nexus spring 2001
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xne usThe magazine of the Warwick Business School Alumni Association Spring 2001
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venture capital for the new economy
WARWICKBusiness school
xne usWith this issue, nexus takes what I hope will be a step forward in terms both of presentation and content.
The new, more up-to-date look is designed to reflect the change in editorial direction. Having taken across-section of reader opinion through our questionnaire late last year, the magazine will feature greateralumni involvement, based to a large extent on the feed-back from you.
We propose to reflect more issues, to encourage opinion and generally to look more to the future. Iwould like to make the content more international and to include profiles of overseas graduates - as well asusing our established links with business schools in other countries to develop a series of internationalevents.
As you can imagine, response to the questionnaire was diverse - we received a response level of 66%.From this, it was interesting to note that no less than 97.8 % of readers have access to the internet. Therewas considerable support (56%) to publish nexus on-line, as well as in printed form.
Many respondents (53.4%) would like to see publication frequency increased to four times yearly.Nearly 40% indicated their willingness to contribute to alumni news/job moves - which has already beenintroduced as a regular feature, from this issue. So, get your news in for issue 2!
It is perhaps a little unfair to single out individual comments, but I will spotlight two or three to showwe propose to take constructive ideas on board. In suggesting that nexus should be more international,Albrecht Large says, “You only have to look at the diary dates in the current issue to realise howethnocentric and UK-only the programme is”.
Michael Sauerlaender makes a plea for greater alumni involvement and also suggests, “networking withother prestigious business schools”. Look out for news on this topic in coming issues.
Paul Pruett echoes the suggestion for a more international flavour - and cites the example of how hehas been building a company and how his Warwick MBA has helped him. “In March”, he writes, “I willbegin overseeing the European division and begin manufacturing in France”. Let me know how things go,Paul, and we could look at a focus in the next issue.
Javana Dias believes that the ‘online noticeboard’ concept would not only be helpful in seeking jobs,recruiting, publishing ‘personal white papers’, sharing business information and seeking venture capital -but she would also consider “paying - yes, paying - a small fee to be able to post messages. I look forward toseeing it all online”, she concludes. Well, Javana, we are already working on construction of the websiteand an on-line directory of members which is expected to come on-line later this year - more news in thenext issue.
There was no shortage of offers from you to contribute to nexus - so keep your ideas and suggestionsflowing
Jill DwyerAlumni and Business Development Manager
contentsAlumni News 03
Globalisation - changing therules of competitiveadvantage 04
Book Review 06
Career change? Just anotherchallenge 07
The Nexus Interview:Venture capital for the neweconomy 08
Alumni Profile: Tim SmithiesEMBA 92/95 10
Social Partnership -redefining industrialrelations? 12
School News 14
Noticeboard 16
A new look for nexus
contactsJill Dwyer, Alumni and Business Development Manager Alumni OfficeWarwick Business SchoolUniversity of WarwickCoventry CV4 7ALUnited KingdomTel: +44 (0)24 7652 4176Fax: +44 (0)24 7652 3719Email: [email protected]
Sue Cresswell, Alumni Assistant Tel: +44 (0)24 7652 4396Email: [email protected]/ac.uk
Nexus is the magazine of the AlumniAssociation, Warwick Business School,University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7ALUnited Kingdom Tel (024) 7652 4306http://www.wbs.warwick.ac.uk
The views contained in Nexus are those ofcontributors and not necessarily those ofWarwick Business School or the University ofWarwick.
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WARWICKBusiness school
Academic Update Seminar 19 May
Andrew PettigrewProfessor of Strategy andOrganisation
Dr Malcolm McIntoshDirector Corporate Citizenship Unit
Nigel SykesCentre for Small & Medium SizedEnterprises& Dr Martin JohnsonThe Hospice Movement &Thalidomide Trust
Dr Simon CollinsonSenior Lecturer in InternationalBusiness & Academic Director ofthe Full-time MBA
Summer Ball 13 July
Women’s Group SeminarSeptember
London Evening SeminarNovember
Masterclasses
Dr Malcolm McIntoshCreating Value from Shared Values23 April
Prof Leslie WillcocksMoving to Strategic e-Business4 May
Prof Howard ThomasEntrepreneurial Strategies for theGlobal Corporate10 May
Dr Philip SternThe Two Faces of Branding29 June
Hot Topics ExecutiveWorkshops
Prof Robert Johnston, MikeShulver & Dr Rhian SilvestroBeyond the Balanced Scorecard -More than Just a MeasurementFramework - 29 & 30 May
Prof John McGee, Prof LeslieWillcocks, Prof Bill Weinstein, Dr Chris Smith, Dr RichardWhittington & Ben KnightStrategic Thinking - StrategicActing18-20 June
Prof David Wilson, Prof PeterMcKiernan & Frances O’BrienPutting Scenarios to Work - 16-18 July
For further information on Alumni Association events, please contact Sue Cresswell on Tel: +44 (0)24 7652 4396 or Email: [email protected]
Academic UpdateSeminar
Singapore Dinner
Women’sGroup
Seminar
Professor Bob Johnston andYvonne Williams, ProgrammeManager of the DistanceLearning MBA hosted a dinnerfor Singapore alumni andcurrent students at the TradersHotel on 16th March. It was alively evening and gave everyonethe opportunity to catch up withold friends and make newcontacts.
If you would like to organisea get-together in your part of theworld, contact Jill Dwyer [email protected]
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‘Excellent, inspiring andfirst-rate’ was howattendees described thesecond Alumni Women’sGroup Seminar, whichtook place in February atthe Warwick offices inLondon. Dr DeAnne Julius,senior economist andmember of the Bank ofEngland monetary policycommittee gave anoverview of the way UKinterest rates are used tocontrol inflation.
She went on to makesome interestingpredictions about the stateof the UK economy andhow conditions such as atight labour market andintense price competitionwere likely to affectbusiness over the nextyear. In the final part ofher talk, she focused onher career and shared someof the lessons she hadlearnt in balancing herwork and her family life.Her views struck a chordwith many in the room!
We are delighted thatthe Industrial Society hasoffered to host the nextWomen’s Group Seminarat their offices in Londonthis autumn - a big thankyou to Helen McCrorie,their businessdevelopment director. Ifyou have any ideas forfuture events or would behappy to host a seminar ornetworking evening, pleasecontact Jill Dwyer [email protected]
The programme includes fourpresentations, with break-outgroups to discuss the key issues.There will be opportunities tonetwork with speakers and otherdelegates and guests.Thespeakers and their topics are:
Professor Andrew Pettigrewwill be asking whetherleadership makes a difference inorganisational performance.Everyone assumes that leadersmake a difference - but do they?The research evidence will bebalanced against conjecture andthe experience of alumni.
Dr Malcolm McIntosh willpresent a session titled ‘StrategicCorporate Citizenship’. Manyglobal companies are thusdescribing themselves - but whatis global citizenship and whatsort of initiatives does itembrace?
Nigel Sykes of the Centre forSMEs will be joined by Dr MartinJohnson of the HospiceMovement and ThalidomideTrust to look at the spectaculargrowth that has been achievedin some areas of the not-for-profit sector. Their talk willexamine what can be learnedfrom structures that releasetalent rather control.
Dr Simon Collinsonexamines the changing natureand rules of the global economy.These changes are altering therange of strategic opportunitiesfacing companies large andsmall. He explores the threatsand the many opportunities thatare open in an integrated globaleconomy.
To book a place on thisseminar contact, Sue Cresswellon [email protected]
diary dates
Taking place on 19 May, the Academic Updateseminar is one of the highlights of the WBS alumnicalender. You can join over a hundred othercolleagues and hear and debate four key businesstopics with senior academics and a respectedpractitioner from the not-for-profit sector.
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alumninews
Globalisation
04
When President Bill Clinton flew in to the University of Warwick inDecember as part of what was to be the final official overseas visit ofhis White House tenure, he seized on globalisation as the centraltheme of his speech. But what exactly lies behind this controversialword and how can the process it represents be rationalised? Simon Collinson looks at the threats and opportunities.
Changing the rules of competitive advantage
Simon Collinson is senior lecturerin international business and alsoacademic director of the full timeMBA programme at WarwickBusiness School. He previouslytaught international business atEdinburgh University ManagementSchool and, prior to that, wasassistant director of the Japanese-European Studies institute atEdinburgh for eight years. Hisdoctorate is from the Science PolicyResearch Unit, Sussex University.
Clinton’s choice of subject waspartly a response to theheadlines seized by the anti-globalisation demonstrators whohad earlier railed against theWorld Trade Organisation duringthe ‘Battle of Seattle’. Contraryto their beliefs, Clinton assertedthat, “open markets and rule-based trade are necessary provenengines of economic growth”.
Although adding thequalification that policy altern-atives are needed for assistingleast developed countries,Clinton’s central belief is that“globalisation is inevitable,irreversible and, on balance,beneficial to all”.
He rejects the ‘us versus them’confrontational argument andparticularly the targeting ofwestern multinationals by interestgroups. In the customaryplatitudinous style of Americanpresidential speeches, he suggest-ed that globalisation affects us alland that individuals, local comm-unities and corporations alike faceboth threats and opportunitiesfrom globalisation in a way thatcan never be reduced to ‘bad guysversus good guys’.
The evidenceInevitably, out came the evid-ence to support the argument.One somewhat emotive statisticused by Clinton was that “in asingle hour today, more peopleand goods move from continentto continent than moved in theentire nineteenth century”.
Perhaps more relevant totoday are World InvestmentReport figures published byUnited Nations Conference onTrade and Development(UNCTAD) that demonstrate the
growing interdependence andinteractivity of people, firms andnational economies.
Export trade figures over thepast twenty years are shownconsistently to be outrunningGDP. Foreign direct investment(FDI) and overseas production bymultinationals have both grownfaster than trade overall. Mostsignificantly, cross-bordermergers and acquisitions are upby almost fifty percent in thelatter half of the last decade.
One result of these trends isthat the largest five hundredfirms account for over half of allinternational trade and also foraround eighty percent of globalFDI. So, there is no denying thatglobalisation has led to largeorganisations getting larger.
An imperfect analogy can bedrawn between the corporatesales of large multinationals andthe GNP of world nations. Thisshows, for example, that GeneralMotors is the 26th largesteconomy and that ten multi-nationals are larger than, forexample, the nations of Portugalor Singapore.
The driversSo, what is the driving forcebehind globalisation? Why dobusinesses need to sell theirproducts and services beyondnational borders - and make allthe complex investments,alliances and people movementin order to do so? Just a few ofthe more prominent reasons arerevealing:
Liberalisation and generalderegulation has been aninexorable process. The opening-up of markets such as those inIndia and China has created a
vast opportunity for investmentin both production and market-oriented business.
Changes in global capitalmarkets and the development ofmore sophisticated financialservices have done much tofacilitate cross-border activity inmergers and acquisitions.
Technological change haspowered convergence in suchindustry sectors as telecoms,computing and electronics. Atthe same time, joint ventures, R & D alliances and mergeractivity have empoweredbusinesses to spread the cost andcut the risk of new productdevelopment.
Advances in communicationstechnology such as the internethave increased the opportunityfor firms to interact, buy and sellon a global basis and have alsoresulted in the creation of anentirely new generation ofinternational e-businesses.
The rise of the globalconsumer has allowed giants suchas Nestle, Diageo and Coca-Colato service global markets withhomogenous products - and toachieve huge economies of scale.
The growth of globalcompetition is forcing businessesto reduce their reliance ondomestic markets, so enablingthe globalisation process to self-perpetuate.
The effectsAll around us, we can touch andsee the impact of globalisation -through what we eat, the thingswe buy, the people we meet andthe firms with whom we comeinto contact.
Within the workplace, theeffects are visible at all levels.
For example, 73 million peoplenow work for foreign companies,so cultural and behaviouraldiversity among employees issomething we have to adapt to.Companies themselves buy andsell more globally and deal withalliances as well as competitorsfrom all parts of the world, soadding to the organisational andstrategic complexity of trade.
Perhaps less obvious,globalisation is both driving andbeing driven by shifting patternsof competitive advantage,resulting in a complex and ever-changing picture of winners andlosers. The effects are felt bywhole nations, corporations,local communities andindividuals alike - again makingthe ‘us and them’ scenario anover-simplification.
The UK exampleThat the fine balance isconstantly changing, however,can be seen from the UK-basedcar industry.
From the Nice summit, itemerged that Poland, with fortymillion people and five percentGDP growth, is likely to enterthe EU in the next round ofenlargement. With a Polishautoworker costing less than $5per hour, compared to over $15in Britain, why should weassume that the industry issalvageable using governmentfunding?
Clothing was yesterday’sproblem industry. Hero-to-villain retailer Marks & Spencerhad seventy percent of itsclothes made in the UK in 1997,employing around 85,000people. Within two years, thirtyper cent of its clothes were made
in Britain - and by far feweremployees. Balance this statisticwith the fact that China is nowthe world’s largest exporter ofclothes. The wages received bythe two million peopleemployed, although reasonablein terms of local purchasingparity, represent a fraction oftheir European equivalent.
Amongst all the complaintsabout foreign companies losinginterest in investing in the UK,however, we should observe thatBritain recently overtook theUSA as the world’s biggest globalsource of foreign directinvestment. In 1999, GreatBritain Plc was responsible forone quarter of all FDI outflows -$199 billion.
By these terms, globalisationis very much a transient, two-way process.
The new rulesOne view held in the west is thatmanufacturing is very muchyesterday’s economic backbone.Indeed, Americans mightparticularly endorse this view,given that only about fifteenpercent of them are employed inmanufacturing. The argumentcould suggest that, as the cheaplabour alternative lies with the newly-industrialisingnations, the west’s competitiveadvantage now lies with theprovision of value-added servicesin the ‘knowledge-based’ globaleconomy.
But, does it?Globalisation is no respecter ofbarriers. The economies ofemerging countries are not justexploiting their cheap labourbenefit in a manufacturing
the catalyst. Using FDI andtechnology transfer frommultinationals, an evolving ITinfrastructure has enabledIndian firms to move beyond thecheap labour stage in less thanone decade.
They are now leadinginnovators in some key, niche e-business areas. Thistransformation has beenunderpinned by new levels oflabour mobility and by newlevels of global transaction andcommercial interaction - each ofthese the very essence ofglobalisation.
The effect has been felt farbeyond the direct economicmultiplier effects in India’ssilicon cities of Madras andBangalore. For the country as awhole, the knock-on effects interms of social and humanwelfare are significant - surely anexcellent model of economicdevelopment.
What has happened to theseIndian companies has been apattern of evolving competitivepositioning in the globalmarketplace. This mirrors therise of Japanese car companies inthe 60s and 70s, the SouthKorean steel, shipping and carindustries of the 70s and 80s -but over a far shorter time-scale.
Globalisation hasempowered countries like India -partly through partnership withwestern business - to leverageexisting advantages and to buildnew ones and to compete head-on in ways surely neverenvisaged in the west.
Perhaps Bill Clinton got itlargely right. Globalisationcreates threats and opportunitiesfor all - but under new rules
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nexus | spring 2001
environment. They are alsomoving rapidly up the value-added economic food chain inthe non-manufactured growthindustries of the future.
Witness the amazing growthprofile of the Indian softwareindustry - it shows that the rulesare new and that tables have ahabit of turning. A classicexample is the take-over of theUK’s Tetley group in March lastyear by Tata Tea Limited.Originally a tea estates companyand now India’s second-mostpopular tea brand, Tata has 54tea estates and employs 59,000people. It is a subsidiary of theTata group, one of India’s largestpublicly quoted conglomerates.
Look more closely and you’llfind that another arm of Tata isTCS which - if its own PR is to bebelieved - is ‘Asia’s largest globalsoftware and services company’.TCS has doubled its revenueevery two years over the past six.Its products include customisedsoftware, systems, consultancyservices and - increasingly - e-business products. These aremarketed to a wide range ofbusinesses, partly throughalliances with western giants like Microsoft, IBM andNetscape.
The final twist in the story isthat the revenue and enhancedmarket capitalisation gainedfrom the software side providedthe leverage to move up thevalue-chain in the tea industry.Surely, colonisation in reverse?
Equally dramatic has beenthe speed of this transition.Returning Indian softwareengineers and entrepreneurs,trained and well-networked inthe US and Europe, have been x
Witness theamazing growthprofile of theIndian softwareindustry - it showsthat the rules arenew and thattables have a habitof turning
Organising for the twenty-first century
06
By AndrewPettigrew - reviewed byEdward Paxton
Edited by Andrew Pettigrew andEvelyn Fenton, this book is aproduct of the Warwick BusinessSchool-initiated INNFORMprogramme of research, which isbeing carried out by aninternational network ofscholars. The authors haveselected eight case studies fromthe current INNFORM total ofeighteen studies - the aim beingto examine innovation incontemporary organisations andto test their benefits.
The book itself is animpressively-researched work,with 22 pages of reference. Theeight case studies included coverwell known global businesses,five of which aspire to achievecompany-wide organisationalinnovation, whilst the otherthree focus on the changing ofimportant parts of their business.
Each case study examines
different issues that, collectively,include team-based structures,social mechanisms and HRM,networks, drivers for change,and barriers to change. It would,of course, have been incompletewithout looking at those oldfavourites from organisationalbehaviour - the various levels ofanalyses.
At first, I found this book alittle difficult to get into (myweakness - not the authors’), butonce I did, I found it interestingand well-written. I particularlyenjoyed the case study of OveArup, as I know this organisationvery well.
The case studies includesignificant changes to theorganisations, yet I felt thatissues of internal conflict andresistance were not sufficientlyexplored. This is possibly due tothe aim of the book being
to capture and analyse theinnovation trends and also thelongitudinal and formulaicstructure of the chapters.Nevertheless, a little more of thisimportant topic could have beenincluded.
I was also slightly intriguedas to what happened to theother ten case studies.Why werethe chosen eight selected? Isuspect that it was a ‘fit’ with thesubject of the book - but a briefsynopsis of the missing casestudies would have been helpful.
Nevertheless, this is afascinating and enjoyable book.For those of us who enjoyed OBand Management of Changeduring our time at Warwick, Iwould say this book is a must.For those who didn’t, maybe youmight want to try this - it couldmake a difference! x
Value-based marketingBy Peter Doyle- reviewed bySue Joiner
With a background in finance,you might expect me toapproach books on marketingwith a fair degree of scepticism.You’d be right - Peter Doyle’snew book Value-based Marketingevoked just this reaction.
In the preface, professorDoyle acknowledges that he hasthe most ambitious objective -seeking to re-define the purposeof marketing and challengingmarketeers to evaluate thesuccess of their marketingstrategies in terms of the valuecreated for investors. I wasprepared to be convinced - and Iwas!
Value-based Marketingchallenges the dominance offinance in promoting short-termfocus on increasing profitabilityand provides the framework forthe marketing department toengage in this strategic debate. Itargues that marketing must shiftfrom being a specialist activity tobeing an integral part of the
general management process -with a focus on generating long-term value from intangiblemarketing assets.
Whilst the theories andprinciples of value-creation arethoroughly and persuasivelyplaced before the reader in partone, this book is also very mucha hands-on guide. Parts two andthree present a structuredapproach to developing andimplementing high-valuemarketing strategies.
Whilst there is much herethat will be familiar to anymarketing student orpractitioner, the synthesis of thestrategic with the marketingcreates an approach that ispractical yet vigorous. Eachchapter begins with a bulletedlist of objectives and is liberallysprinkled with topical examples.The book is meticulously writtenin a clear and focused style.
The dust-jacket of PeterDoyle’s book claims it to be an
bookreview
‘essential text for MBAs’. Idisagree - in my view, it is anessential text for any managerwho wants to improve the wayin which they manage theirbusiness to create sustainablevalue. Value-based Marketingchallenged some of myassumptions - and many of itsmessages still resonate x
Determination and ambitionmay be two of the traits thatcharacterise Kiwi AlisonAndrew’s still relatively shortcareer, but the one that seems todominate is her preparedness touse career change to give her theexperience she seeks to fulfil herambitions. To use her phrase, itis quite often “time to dosomething different”.
In 1984, she emerged fromAuckland University with a first-class Bachelor of Honours degreein Chemistry and Engineering.“At the first attempt, I foundwhat at the time was my dreamjob at the first and the (then)world’s largest gas-to-gasolineconversation plant in NewZealand”, she says. It was aproject that would also takeAlison to Adelaide, Australia fora time, where she further honedher skills as a trainee engineer.
The project was at theinteresting construction andcommissioning stage, but theculmination of what shedescribes as “four years nuts-and-bolts engineering” thentook her across the world towork as an operations processengineer for Air ProductsLimited in London.
The overseas experienceHere was to be found the sourceof more change. “I decided to dowhat most young Kiwis do andtaste the OE - Overseas
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nexus | spring 2001
Experience”, she continues. “Ihad a great job, travelling andworking around central Europe.
“Then I made anotherdecision. I decided that therehad to be more to life thanworking as a trouble-shooter onan air separation plant in themiddle of the night! A day job ina civilized office had heaps ofappeal!” she adds with someconviction.
So, it was on to a full-timeMBA at WBS in 1988. “I choseWarwick because it was veryhighly rated and because Iwanted a one-year course. Also,WBS wasn’t full of engineers likeCranfield. There was an addedspin-off because my thenboyfriend - now my husband -was doing a doctor of philoso-phy at Oxford, so it was veryconvenient”, she concludes.
Career changeOn her return to New Zealand,Alison was to use her WarwickMBA (distinction) as the catalystto a change career away fromhands-on engineering to whatwas ultimately to be eleven yearswith New Zealand’s largestinternational corporate - FletcherChallenge Limited.
FCL is listed on the NewZealand, Australian and NewYork stock exchanges and has acombined operating revenue ofNZ$7.7 billion. Previously one ofFortune magazine’s top five
Career change?Just another challenge
When you leave university in New Zealand with first-class honoursand walk straight into your ‘dream job’ at the first attempt, surelyyour career path is at least well-defined? Not so for Alison Andrew,for whom it was but a stepping stone to an MBA at Warwick BusinessSchool - before returning home to join her native New Zealand’slargest corporate. Here, in her burgeoning career, she has takencareer change to her heart.
hundred companies andrepresented in twelve countries,FCL operates in four businessdivisions - paper, building,energy and forestry.
During her eleven years withone employer, Alison made aseries of career changes withinthe group that took her intothree of the four primarybusiness sectors - building beingthe exception. These changesbrought with them a furtherbonus - she would gainexperience in most of the spreadof roles available within acorporate. “My roles havevariously ranged from businessanalyst to development directorand from manufacturing directorto finance director”, sheexplains.
From corporate to dotcomIt was to be a relationship thatfinally came to an end earlierthis year when she tookredundancy from FletcherChallenge Paper when it wassold out to Norske Skog. “It wastime to do something differentonce more - including havingsome equity in the business”,she says, adding with an almostdisarming simplicity, “I movedto a dotcom agricultural businesscalled Fencepost.com. It isanother challenge, a newindustry and a new role as COO- but the same sort of skillsapply”, she rationalises.
Life in New Zealand, shefeels, has a mix of values Sheclearly favours the lifestyle,enjoying lots of sailing on whatshe describes as “our beautifulharbour”. But she is less sureabout what there is left incorporate New Zealand. “Career-wise, you have to be creative tostay here”, she says.
Even if it does mean movingto Australia or further, Alisonhas no doubt at all that hercareer objectives are far fromfulfilled and believes that “thereare many interesting challengesout there if you are prepared tolook”.
As an aspiration, she seeks touse her business developmentand leadership experiencesuccessfully to lead a medium-sized business through thechallenge of a significant changeprocess. Given the creativitythrough which she hasharnessed career change for herown development, few candoubt that Alison Andrew willachieve this goal.
Website -www.fencepost.com x
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Venture capital for
Little more than a year ago - in the living room of a Fulham flat -three entrepreneurial Warwick MBAs put together a business plan forwhat became the Sargasso Partnership. Its core activity was toprovide early-stage investment to internet-related business. Within ayear, Sargasso was integrated into European Capital Ventures Plc,retaining two of the founder MBAs. ECV’s Managing Director, DanielGeoghegen and Senior Investment Manager, Charles Morgan explainthe passion behind the mission.
Nexus: Where did the idea firstcome from?
Daniel: While I was workingon e-commerce strategy at thehead office of HMV, we werebeing offered lots ofopportunities in and around theinternet. These came from youngpeople whose ideas wereincredible - but they themselveswere not credible. They werecoming to us because theyneeded direction and money,but had little idea how tointeract with blue chip business.
One reason they couldn’tfind the money is because thereis an equity gap in the UK andEurope. Venture capitalistsgenerally don’t have time tolook after relatively low valuedeals and traditional businessangels are often deterred by thedemands of internet-relatedbusiness.
Potential entrepreneurs wereright in thinking that theyneeded money. But moreimportant in my view was forthem to find an investor whocould also provide operationaland strategic guidance. I thoughtthere was a great opportunity tohelp such start-ups - not just tofind the money but to be hands-on and establish relationshipswith strategic blue chip partners.This is how Sargasso Partnershipwas born.
Nexus: How did Sargassoevolve into ECV?
Daniel: ECV Plc is thebrainchild of a US investmentgroup called FG ll Ventures LLC(www.fgiiventures.com) that
has been making investments intechnology-related businessacross the USA. In eight years,they have made investmentstotalling over $100million in theUS new economy.
As part of its Europeanstrategy, FG ll is in the process ofclosing a fund called EuropeanCapital Ventures to invest in IT-related business in Europe. Thefund will be partly deployed tohelp such companies withcapital for acquisition andorganic expansion. SargassoPartners was integrated into ECVon 1st February.
Nexus: What investmentshave you made so far?
Daniel: Since 1st Februarywe have committed to invest ina Dutch-based business calledLadot (www.ladot.com) whichfocuses on the provision of IToutsourcing solutions to theEuropean SME segment. Ladothas since acquired - out ofbankruptcy - The Netherlands’largest domain name registrationand web-hosting business,known as Free Hosting and hasintegrated Free Hosting’soperations into its own.
Nexus: How valuable to youwere your MBAs - and did theytruly prepare you for business in thenew economy?
Charles: I had a strong set ofoperational skills from mymilitary experience but probablylacked commerciality. The MBAteaching helped to plug this gap.It is true to say that you couldperhaps acquire these skills fromother providers, what they
can’t do is to replicate the WBSMBA environment. It is muchmore important to come intocontact with other people. Tome, the MBA environment wasmore important than thesubstance of the learning.
Daniel: Initially, it was aquestion of putting my skillsinto a package that wasrecognisable to a futureemployer and, at that time, alsocreating a good platform fromwhich to launch a step-changein career level and direction.
What you really invest inwith an MBA is not the cost, butthe time. You are taking a yearout that you can never get back -that year has to be deployed inthe best possible way. What Irecommend to people selectingan MBA is to go for a good brand- whatever it costs. Don’t skimpon the cost of an MBA. Select thebest and then use its reputationto leverage yourself forward.
Charles: One thing thatbecame obvious to us was theneed to keep our profile highand sell ourselves as a team anda business. The MBA bolsteredthese needs but perhaps didn’tprepare us fully for selling.Selling is sometimes seen as anunsophisticated and down-market skill. In fact, it is a keyone.
Nexus: In making investments,what kind of businesses are youlooking for?
Daniel: Every venturecapitalist has a particular focus.We are looking for companies inwhich we can invest and add
value to - not only throughproviding the capital butthrough our own networks andexperience.
We are not investing in ideas- but in companies. We likecompanies with revenues, orforeseeable revenues - companieswhich have a product and whichhave customers. We prefercompanies that have gonethrough some of the evolution-ary stages, some of the R & D,where we can take them on tothe next level - ultimately tooffer them up to later-stageventure capitalists or to themarkets in order to finance thenext stage of growth or provideus with an exit.
Charles: The typical profileof a company in which we wouldlike to invest has to offer two keythings. We’re looking for someproprietary knowledge - perhapsa company that has developedsome piece of software ortechnology that gives it anadvantage. This is the R & D.
We’re also looking for thatcompany to have the skill-set todeliver the product to market.Many of the businesses that wehave ‘passed’ on are deficient inone or other of these two keyareas.
Daniel: In looking atinvestments, one of thecornerstones is getting under theskin of the management team -testing the integrity of the skills.We’d much rather back aningenious team with a reason-able idea than a reasonable teamwith a fantastic idea. It is these
nexusinterview
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the new economyteams that are much more likelyto create value for us as aninvestor.
Nexus: What do you look forin a business plan?
Charles: On business plansthat we receive, we often see thesame trajectory on the path toprofit. You can put a financialplan together but it is achievingit that matters. So, plans aresomewhat generic. We alwaysflick first to the back page, to theCVs, to see the quality of themanagement team. This way, weknow better whether they canback up that curve.
Daniel: What we’ve seen inour own development inSargasso is that circumstancesand markets change - and, withthat, so must strategy. Externalfactors affect the way you dobusiness. You need a team thatcan make the most of the spacethat is created when things don’tgo entirely to plan - and theyrarely do!
We find it useful to thinkoutside the box. This was afeature of one particular courseat Warwick, Global BusinessEnvironment run by GordonMurray and Ben Knight. Theypositively encouraged thinking‘around’ a business plan.
Charles: Effectively, thisallows you to do some detailedanalysis, using technicalattributes with which we wereimbued at Warwick, but then tocome back later, having factored-in all the other contextualelements. This is a ‘reality’ checkinto the external influences
that could undermine the logicof a business plan.
Nexus: Many e-companiesseem to have been overvalued. Hasthe sector peaked?
Daniel: Although we believethat the sector has been hyped,we also believe that there ismedium and long-term value inthe new economy. So, whilst thependulum had swung stronglyin one direction, it is nowcoming the other way, withsome companies losing up to100% of their value and someeven going bankrupt. To anextent, this indicates that themarket appetite - just as it wasvery positive fifteen months ago- has become risk-averse.
Charles: One of the reasonsthat there has been such a swingis that the larger private equitycompanies have taken a blanketjudgement on whether tocontinue funding the sector,rather than making decisions ona case-by-case basis.
Daniel: I think there will bemore casualties before we see avery interesting rebirth of thenew economy over the next yearor two. This will happenthrough a much moretraditional matrix, which wethink is very healthy.
Nexus: What advice wouldyou give companies seekingfunding?
Daniel: Something we seetime and time again in potentialinvestee companies is anunderestimation of the time ittakes to raise money and close adeal. During this period -
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nexus | spring 2001
which usually spans fromanywhere between three to sixmonths - I advise companiesnever to underestimate the timeit takes and never to stopnegotiating with others. Even ifyou think you’ve got your backerin the bag, keep the doors open!
Charles: It is also anemotionally draining period.Furthermore, there is a tradegoing on here between entre-preneur and fund-raiser. Moneydoesn’t come in for nothing andyou need to be braced to transfersome control of the entity to thepeople who are investing in you.They will have a large say-so inhow the company is run - andthat’s something that can meansignificant self-adjustment.
Nexus: ECV is only a smallteam - how do you interact as aunit?
Daniel: As you say, we are asmall unit, bonded by acommon grounding at WarwickBusiness School and by personalfriendship - which has proved astrong one. When you work in asmall team, there needs to be agood mix of skills andpersonalities. Whilst we all haveareas of particular focus, there issomething of the generalist ineach of us.
Nexus: Has the Warwickconnection been important?
Daniel: From the earlyplanning stages of Sargasso, Ihave great memories of the teamspirit and camaraderie - and Iparticularly recall the selflesssupport we had from ourcontempories at Warwick.
For example, James Boguesof Accenture in Atlanta, AndyBailey of PwC and Mary Murphyof Abbey National all sacrificedtime to the cause, including oneweekend when James flew inspecially from America. Wespent the better part of theweekend in Andy’s living room,where we all grafted - very MBA-like - on a strategy session tohelp advance our plans. We owethem a special debt of gratitude
The Warwick connectiongoes deeper, too. AnotherWarwick contemporary, TimWalker, was a key member of theSargasso team throughout 2000and this experience helped himpursue other interests afterSargasso was integrated intoECV. Yet another WarwickGraduate, Mathew Bird, joinedus last summer as a businessanalyst.
Nexus: Finally, are there anydeals that you wish you had done,but missed?
Daniel: No, we never regretdeals that we don’t do. We maydecide for a number of reasonsto leave a deal on the table - andit is important to retain thatprofessional perspective. Anyother approach would betantamount to gambling.
Daniel Geoghegan iscontactable [email protected] andCharles Morgan [email protected] x
Daniel Geoghegen (right) withCharles Morgan
10
However senior you are it always helps to have an ally in the wider market place.
We at Chapple work alongside you to help you establish your long term career
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Tim Smithies outside Christ Church College, Oxford
Tim Smithies EMBA 92/95
The route from singing as achorister at CanterburyCathedral to reading classics atOxford, to managing aprofessional touring operacompany and then runningyour own music recordingcompany is not the straightestcareer road. Add a pit-stopcommuting from Amsterdamto study for an MBA atWarwick Business School - andyou finish up with a skills mixas fascinating as the man whois still travelling his chosenmusic highway.
From the distance of hisoffice in Cornwall, Tim Smithies,the managing director ofMetronome Records, is a littleuncertain how the story of hisbusiness may be of interest toreaders of nexus.
As he says, perhaps with adash of classic Britishunderstatement, “Metronome isstill a small company, but with agrowing catalogue andreputation. However, in the eyesof a Warwick MBA case studyenthusiast, it would not be avery tasty morsel as our profitsare slim and our balance sheetnot exactly robust”, he explains.
From Canterbury to OxfordMusic has clearly been a life-longpassion for Tim Smithies. Fromthe beginning, he enjoyed amusical education, firstly as achorister at CanterburyCathedral, subsequently as amusic scholar at Harrow Schooland later as a cellist member ofthe National Youth Orchestra.At Oxford, where he readclassics, he was heavily involvedin orchestras and operaproduction and enjoyedmanaging such events. However,his early career thoughts decidedhim “against a career as amusician, a decision I have notregretted” he says.
On graduation, Tim spentwhat must have been a joyoustime in organising a chorus forthe Rossini Opera Festival atPesaro in Italy.
He returned to the UK andworked his way through variousjobs within music. “Theseblossomed into a full-time jobmanaging the Arts Council-funded Early Music Network”, hesays. “I also ran the network’sLondon Festival, giving me vitalexperience in small businessmanagement”, he adds.
The road to WarwickThen came his first contact withthe University of Warwick. “Iwas asked by Simon Halsey, thedirector of music to take over themanagement of his professionaltouring opera company. From atiny office in the Arts Centre, Imanaged the company for threeseasons, with productions thatincluded my favourite - Puccini’sLa Boheme.
“The company then mergedto become the City ofBirmingham Touring Opera.Alas, this was not for me. I wasfed up with all the politicking ofthe subsidised sector and theslightly cap-in-hand posture ofworking in arts administration.That said, I believe that some ofthe most astute, thrifty andcunning people now run smalltheatre and arts organisations.You have to, to survive!” heconcludes with conviction.
In 1987, Tim moved into theprivate sector and in 1990 hewas recruited by Nimbus RecordsLtd., one of the leading musicand technology companies inthe UK at the time and the firstto manufacture CDs.
“It was during this period,having been rapidly promoted tointernational music marketingmanager, that I did somethingabout my professional trainingand commenced a part-timeMBA at Warwick”, he explains.“The background to this wasthat my employer - an unusualcompany - gave its youngmanagers great independenceand opportunities. For example,I particularly enjoyed doingbusiness in Korea and HongKong”.
Redundancy for Tim - theresult of the corporateturbulence following the deathof Robert Maxwell, a majorshareholder - was equally swiftlyfollowed by an offer of a salesagency for continental Europe -at a CD-manufacturing plant inAmsterdam.
“With this contract as anumbrella - and paying theairfares - I set up MetronomeRecordings Ltd. and commutedfrom Amsterdam to continue mypart-time MBA at Warwick”, hesays. “My syndicate colleaguesgave me excellent supportduring this tricky time and Iconcentrated especially hard inthe new business andentrepreneurship sessions!”
Meanwhile, with only itssecond recording, the companywon its first industry award in1996. “This gave us realcredibility in the global classicalmusic market, enabling us to gofull time at building our ownlabel”, he explains.
The Cornwall factorFive years later, life changedagain when he was married towife Rosemary. They moved thebusiness to Cornwall, which, hesays, “is a wonderful place fordaughters Annie and Olivia togrow up in and is also anexcellent environment for smallcompanies - and that was beforethe days of Objective One status!
“My office overlooks PenrynCreek and I have boat designers,software developers and deep seafishermen as immediateneighbours”, he continues. “Anydisadvantage from being distantto the rest of the musical worldis more than made up for by thequality of life here and the goodworking environment.
Tim states that the businessprofits are slim and that thepersonal remuneration is notsomething that would meet thenormal requirements of mostWarwick graduates - but he hasclearly found his niche.
Warwick recalled“From Warwick, I can recallthose videos of John HarveyJones lecturing feebleentrepreneurs like myself on allthe ideas that should beintroduced. My attitude now isthat ideas are two a penny - it isputting them into action that isthe hard part”, he says.
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nexus | spring 2001
What sort of challenges andpressures are faced by a smallbusiness such as MetronomeRecordings Limited? TimSmithies singles out the world ofe-commerce, which has mostaffected the world of music. Hepoints to the potential threat tohis copyrights posed by piratedownloading of music from theweb - but he sees counter-balancing opportunities, too.
“We have some strongalliances in the niches that wehave established, and businessprospects and growth are therefor the taking - high qualityproducers will have plenty toaim at”, he believes.
With a touch of humour, hepoints to one thing thatWarwick never taught him - thatevery month of the first fiveyears of the business, he wouldbe making decisions that wouldhave a profound affect on thefuture of the company. At first,he found this constant risk-taking was a stressful experience,involving long drawn-outsessions and sleepless nights.
“We’ve moved on now, andtake these decisions without asecond thought, knowing thatour gut feel is likely to be right -but also being ready to get adamage-limitation plan inearly!” he says.
So much for analysis andplanning. Tim believes that suchflexibility can often be thetrump card. He cites the exampleof a major co-production withChannel 4, which by rightsshould have gone to a majorcompany. “We proved that wecould put it all together in twomonths rather than nine - so wehad the contract”, he says withobvious pride.
His personal message inintroduction to the Metronomecorporate brochure New Musicfor the 21st century shows thathe understands well such firstprinciples. He writes, “As theworld of classical musicembraces the new century,Metronome is confident that thetalent, exuberance andenthusiasm that the composers,performers, producers andengineers invest in our finerecordings will continue todelight you, the listener, themost vital link in the chain”
Social partnership
Within industrial relations, social partnership and its new ways ofworking have been shown to deliver a better working environmentand greater job security. But, as a philosophy, have we taken it as faras we can? After all, it has been keenly endorsed both by the PrimeMinister and the social partners - as we are now learning to call tradeunions and employers’ associations. So, can it permanently redefineindustrial relations?
The concept of socialpartnership should revolvearound simple, linked ideas. Itmust be a shared and openarrangement between allconcerned. For this to happen,traditional thinking has to bechallenged. Certainly, it means anew role for the trade unions.But it also demands that the old‘low-trust’ relationship betweenthe employees and thoseemployed must be overcome -and, with it, managerialinclination to marginalise therole of unions.
A people vision“This was the challenge facing usin 1999 when we first startedworking with the Littlewoodsretail organisation and its tradeunions, USDAW and GMB”, saysMike Terry, professor ofindustrial relations andorganisational behaviour atWarwick Business School. “Whychange at all? After allLittlewoods is a highly successfuland progressive business with amajor High Street presence,home sales of over £2,000million and a joint homeshopping channel establishedwith Granada”.
“Actually, the answer - oranswers - are not difficult tofind”, he explains. “At the time,Littlewoods was embarking on arestructuring, there was strongsupport for change from bothgovernment and the unions and,finally, there was a recognitionof the vital contribution thatemployees could make. This wasa people vision to match abusiness vision”, he concludes.
At the outset, there werenineteen separate bargainingunits - and a similar number ofpay discussions each year. It wasalso accepted that therelationship with the two tradesunions was a largely a reactiveone. The executive council ofUSDAW, one of the principalunions concerned, said that itwas seeking from partnership,“employers and unions co-operating to improve workingconditions and to give theiremployees a greater say in howthe company is run”.
What was developed?Throughout much of the year,extensive negotiations tookplace. These were steered byMike Terry but embraced far-reaching principles that coulddeliver new ways of working toprovide real benefits for all.Meeting venues were mixedbetween Scarman House on theUniversity Campus in Coventryand Bolton Wanderers’ Reebokstadium, close to Littlewoods’headquarters.
The process culminated inthe signature of a partnershipagreement in the autumn of thatyear, 1999. It was then givenoverwhelming employeeendorsement in a ballot early in2000.
12
- redefining industrial relations?
problem-solving for both thetrades union and employees atevery level.
One year onHow was the new partnershipdeal seen after twelve months?Certainly, from a broad point ofview, the harmonisation of payanniversary dates andemployment procedures, successhad been achieved.
The agreed pay deal wasregarded as “affordable” andsignificant changes in workingpractice were implemented atkey distribution centres.Potentially difficult agreementwas reached on the sale of onedivision of the business.
Some specific activities, itwas agreed, had gone less well.For example, not all aspects ofculture and tradition had beenchanged, some ongoing work intraining and employeedevelopment would be neededand it was also apparent that theslack trading environment in theretail sector had not helped theadoption of a culture change.Patricia MacDonald, represent-ing Littlewoods within thepartnership, is upbeat. “Theagreement replaces
the fact of delivering single-procedure negotiation isremarkable. The decision-makingpart of the process has beenhighly successful”.
Has she any reservations?“Yes, it is fair to say that theperception of our members hasfallen short of what it should be.Confidence in what we arestriving to do has to be built andcommunicated - something thatis not helped when tradingconditions are difficult. So, verysatisfactory overall but there arestill some challenges to meet”,she concludes.
Profound challengeAs Mike Terry himself says, “Thepartnership concept alone is noguarantee of success. Thechallenges for employees, unionsand employers are profound.Partnership is neither risk-freenor a solution to all industrialproblems and conflict.
“Indeed, it might come to beseen as just the latest in a seriesof managerial fads. But it mightalso re-establish the centrality ofindustrial relations for businesssuccess and for employee rights”,he suggests
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nexus | spring 2001
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Some of the partnershipprinciples that were evolved andset included measures thatwould ensure:� Business success� Stability and security of
employment� A pro-active role for the
trades union.� Real benefits for all.� New ways of working
Within this framework, therewas to be provision for highquality education and learningopportunity, improvedcommunications and a higherquality of working life.
The newly developedpartnership would see the tradesunion playing a key role.Significantly, the newpartnership would also have adirect input to the structure andcore activities of Littlewoods as abusiness.
The benefits can now be seenin a partnership that mirrors thenew integrated organisation.Nineteen different bargainingunits were reduced to one, and asingle agreement harmonisedthe core terms and conditions ofemployment for all.
Improved communicationssaw strategic involvement in
arrangements which had been inplace for twenty years in somecases”, she says. “We and ourunions have achieved a greatdeal in a relatively short time,and when you consider thedifficult retail climate withinwhich we have operated, Ibelieve our continuedcommitment to the partnershiptakes on an even greatersignificance.
“As a business, part of thepressure to which we areresponding is to implement astrategy which improves theservice, value and choice that weoffer to our customers. For me,the success of the partnershipagreement will be its ability tosupport and respond to theconsiderable change demandedby our business in its efforts toremain a major retail force”, shesummarises.
Val Pugh of USDAW, one ofthe two principal trade unionswithin the partnership, is alsocommitted to it. At a time whenher union is about to embark onan achievement review, shebelieves that the partnership hasworked together verysatisfactorily. “We may not bequite there yet”, she says, “but
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schoolnews
New Virgin business guides: short cut to success
Historyrepeats
itself
By the book?With refreshing candour, Virginhead Sir Richard Branson says, “Ihaven’t always done business bythe book myself. Sometimes, Ihave regretted that...”.
Certainly, the new VirginBusiness Guides represent whatthe publisher sees as a newapproach. “Today’s decision-makers are busier than ever”,says the company. “They don’thave time for four hundredpages of high theory. They wanthonest, accessible, practicaladvice from a highly respectedsource - and they want it fast.
“The Virgin Business Guidesare Short Cuts to Success,delivering smart, candid andreliable information - advicefrom a friend who’s been thereand done it”, concludes Virgin.
WBS linksJoint series editors for the newtitles, Grier Palmer and RobertCraven, have worked jointlywith the Virgin editorial team,WBS and the University toestablish the new association.Additionally, all the authorshave well-establishedconnections with WBS. RobertCraven and Timothy Cummingshave worked together on aprogramme Grow withMarketing to help SMEs, whilstPaul Barrow, Robert and Grierare long-time colleaguesinvolved in CSME programmesfor growth-minded owners.
“As Robert Craven pointsout, running a business is notrocket science, but neithershould the thought needed torun a successful business beunderestimated”, says ProfessorDavid Storey.
Under a new deal announced on 22nd February, theauthority of the Warwick Business School brand andthe innovation of the Virgin publishing brand havebeen brought together with the launching of a seriesof new business books. Other titles are planned tofollow through the spring and summer.
Three launch titlesThe three launch volumes of theVirgin Business Guides, availablenow, are:
Kick-start Your Business -One Hundred Days to a Leaner,Fitter Organisation. By RobertCraven (0 7535 0537 1). 192pp.£9.99PB.
Planning is not just for start-ups it’s the key to successfulbusiness development andgrowth for every company newand old. If you’re launching newproducts or services, taking onmore people, relocating to largerpremises, buying a business orselling one - you’ll do better ofyou plan.
The Best-laid Business Plans- How to Write Them, How to PitchThem. By Paul Barrow (0 75350532 0). 192pp. £9.99PB
Feel your business could dowith a tune-up, but you’re toobusy running it to sort out theproblems? The case studies,worksheets and practicalexercises in the book will help
you to take the pain out ofbusiness planning, increase yourprofitability and keep yourcustomers.
Little e, Big Commerce - Howto Make a Profit Online. ByTimothy Cumming (0 7535 05428) 192pp. £9.99PB
If you haven’t taken the e-commerce plunge yet, or if youwant to get more out of yourwebsite, this book offers simple,plain-speaking advice on how tomove forward. Find out what e-commerce really is, how to doit properly and - above all -profitably.
... and to followThe next two titles in the VirginBusiness Guides - due forpublication later in the spring -are:
Do Something Different -Proven Marketing Techniques toTransform Your Business. (0 75350528 2). 192pp. £9.99PB.
Fourteen key marketingprinciples with tried and testedways of taking a sideways look atyour competitors and doingsomething a little bit surprising.Follow its advice and you can setyourself apart from the crowd.
It’s Not About Size - BiggerBrands for Smaller Businesses. (0 7535 0593 2). 192pp. £9.99PB.
Practical ways to energiseany organisation througheffective communications - withaccessible analysis of the benefitsof branding, usefulcommunications and themessages of clever design.
Special alumni offer As part of a special introductoryoffer - available until 31st May -alumni members can save 15%off the RRP of £9.99 for any ofthe first four titles. Copies can beordered on-line from the web-based book ordering resource forUniversity of Warwick for £8.49plus P&P - or you can collectthem personally. Contactwww.BOOKSACK.co.uk
Alternatively, you cancontact the University bookshopdirectly via e-mail:[email protected]
A remarkable triple coincidence underscoredthe celebration by WarwickBusiness School of thegraduation of its onethousandth Master of Artsin Industrial Relations,earlier this year. RecipientClare Mullis was presentedwith her certificate byRichard Burden, MP forBirmingham Northfield.Burden is himself a graduateof the Warwick MAIR - as ishis ministerial boss, the Rt.Hon. Geoff Rooker, MP.
Congratulating Clare,Richard Burden said, “It isdifficult for me to believethat it is now twenty yearssince my time at Warwick,when Hugh Clegg wasprofessor. I wish Clare allthe best in her career and,no doubt, she will discover -as I have - that you neverentirely leave Warwick”, headded.
Graduating withdistinction, Clare’s careerpath reflects the changingnature of industrialrelations, as she moves onto take up a HumanResources post at internat-ional banker, Citicorp’sLondon office.
She joins a distinguishedlist of fellow graduates fromWarwick - a list representingsome of the highest levelachievers among internat-ional trade unions, politics,commerce and learnedbodies. To take a singleexample, Wendy Alexander,minister for enterprise andlifelong learning in theScottish parliament, is one.
She recalls, “I chose tostudy industrial relations atWarwick because relationsbetween people in theworkplace and the wideraspect of public policyinterested me. In thisrespect, Warwick has a greatreputation
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Its £10 million, seven yearprogramme is drawing on two ofthe region’s best-knownflagships in knowledge-transferto industry, from academicresearch and teaching. These arethe Warwick ManufacturingGroup and the Centre for Smalland Medium-sized Enterprises.
The new institute is alsosupporting a programme of‘enterprise fellowships’ -financialsupport designed to allowfellows to develop a businessidea to the point of company orproduct launch.
To this is added a ‘newventure award’ forentrepreneurship training.
At a practical level, the MIEis also helping to identifyexploitable research andproviding a unique resource ofinternational best practice. It isdoing this through combiningthe links of the partneruniversities to help increase thequality of knowledge transferfrom university to business
WBS among the ‘best in the world’
Unleashing the magic
Not our view - but a keyconclusion from the FinancialTimes annual survey of businessschools which shows thatWarwick Business School hasadvanced its ranking bynineteen places - to fortieth inthe world. It is now also in thetop ten within Europe and isfourth in the UK.
Its high standing is furtherconfirmed by the ranking ofPhDs - showing that theexceptionally high regard withwhich the WBS doctoralprogramme is held is reflected bythe award of third highest scorein the world.
“We have been takingsignificant measures over recentyears to ensure that WBS deliversa flexible range of managementeducation that is relevant in thisfast-moving and competitivemarket place”, commentsProfessor Howard Thomas, Deanof WBS.
“Our world ranking, largelybased on a survey of alumni, isproof of the quality of ourfaculty, the relevance of ourteaching and - not least - of theefforts that have been made bythe whole school. I am confidantthat we will not only maintainour status, but improve it infuture years”, he predicts.VinHammersley, WBS director ofcommunications, also puts thesignificance of the world rankinginto context. “I recentlypresented at the Association of
As part of the launchingceremony of a new initiativedesigned to kindle ten new andfast-growth technologycompanies each year from theregion’s universities, ScienceMinister Lord Sainsbury fittinglyused laser techniques developedby one of these fledglingbusinesses.
Watched by the press andother invited guests, the logo forthe Mercia Institute of Enterprise(MIE) was etched out of sheetsteel using laser technologydeveloped by Herfurth LasersTechnology, a business that wasitself spun out of the Universityof Warwick as recently as onlylast year.
Warwick-ledLed by Warwick, the newinstitute has been formed by aconsortium of ten midlands’universities. Its objective is toempower revolutionary changesin attitude to entrepreneurshipand business start-ups.
Business Schools conference,where Della Bradshaw, businesseducation correspondent for theFinancial Times, also spoke”, heexplains. “She gave anenlightened overview of theratings that included opinionshe has received from schoolsoutside the UK. On thesuggestion that the rankingslook very North American, sheagreed - but only to the extentthat the Americans have thehighest population of businessschools in the world”.
He continues, “Ms. Bradshawreminded us that, although onlythe top hundred appear in the FTranking, there are about 2,500business schools around theworld. So, WBS is not fortieth outof a hundred - but out of 2,500.
As a percentage of the total,the UK is far from under-represented.
“As evidence of this, sherecalled some of the commentshe had heard in the US, whichincluded ‘What are these placeslike Nottingham, Cranfield,Manchester and Warwick doinghere, when schools like Miami andothers don’t appear?’ Even inmainland Europe, countries likeItaly, Germany, Spain and manyothers are significantly less wellrepresented in the top hundredthan the UK.
“But this won’t stopWarwick striving to improve itsranking still further”, concludesHammersley x
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Mercia Institute ofEnterprise sparks new
technologies
nexus | spring 2001
This three day course is run by Dannemiller Associates of MichiganUSA and is co-sponsored by Warwick Business School. It brings to lifethe theory and practice of Whole-scale Change - a way to engagewhole systems of people rapidly in creating organisations of theirown choosing.
WBS alumni benefit from a 20% reduction in course fees. Register before 15 May and pay $1450, after this date pay $1596. (Non-residents pay US$950 and $1095 respectively).
Register on-line at www.dannemillertyson.com Tel: 00 1 734 662 1330 x 100Fax: 00 1 734 662 2301
Understanding and Using the Whole-scale™ Change Method - June 26-28, Scarman House, University of Warwick
OBITUARY
Linda Yarr, Warwick MBA 94/5, was one of the two tragic victimsof the capsizing and sinking of the 38ft training sloop RisingFarrster off the east coast of Australia on 1 April. Four of hercolleagues survived after swimming sixteen hours to reach shore.
Linda graduated in Physics at Strathclyde University and hadworked overseas for the RAF and the United Nations, prior toacquiring her MBA. She worked for Credit Suisse First Boston untillast September. The staff of Warwick Business School would like toextend their sympathies to Linda’s family and friends.
xne us
WARWICKBusiness school
Alumni on the moveTim Soar MBA 91/99 has been appointed general manager of MGRover in Argentina. Tim, who lives in Buenos Aires, was formerlyregional sales manager for the then Rover Group and has also workedas a management consultant for local companies such as BAT andUnilever. He is looking to make contact with any WBS alumni inArgentina to set up a group there. Email: [email protected]
Sholto Douglas-Home BSc Management Science 80/83 and formermarketing chief for the Millennium Dome becomes chief marketingofficer for Kalends. This is the new events database service fromReuters, due for launch in June.
Sue Joiner MBA 98/99 has been awarded a place on the WarwickEnterprise Fellowship scheme to launch her own business, known asU&UK. It offers web-based and face-to-face information andnetworking opportunities to those coming to the UK to work orstudy. The idea began when Sue was managing the full-time MBAprogramme’s international exchange programme. The EFS offerssupport in exploring the feasibility of ideas, with business mentors,an interest-free business loan, offices and other help. Contact Isabell Majewsky (024 7632 3316) Email: [email protected]
John Whitworth MBA 88/91 has joined forces with his wife to formWhitworth Consulting. Based in Bury St Edmunds, the practice offersspecialist geotechnical engineering and marketing support to theconstruction industry. Recent projects include expert arbitrationwitness assistance, motorway gantry design and marketing services fora foundation contractor. Contact 01284 725103Email: [email protected]
Christina Wagner Neumann MBA 95/96 has been promoted withinthe bank Corp Banca CA of Caracas, Venezuela. Her new position isvice president of corporate banking and risk-management. Christinanow has a baby boy and would love to hear from her friends atWarwick. Work tel. (582) 206 4089 Email: [email protected]
David Bricknell MBA 90/91 has joined the multi-media productsgroup Digitra Systems Inc as managing director of their Europeanoperations. He was formerly business development director at BreedTechnologies. Email: [email protected]
Gluten-free diets Alternative recipes and helpline services,allowing traditional foods once again to be enjoyed. FromCaryll’s Gluten-free Kitchen. Contact James Alford Tel. 024 7634 8585. Email [email protected]
Births Believed to be the first baby born to a couple who meton the Warwick MBA, Sebastian Thomas Tee is an addition tothe family of Richard and Christina Tee (nee Werner).Congratulations to all!
Internet voting Jason Kitcat continues his work on hisinternet voting system, GNU.FREE. (www.thecouch.org/free/)which as been made an official package of the Free SoftwareFoundation’s GNU project. He is currently working with hispartners in Swing Digital to secure further funding to offerinternet voting as a managed service to others. Tel. 01273 201166.Email: [email protected]
Institute of Management A special 10% membershipdiscount to the Institute of Management is available toWarwick alumni who join before the end of May. Membershipof the IM provides valuable assistance to the managementneeds of sourcing reliable information, as well as respectedtraining and networking opportunities.
Apart from its own publications, the IM claims to have themost reliable source of management information in Europeand provides on-line access to two million articles onmanagement, business, products and markets. On the trainingside, WBS qualifications and management expertise can beenhanced through short courses. The IM also offers careerguidance and IM Smart continuing professional developmentscheme will be available to members from May. Full details onwww.inst-mgt.org.uk.
To join the IM, call 01536 207307 for an application form oremail [email protected]
Alumni OfficeWarwick Business SchoolUniversity of WarwickCoventry CV4 7ALUnited KingdomTel: +44 (0)24 7652 4176Fax: +44 (0)24 7652 3719Email: [email protected]
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