Business & Entrepreneurship

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 2004Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s recently announced plan to nationalize the telecommunications and electricity industries in his country sent shockwaves through the boardrooms of multinational corporations with large holdings in Latin America. While some see Chavez as the leading edge of a “socialist revolution,” research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests this latest nationalization push is nothing more than politics as usual, part of a predictable pattern of political tensions that often arise when corporations make large foreign investments.

A.G. Edwards Inc., the St. Louis-based national investment firm, will establish the A.G. Edwards Visiting Professorship in Entrepreneurship.

Three early stage companies received commitments for funding and mentoring support at the annual Olin Cup Awards Ceremony Feb. 1. The top prize of $50,000 went to medical device company Neurolife. Two other companies received $20,000 in funding: Senetric, a company that developed software to reduce the cost of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor networks; and Smart DNA Solutions, a company that offers affordable genetic testing. The $5,000 student award went to Peter Braxton of Neurolife.

Over the past 18 months, many trees have given their lives so that articles titled something like, “Is India the next China?” could appear. But, an equally interesting question a professor from Washington University in St. Louis posed is, “Is China the next India?” These two questions offer a lens through which we might glimpse, however darkly, the economic futures of India and China. And by posing these questions side by side, Professor Jim Little said we can see an interesting pattern emerge: as China moves up the technology ladder, the drivers of its growth are becoming more like India’s. At the same time, India increasingly resembles China’s current economy as it develops as a manufacturing base.

Entrepreneurs are just as sensitive to uncertainty as anyone. In fact, several studies suggest that entrepreneurs are more risk-averse than other people. So why do they risk losing their shirts by starting a business? They have an overdeveloped sense of confidence that that they can beat the odds, according to research from a business professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Washington University’s Olin School of Business and the Olin Marketing Association will present the 7th annual Super Advertising Bowl, where Olin marketing students and faculty critique the television commercials that air during the Super Bowl. A “Top Five” list of this year’s most effective Super Bowl ads will be distributed after the game. Olin faculty and students can provide comments about which ads worked and why. Students and faculty will also be available for interviews about commercials that air during the game.

Washington University’s Olin School of Business will hold the 7th annual Super Advertising Bowl from 3-5 p.m. February 4, 2007. The annual event brings together Olin marketing students and faculty to critique the television commercials that air during the Super Bowl. This year Olin students will be looking for “Commercials that Win the Consumer’s Mind”—those standout ads that will have people talking around the water cooler on Monday. The student-organized activity also raises funds for the Arthritis Foundation’s St. Louis Chapter.

Below is a link to the Washington University news release about the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings for 2004-05: http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/3627.html To view a full listing of U.S. News magazine, book and Web-only rankings for 2004-05, please visit the U.S. News & World Report site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

For the second year in a row, the Olin School of Business is offering a course that includes a succession of “celebrity” CEOs as guest speakers. The class, “Creating Exceptional Value: Performance Without Compromise,” is co-taught by Chuck Knight, chairman emeritus of Emerson, and Anjan Thakor, Ph.D., senior associate dean and the John E. Simon Professor of Finance.

Washington University’s Olin School of Business and the Olin Marketing Association will hold the 7th annual Super Advertising Bowl, from 3-9 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Knight Center on Washington University’s campus. The Super Ad Bowl is a fun event where Olin marketing students and faculty critique the television commercials that air during the Super Bowl while raising funds for the Arthritis Foundation’s St. Louis Chapter.