Olin Business School

Earning a master’s of business administration degree from Olin Business School is challenging. Having your education interrupted to serve your country in Iraq makes that challenge even more insurmountable. But Hugh Tychsen has met the obstacles head on, and will receive his MBA at the May 20 Commencement.

Coco Chanel never took a marketing class, but she’s helping teach one this semester at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. Students in the new course, “Luxury Apparel-Marketing B53” are examining case studies of brands that make up the $237 billion industry that has its roots in Chanel’s famous perfume and little black dress.

A trio of Olin Business School researchers — Radhakrishnan Gopalan, PhD, assistant professor of finance; Todd Milbourn, PhD, the Hubert C. and Dorothy R. Moog Professor of Finance; and Anjan Thakor, PhD, the John E. Simon Professor of Finance — says companies have not previously had the proper tools for determining how to pay executives and have developed a formula that businesses can use to align the duration, or payout, of an executive’s compensation with the strategic needs of the company.

Tennis legend and women’s rights activist Billie Jean King (center) chats with WUSTL women’s tennis team members April 21 in the Knight Center. King was on campus, along with Ilana Kloss, former professional tennis player and CEO of World Team Tennis, to address students in the Olin Business School course on sports management.

Nick S. Argyres, PhD, the Vernon W. and Marion K. Piper Professor of Strategy at Olin Business School, straddles two worlds, balancing his role as professor and researcher with his position as senior associate dean of faculty.

Pinelopi Goldberg, PhD, the William K. Lanman, Jr. Professor of Economics at Yale University, will address “Exchange Rates & Prices: A Micro Approach” for the Distinguished Women in Economics & Strategy lecture series at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, in Simon Hall, Room 103. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by WUSTL’s Center for Research in Economics & Strategy.

Burt Tansky, former CEO and chair of Neiman Marcus Group, addresses a large gathering of students April 11 in the Knight Center. Tansky was on campus to speak to students enrolled in a spring mini course aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of the $237 billion luxury goods market.

Anjan Thakor, PhD, associate dean and the John E. Simon Professor of Finance; Stephen Williamson, PhD, the Robert S. Brookings Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences; and Julie Stackhouse, senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will discuss “The Future of The Fed” during an Olin Business Issues Forum at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in Simon Hall, Room 112. The event is free and open to the public.

Stuart Bunderson, PhD, of the Olin Business School gives a presentation of his scholarly work during his installation as the first George and Carol Bauer Professor of Organizational Ethics and Governance March 31 in the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center.

Planning to negotiate a raise? Try not to discuss it with the boss in his or her office, suggests a new study by an organizational behavior expert at Washington University in St. Louis.