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>> Learn more about the Eller MBA Full-Time program. Eller Team Takes Second Place at American Marketing Association Case Competition
MBA student life can be extremely busy, so participation in extracurricular activities can add a new challenge to the time management dimension of the full-time business school experience. For a handful of Eller MBAs, however, the reward of leading an undergraduate team to a 2nd place finish in the AMA case competition in New Orleans was well worth the increased demands on time and focus. Several first- and second-year MBAs partnered with Dr. Umashankar of the Eller College of Management’s Marketing Department to mentor, manage, and guide a group of undergraduate students as they developed a comprehensive marketing strategy for the photo giant, Eastman Kodak. The team spent the entire fall semester researching the online photo industry and developing a recommendations report for the company’s online services offered at www.Kodakgallery.com. Each year, Dr. Umashankar identifies a team of MBAs who will leverage their real-world experiences, presentation skills, and strategic thinking to manage all aspects of the undergraduate project. First-year MBA Abhilasha Chadha cites the experience as a critical aspect of her MBA career. “My participation on the Kodak case competition team was one of the key components in my transition story that enabled me to attain a marketing internship this summer after a career based in information technology.” Abhilasha will work at the food industry leader Kellogg Company in Delhi, India this summer. Aside from the prestige of taking 2nd place behind the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and winning $25, 000 for the UA’s chapter of the American Marketing Association, the MBAs also gained valuable managerial experience and the opportunity to serve as stand-in consultants to a best-in-class company. However, all the excitement around this year’s success hasn’t distracted the team a bit; they are already planning their strategy for how they can take the 1st place title at next year’s competition. >> Learn more about experiential learning in the Eller Full-Time MBA. New Eller MBA Blogs Keep You UpdatedStay connected with insights and thoughts from various Eller MBA students and administration through their own blogs. Just like millions of other connected people around the world, several members of the Eller College of Management community are updating friends new and old on the happenings of their lives:
MBA/Master of Planning (MS PLN) Newest of Many Outstanding Dual Degrees
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I’m thrilled to have just one more round of 8-week courses left in my MBA career! I have to give the Eller MBA office credit for finding a way to fit 10 different course subjects into our academic calendar and still leave time for electives, field projects, and a comprehensive business communications class. Looking back, it’s been a huge asset to have gained visibility to so many different business disciplines before stepping into a summer internship. While many MBA students from other schools had to wait until spring to study business strategy, marketing, or finance, we had covered all of these topics by the time we left for winter break. This broad-based knowledge really differentiated me from other MBA students as I interviewed and networked during my first year. 
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| Maria Bartiromo (left) with Eller marketing student Serida Fong. | |
On March 12, CNBC anchor and journalist Maria Bartiromo joined Eller College dean Paul Portney for an informal talk as part of the Eller Distinguished Speaker Series.
Community members and students gathered to hear Bartiromo’s insights into the U.S. economy, the new administration, and thoughts on how the U.S. can emerge from this troubled time — as well as details about Bartiromo’s background and early career.
Bartiromo fielded questions from the audience about everything from her dream “get” to bias in the media generally and at CNBC. After the talk, she joined the audience for a casual reception.
>> View online photo gallery of Maria Bartiromo Distinguished Speaker Series event.
NewSpace Business Group at The University of Arizona
Call it shooting the moon, but first-year Eller MBA student Jon Card isn’t just looking for a career after completing his MBA, he also wants to attain a leadership position in the burgeoning private outer space exploration industry.
With a computer science degree from Northwestern University and five years of IT consulting experience, Jon is optimistic that he can leverage his Eller MBA experience along with the strong reputation of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the UA to transition into this revolutionary new sector.
One of the first things that Jon did after arriving in Tucson to study at the Eller College of Management was to establish the NewSpace Business Group to demonstrate the practical possibilities of the private exploration of our solar system to the larger business community. After years of NASA-dominated innovation, a growing number of entrepreneurs are focusing their attention on developing the private exploration of space.
“I want to be a part of that and I hope to make Eller a part of it as well,” he says. “The University of Arizona is the perfect location to build this specialization for three key reasons: the bulk of the action is in the American Southwest; within driving distance of Tucson, we have one of the leading planetary sciences programs in the world; and we’re one of the best entrepreneurship institutions in the country.” These are just the components needed to have the stars align for this passionate entrepreneur.
>> Learn more about the entrepreneurial experience in the Eller MBA.
An American Developer
Kevin McGibben : MBA '94
Founder and President : 32 South
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| Kevin McGibben, MBA '94, founded the international market development company 32 South in 2007. | |
evin McGibben came to the UA from the Bay Area to play baseball as an undergrad. “But that was when J.T. Snow was playing first base,” he says with a laugh, “so I got cut pretty early.”
After graduating with a degree in history in ’92, McGibben entered the Eller MBA program, where he focused on marketing and international business. It was an extension of his undergrad work, which focused on Latin American history and Spanish.
“When I graduated in 1994, it was a tough job market,” he says, “but I was lucky enough to find a job as a product manager with Fujitsu.” The company was starting its Americas division at the time, and McGibben worked himself into an international marketing management position.
From Fujitsu, McGibben joined TeKelec as ROW — rest of world — manager. In the late 1990s he was recruited into CIDCO to build and manage their international division. Things were falling into place: “I always had an entrepreneurial spirit that goes way back in my family,” he says, “And by the late 90s, it was clear that I knew enough about the supply-chain side and the market side of the telecom business to be successful with my own company.”
In 2001, he founded an international distribution firm called MI, Inc.; he founded his current firm, 32 South, in 2007. “It’s an international market development company, primarily aimed at helping tech firms strategize and implement their international development efforts,” he says.
About ten years ago, he began thinking about the possibility of writing a book for international managers. “I got a great foundation at Eller and still use the skills that I learned in grad school,” he says. “But I found that international business expansion must be learned through trial and error. I wanted to pull together the knowledge base that I had accumulated so others can learn from my experiences.”
McGibben’s book, American Developer: A Practical Guide to Extending Business Internationally in a World that is Flat in Places, was released in March 2009 and is available on Amazon.com. “The book’s been a long time in the making,” he says, “but what really pushed me to finish it was teaching international marketing courses at the MBA program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Getting involved in the academic side of things was a real motivator.”
And that also tied to his heritage: “Both my grandfather and great grandfather were entrepreneurs,” he says, “And one of them also taught at Purdue. So I’m following in their footsteps.”
>> Learn more about career development at the Eller MBA program.
Program Links |
Important Dates
Eller MBA Preview Weekend
April 17-18, 2009
Westward Look Resort/Eller College of Management
Special event for admitted students and invited guests
- mba@eller.arizona.edu
- 1.888.Eller.MBA
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