can contact Maria at info@marketintelligenceagency.com.au

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upcomingEventsFor registration and more events, go towww.asb.unsw.edu.au/alumni/events

Confessions of a start-up founder

Q&A Panel with

Jonathan Lui COO & Co-founder AirtaskerChris McNamara COO of DesignCrowd, ex-Booz, Stanford MBA graduateSue Klose Current COO 12WBT and former Corporate Development Director, News Digital MediaRui Rodrigues Fund Manager for Tank Stream Ventures

Date&Time | Thursday, June 12, 2014 7:00 PM - 9:00 PMLocation | Level 1, 17-19 Bridge Street, Sydney

Meet David Smith, CEO of the National Rugby League

Date | Monday, June 16, 2014Time | Registration from 5:30pm | Interview from 6:30pm - 7:30pmLocation | Four Seasons Hotel, 199 George Street, Sydney

Sydney ASB and AGSM Alumni Networking Drinks

Date&Time | Thursday, June 26, 2014 6:00 PM - 8:00 PMLocation | The Royal Exchange of Sydney, 1 Gresham St, Sydney

Sydney AGSM Alumni Networking Drinks

Date&Time | Thursday, July 31, 2014 6:00 PM - 8:00 PMLocation | The Royal Exchange of Sydney, 1 Gresham St, Sydney

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As an AGSM’er life is always busy, from the days of juggling study and trying to have a life, to managing work deadlines. Often we are too time poor to cook a meal as often as we would like. And even if we cook, we usually make the same old dishes.

If you are time poor or bored of your current culinary choices, there is now another option, mamaCOOKoo - a start-up founded by two AGSM’ers that connects amazing home cooks to hungry locals throughout Sydney. A mamaCOOKoo home cook is someone with genuine passion for cooking delicious dishes from their home. They all have a story that involves love and food, and Arash, mamaCOOKoo’s Persian home cook, is no exception. His love for cooking authentic Persian food started many years ago, when he would accompany his mother to their local bazaar in Iran to do the herb and vegetable shopping. One of Arash’s most popular dishes is Zereshk Polo (persian rice cooked with

AGSM start-up with a delicious twist - mamaCOOKooby Rumana Dewan (AGSM Alumni)

barberries and saffron), served with Mahiche (tender lamb shanks slow-cooked in Persian herbs and spices).

Visha is another mamaCOOKoo home cook who makes traditional Sri Lankan dishes. Her dream is to own a creative space for musicians, visual artists and foodies. Visha’s specialty is a street food called Kottu Roti - chicken curry infused with Sri Lankan spices, slowly cooked in coconut milk until most of the milk evaporates, and then stir fried with roti.

mamaCOOKoo’s home cooks cook cuisines from all over the world, including Egyptian, Persian, Singaporean, Malaysian, Sri Lankan, Italian, Modern Australian and Peruvian. The cuisines are only limited by the different nationalities found throughout multicultural Sydney.

It is the variety of cuisines and dishes that really allows mamaCOOKoo to offer a truly

RUMANA DEWAN (top pic) and Nilesh Patel are foodies whose cooking skills have a lot to be desired. They wanted delicious home cooked meals, and were curious to see what Sydney had to offer. mamaCOOKoo was born out of their search for the delicious.

new culinary experience. mamaCOOKoo offers hungry locals dishes they may not even fi nd at a restaurant, because often the dishes are cooked using family recipes that have been passed down like family folklore. The novelty and promise of a unique food experience has also created demand for mamaCOOKoo’s home cooks to cater for parties. An Egyptian chicken roast surely sounds more enticing than a traditional roast right?

Hungry already? Register as a foodie at mamaCOOKoo.com to fi nd out what’s cooking near you.

Keen to show off your culinary creations? Register as a home cook at mamaCOOKoo.com.

Curious to see what else mamaCOOKoo has been serving hungry locals? Check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/food.mamaCOOKoo.

Persian dish, Zereshk Polo | Photo supplied by the author

Mahiche | Photo supplied by the author

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STUDENT SOCIETY (STUSOC) COMMITTEE MEMBERSPresident

Virginia Kane | president.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

Vice President

Frederik Mayeres | vicepresident.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

Finance Manager

Arun Pandiyan | fi nancemanager.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

Communications Manager

Ace Choo | editor.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

Alumni Relations Manager

Bhuvan Bhushan | arm.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

Events Manager

Davydd Kelly | eventsmanager.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

Technology Manager

Sumit Yadav | technologymanager.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

Business Manager

Chris Jordan | businessmanager.stusoc@agsm.edu.au

STUSOC CLUBS CONTACTSPresident Consulting Club

Ankit Kothari | consultingclub@agsm.edu.au

President Entertainment, Sports, & Events Management (ESPM) Club

Sanjit Kewalramani | espmclub@agsm.edu.au

President Finance Club

Dan Wong | fi nanceclub@agsm.edu.au

President Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship (ICE) Club

Enrique Kike Munoz Revello | iceclub@agsm.edu.au

President Marketing

Rony Kristianto | marketingclub@agsm.edu.au

President Public Speaking and Debate Club

Sankshep Vashisht | psdclub@agsm.edu.au

Liaison Social Impact Club

Christopher Chong | socialimpactclub@agsm.edu.au

President Women in Leadership Club

Kirsten Brito | wilclub@agsm.edu.au

Full time MBA Class 2015 Organisational Behaviour Tallest Jenga Challenge| Photo credits | Ace