May 2010 CBE E-Newsletter
Case Western Weatherhead School Team Wins 2010 Aspen Case Competition
On April 30, 2010, Aspen CBE held the finals of the 2010 Business & Society International MBA Case Competition at the W New York Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. To an enthusiastic audience of businesspeople, faculty and other supporters, the five finalist teams gave engaging and dynamic presentations--developed in response to a custom case that was written by Professor Oana Branzei for Ivey Publishing--that laid out a strategic sustainability plan for The Tata Group, an India-based, multinational conglomerate.
From start to finish, outstanding teams from 25 schools participated in this year's competition. After winning the first round of the competition at their individual schools, and then prevailing in the semi-final round, teams from the following schools competed as finalists in New York City: the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, the School of Economics and Business at the University of Jyväskylä, the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, and the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Ultimately, the team from Case Western Reserve took top honors, receiving $20,000, plus $3,000 to donate to a 501(c)(3) charity of their choice. Runners up, in order, were the teams from Notre Dame, NYU, Jyväskylä and Northwestern.
Photographs from the event are below.
To learn more about the Aspen Business & Society International MBA Case Competition, and to see more pictures from the finals, please visit www.aspencasecompetition.org.
Aspen Business and Society Program Executive Director Judith Samuelson welcomes
guests to the Case Competion
The NYU Stern team gives their presentation
The Kellogg team gives their presentation
The Jyväskylä team gives takes questions from the judges
The Weatherhead team gives their presentation
The Mendoza team takes questions from the judges
Audience members enjoy the event
The judges listen intently
Case Competition judges: from left, Eric Joule, head of Levi's Men's Merchandising,
Design and Licensing team for the Americas; Beth Colleton, Vice President of "Green Is
Universal" (GIU), NBC Universal's Green Initiative; Gary Hattem, Managing Director of
Deutsche Bank and head of its Foundation and Community Development Finance Group;
Reg Foster, IBM's Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs Manager for the New York,
New Jersey, Connecticut Tri-State area, and Canada; and Oana Branzei, Assistant Professor
of Strategy at the Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario
Not pictured is Robert S. Kaplan, Professor of Management Practice at Harvard
Business School and Senior Advisor to Berkshire Partners LLC
Trophies await their winners
David Good, Tata's Chief Representative for North America, speaks to the audience before
the night's winners are announced
The Weatherhead team reacts to the news that they have won the competition
Aspen Announces 2010 Class of First Mover Fellows
The Aspen Institute Business and Society program has announced the 2010 class of First Mover Fellows, individuals who are working within companies to unite business growth with a sustainable society in the products and services they are developing. The 16 Fellows chosen this year come from a wide variety of industries and a number of countries, yet their goals are remarkably similar: to develop products or programs that benefit their businesses and the community at large.
The 12-month Fellowship, which includes three convenings, is built around the core themes of innovation, leadership, reflection and community. The program serves as an innovation lab where Fellows develop the skills to make their innovations real and successful in their organizations. The Fellowship offers individuals a chance to become part of a growing community of innovators who share a passion about their work and belief in new possibilities for business. The program provides both a leadership development opportunity for the Fellows and an organizational development strategy for their companies.
Information on the second class of Fellows is below. For more information about the First Movers Fellowship, or about the 2010 Fellows, visit
www.aspeninstitute.org/firstmovers.
Ajay Badhwar, Strategic Market Manager, The Dow Chemical Company. He leads the commercialization of new technologies with novel business models for Dow Oil & Gas. Specializing in CO 2 capture technologies and regarded as a leader in capturing CO 2 from power plants, Ajay is harnessing existing technologies to transform byproducts from power plants and industrial sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet industry demand for CO 2 .
Antoni Ballabriga, Director of Corporate Responsibility, BBVA, a Madrid-based global banking group present in over 30 countries in Europe, America and Asia. Antoni is responsible for the integration of corporate responsibility into the bank's mainstream activities and business strategy in order to meet clients' needs more effectively, build financial literacy and create economic value and customer loyalty.
Rachael Barber, is Director, Global Community Investment, at Barclays plc., managing the bank's programs in 50 countries. Recognizing that many of today's major global challenges - climate change, health, access to finance and SME growth and development - require a creative financial component as part of the solution, Rachel is leading the development of innovative financial products that achieve positive social impacts in countries where the bank operates.
Anupam Bhargava , General Manager, Line Maintenance Services, UTC Pratt & Whitney. He has led environmental initiatives ranging from plastics recycling to vapor recovery systems for oil and gas distribution. He creates businesses that foster business innovation and accelerate delivery of environmentally advanced technologies to the market place. One example is EcoPower® on-wing engine wash, a service deployed at airports worldwide. EcoPower's closed-loop system uses pure water to reduce aircraft fuel burn and emissions, while capturing all effluent.
Eric Goldberg, Director, International Online Strategy, MetLife. Working with local marketing teams in 16 countries, he develops online business plans that are integrated into the overall marketing approach and deliver clear financial returns. Using his knowledge of technology and social media, Eric is creating platforms for beneficiaries of MetLife's corporate citizenship programs to strengthen their connections with the company and create “brand ambassadors” for MetLife.
Joanna Hafenmayer, Citizenship and Sustainability Officer, Microsoft Switzerland. In this role Joanna runs a “Citizenship Cabinet” and manages a portfolio of corporate responsibility engagements that consider the impact that information technologies can and should have on social and environmental challenges. She is currently developing an innovative leadership development program that will broaden the perspective of corporate leaders by linking them with social entrepreneurs around the globe.
Alicia Ledlie, Senior Director, Associate Development, Walmart Stores Inc. Alicia co-managed two urban Walmart stores before leading the design and execution of new healthcare initiatives, including development and rollout of Walmart's in-store medical clinic business. Her focus now is on developing and executing Walmart's educational strategy, with an aim to increasing Walmart associates' access to an affordable, high-quality college education.
Sally Madsen, Designer and leader of Social Innovation, IDEO. A product designer by training, Sally has led programs for social and commercial clients in India, Ghana, Kenya, Bangladesh, and Mexico. To leverage the firm's expertise in social innovation, she is now c reating a platform for knowledge sharing which will enable IDEO to collect insights and solutions developed from their work in this domain. This knowledge can then be shared more readily across the firm and with the public.
Marika McCauley Sine, International Government Relations Manager at The Coca-Cola Company. Marika manages global sustainability communications, projects and relationships related to economic development, sustainable agriculture, women's empowerment and human rights. Currently, Marika is focusing on how Coca-Cola can empower the women entrepreneurs around the world who sell the company's products by connecting them to the resources, networks and knowledge they need.
Hamlin Metzger , Senior Manager, Corporate Responsibility, Best Buy Co. Inc. He develops company-wide corporate responsibility strategy, initiatives and tactics based on external and internal monitoring, benchmarking, and research. He also founded and chairs a grass-roots network of 450 employees who promote best practices in this area. A new initiative is a platform for helping Best Buy deliver digital solutions for underserved communities around the world.
Jeremy Neuner, Co-founder and CEO, NextSpace – Coworking + Innovation. Jeremy left the public sector to found NextSpace as a way to create the innovation infrastructure required for a freelance economy. The nature of employment is changing. An increasing number of people are self-employed and require resources, amenities and networking opportunities. NextSpace is creating these communities and redefining how people work.
Assil Omar, Leadership Development Senior Manager, Global, at Agility Logistics, a leading global provider of integrated logistics, headquartered in Kuwait . Assil designs and manages Agility's global leadership development programs and talent management initiatives. She is now considering a program to engage the entire supply chain in one geographic region to focus on green logistics, sustainability and values-based leadership. Such a program could build customer relationships and identify additional business opportunities.
Britta Rendlen, Senior Risk Manager, Swiss Reinsurance Company. She co-manages a group-wide framework to handle sustainability risks inherent in insurance transactions and investments. Using her expertise in the fields of insurance, risk and sustainability, Britta is now working to build consensus within the (re)insurance industry around a set of principles on environmental, social and/or ethical risk management that would guide business transactions.
Emma Stewart, Senior Program Lead, Sustainability, Autodesk. Emma leads the company's effort to model sustainability best practices to the 9 million architect, engineer, manufacturing and construction customers who use Autodesk's design software. She is currently creating a Sustainable Design Living Lab to develop new software solutions that accelerate the greening of commercial buildings.
Stephanie Struhs, Brand Manager, Procter & Gamble. Stephanie and the Health Care business unit are developing new ways to reach more "bottom-of-the-pyramid" consumers via alternative distribution channels, with a mission to touch and improve lives through improved access to health-related products and education.
Eric Wilmot, Innovation Lead, Wolff Olins, a brand strategy and design firm with offices in the UK , New York , and Dubai . Eric's work focuses on the intersection of business, design, and social/environmental impact. He leads new products, services, and business design solutions for major global brands.