Dean Reinemund Featured on Bloomberg

Originally Posted on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | Reposted from Bloomberg

Steve Reinemund, former chairman and CEO at PepsiCo Inc. and current dean of the Wake Forest University Schools of Business; John Hofmeister, former president of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s US operations, and Mayo Shattuck, president and CEO of Constellation Energy Group, talk with Bloomberg's Janet Guyon about the BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Hofmeister said fault for the oil spill, the worst in US history, is likely to have stemmed from “bad judgments,” and BP must ask if the issues are systemic. They speak at the Bloomberg Link Boards & Risk Briefing in Washington.

Click here to see the video footage.

Active Recruiting: Wake Reaches Out to Local Prospects

Kevin Bender has a busy summer planned.

Bender, an associate director of graduate admissions at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business, expects to be a highly visible representative in coming weeks, hosting a series of meet-and-greets for various MBA programs. Wake Forest has no less than six such events planned between now and mid-July and Bender is on the schedule for at least half.

Events are scheduled in several key markets for the university’s Evening MBA program, specifically Charlotte, Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Depending on an interested party’s schedule, they can take part in a morning coffee or opt for an after hours drink at a local establishment. Admissions information, curriculum and student life are all expected to be discussed.

Here is a list of the planned dates and locations for summer recruiting events (venue information linked below):

• “Student for an Evening” open house, Wednesday, June 16, 6-8 pm, Worrell Professional Center, Winston-Salem campus;
• “Lunch and Learn” for part-time MBA prospects, Tuesday, June 22, 11:30 am -1 pm, Foundation for the Carolinas, Grigg Board Room, Charlotte (lunch provided);
• Table at Tate’s, Meet and Greet at Tate’s Bar, Wednesday, June 23, 5:30-7 pm, 279 West 4th Street, Winston-Salem;
• Coffee at Cafe Carolina, June 30, 7-8:30 am, Friendly Center, Greensboro;
• Coffee at Krankies, July 8, 7-8:30 am, 211 East 3rd Street, Winston-Salem;
• Coffee at Cafe Carolina, July 14, 7-8:30 am, Friendly Center, Greensboro

Wake Forest Sponsoring Entrepreneurial Internships

A summer internship is pivotal to finding a permanent job, which is why Wake Forest University is funding — with endowments from the Russell and Elfriede Hobbs Fund and the Chambers Family Fund for Entrepreneurship — 51 internships so that students can work with entrepreneurial and nonprofit groups. Twelve students are working this summer at Sociale Gourmet, the BioBotz animation initiative at Wake Forest, the Center for Design Innovation, SimpliFi LLC and the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.

To read the article in the Winston-Salem Journal, click here.

Rolling Out the Red Carpet

What a great way to start off the weekend!

Last night I had the opportunity to step in and get a feel for being an Ambassador for the Wake Forest University Schools of Business, attending one of the Red Carpet Weekend events. The two-day program is a special program dedicated to admitted students and their guests, helping everyone get a better feel for the university and all it has to offer. Ambassadors help guide candidates through the weekend, answering questions, making introductions, and just adding to the overall experience.

I selected the “kick-off” event, which was appropriately named since it was held at the Deacon Tower at the football stadium. We were all greeted at the entrance with a long 15-foot red carpet before riding the elevator up to the second floor. I had made it a personal goal to meet and greet every admitted student, not only to welcome them but to make sure they were plugged into the student blog both now and when they start their programs.

I realized soon after arriving that my goal may have been a bit ambitious. From what I gathered from admissions, there were at least 65 people registered for the event, excluding guests! Thankfully the venue was big enough to accommodate everyone. Another thing I liked about the set-up was the mix of Ambassadors at the event, ranging from students still in the midst of the first year to some who had recently completed their programs.

There was also an abundance of professors and admissions staff, giving prospects a chance to meet many of the faces they will see regularly in just a matter of months. Many also enjoyed the chance to meet each other, swapping brief backgrounds and contact information. It seemed like a well-timed and well-executed early networking event.

For nearly two hours I met dozens of incoming MBA, MA and MSA students, and candidly I wish we actually had more time to mingle so I could have met my individual meet-and-greet goal. One issue on the minds of those who had committed was housing, though most had participated in an apartment tour earlier in the day. Others were keenly interested in how the first semester would be, particularly the transition to life in Winston-Salem. Overall, there was an underlying sense of excitement, especially when dealing with the unknowns of living arrangements, environmental change, etc. Most people I met seemed eager for a challenge!

Around 7 pm, we were divided into smaller groups, to the Ambassadors could take admitted students to restaurants around the city. I joined a group of Evening MBA students, feeling that my own experiences over the past year would be best applied in that forum. We took our group to Willow’s Bistro, a cozy restaurant housed in an old brick building on the south end of town.

The lengthy and relaxed meal gave prospects a chance to ask anything they wanted. How do teams work? What are the trickiest classes? How quickly will I get to know everyone in our class? How do you balance your career and a course load? More than anything, we were able to set minds at ease that our program, though challenging, can be enjoyable and manageable.

Wrapping up the evening, I wished that I had made plans for the second day of the weekend (admittedly I have two classes to prepare for instead). The itinerary for day two included lunch with career management staff (a great group to meet early in the process), team-building activities, and a dinner at the Graylyn Conference center. I would have enjoyed the roundtable, where current and past students were set to discuss groups such as the Student Government Association, Wake Graduate Women in Business, the Marketing Summit and the Elevator Competition. (There was also a partners lunch hosted by the Partners Association – something for everyone!)

~ Paul Davis

Red Carpet Weekend: A Student’s Perspective

The Wake Forest University Schools of Business will host another Red Carpet Weekend in a few days, hosting admitted students in Winston-Salem on June 11-12. We thought it would be timely to dig around the archives and publish an account of last year’s event (from April 2009). The event must have made the right impression because Justin Berthelot enrolled at Wake and joined our blogging team a few months later. He completed his first year in the full-time program last month.

*****

After taking a recovery day, it's time for my recap of Red Carpet Weekend, Wake Forest's admitted students weekend. I drove down to Charlotte on Thursday to see my brother, before heading up to Winston-Salem Friday morning for the start of festivities.
As I hadn't yet sat it on an actual class (only mock classes during Showcase Saturday and Scholar's Weekend) I elected to visit one this time; my student host took me to a global competitive policy course. The professor was very engaging and the students had a lively discussion; my only complaint was that it would have been nice to have had a chance to read the case ahead of time so that I could better follow things. Otherwise, it was good. I also took time to visit my old bosses at the law school and talk to financial aid about some questions.
After a lunch (segregated like a junior high dance: boys on one side and girls on another) there was a house/apartment hunt. Having gone there for undergrad, I opted to go see a friend's house instead, where I'll be living next year. Great house! I checked in to my hotel before heading out to the Deacon Tower for a reception. That place is awesome! Met some old friends and some new faces, then split with a group for a dinner. Not as good as last time, but enjoyable. After dinner we all just went home to sleep. We were told Saturday would be a long day, to get lots of rest and eat breakfast!
Saturday was a blur. First, breakfast at the hotel, then a welcome by the program director followed by some lovely games of Human Knots. We all felt a bit closer after that! There was a student services roundtable after that, where I had a chance to learn more about Student Government, Project Nicaragua, the Marketing Summit and other stuff. After another career services panel, it was lunch time.
When lunch was finished, we headed over to Graylyn for more team building. Today's task: in teams of six, build a little pink bike, name it, make a cheer, then race it. One caveat: each member of the team had a "challenge." I was blindfolded; others were unable to speak, unable to touch, unable to use their dominant hand. I got to race the bike (though not blindfolded, thankfully!) and it was tiring! Nap time after that!
We also had a wine tasting which was awesome. Outside, sipping some fine wines with my new friends. Dinner was lovely, had some good conversation with a few people I hadn't met yet and good a different perspective on school. We all headed out to the bar after that to unwind before calling it a night (actually, the bar called it a night when they closed!)
All in all, a great weekend. They announced that a few people actually paid their deposits right then and there, a testament to how much fun the weekend was!

“A Creative Mind … In a Business Box”

Lauren Collins, a regular blogger over the past year, recently completed her MA and is now at R.J. Reynolds. Always a member of our team, this is the first of what we hope will be regular updates on Lauren’s post-graduate experiences.

Greetings Deacs! I apologize for my absence. I took some vacation time after graduation before starting my internship with R.J. Reynolds. I packed up my computer and didn’t reply to emails for a week. While relaxing, I don’t advise completely cutting yourself off from the digital world for a week. That’s like 800 pages in social networking mini feeds. While I clearly remember graduation and the hooding ceremony, it seems like just yesterday I was picking out my suit for the first day as a graduate student in the MA program. Surprisingly, in a few weeks, I will celebrate the anniversary of that memorable day. In reflection, I would say it was a year well spent and a portfolio of memories that will stick with me forever. Everything from the friendships that I made to relationships I built with senior executives from IBM, Wal-Mart, PepsiCo and other admirable companies. From planning the marketing club trip to NYC, organizing events for Wake’s 2nd Annual Black Alumni Weekend, traveling to New Orleans for the National Black MBA conference and connecting with passionate Deacs through this blog, I couldn’t envision a more well-rounded graduate school experience.

My time at Wake is even more precious now that I’m working in Corporate America. I never – NEVER - imagined I would be where I am today. Yet with only one additional year of school, through an in-dept introduction to business at Wake, I’m working alongside seasoned MBA students from some of the nation’s top institutions. I’ve only been working a week at RJ Reynolds, but in the past few days I’ve already have used some of the tactics I learned from my Marketing, IT, Operations, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior courses. Just like I spent a great deal of time at Wake working in teams with my peers, one of my side projects at Reynolds involves a collaborative effort amongst my peers. It’s funny reflecting on all of the assignments I did in the MA program, which at the time I may have questioned, but I’m now realizing how crucial they are to my success.

Last week, we had a “Meet & Greet” session with the Reynolds leadership team. Previously these conversations would have left me tongue tied with clammy hands, but instead I was very comfortable and confident during the cocktail hour. For the most part, the repetitive 30-second commercial I developed with my career coach Emily and all of the public speaking engagements Wake forced upon me ultimately turned this stage-shy girl into an outspoken contributor. My learning curve is a bit steeper than my older counterparts, given their previous expertise, but I still continue to be a great asset to the team because of my unique creative background.

“A creative mind in a business box.” That’s a tagline I repeated to employers throughout my time at Wake that will likely find itself on my next business card. I look forward to sharing how the lessons I took from Wake continue to apply to my marketing career with RJ Reynolds.

Connecting With the Community

Wake Forest University’s Finance Club members are easing the difficult transition for youth who are leaving foster care to begin independent living.
The Finance Club hosted four financial literacy sessions with the North Carolina Foster Care Independence LINKS program this year. LINKS helps teens successfully move from foster care to self-sufficiency. Budgeting, credit and interest rates, and taxes were among the financial literacy topics covered by the Finance Club.
“We were able to transfer some of our skills so these youth would learn how to manage a checking account, how to set up a savings account, simple versus compound interest, and how to avoid credit card debt,” said David Council, Finance Club past-president. “We really enjoyed building relationships and answering questions.”
LINKS program youth took a field trip to Wake Forest University in April. The trip included a campus tour, dinner in the Pit, and an information session on college and financial aid.
“It has been a great benefit to some of the most disenfranchised and at-risk youth in our community.” said Carmelita Burrell, LINKS Program Coordinator. “Even though we ended with a campus tour, it is just a beginning. It has inspired our young people and opened doors of opportunity.”

~ Also, the Finance Club has its own blog. Check it out here.