Olin Business School

Seven entrepreneurs enter the final round of the Olin Cup business plan competition this month as they vie for $75,000 in seed money. Ken Harrington, managing director of the Skandalaris Center, co-sponsor of the Olin Cup, emceed the recent “Elevator Pitch” event where 17 semi-finalists had two minutes each to present their business plans. The teams presented privately in front of 16 judges, then presented publicly in front of an audience. Harrington said, “the judges, audience, and I were very impressed with the quality of this year’s pitches and ideas. We look forward to the next phase in the competition and seeing their full business plans.” Winners will be announced in February. Video report on the competition included.

GM releases its first quarterly results post-bankruptcy on Nov. 16. U.S. auto sales in October equaled an annualized rate of 10 million vehicles. That’s a steep drop from the 17 million cars sold each year from 1991-2007. Not even a robust recovery from the recession is expected to boost sales near previous highs. Bailouts, bankruptcies and cash for clunkers have helped keep the industry afloat this year. Yet, the reality of too many factories and workers remains as demand continues to dip. Supply chain expert Panos Kouvelis says auto makers need to keep the brakes on production and proceed with caution. Video available.

What happens when the CEO of one of the largest financial institutions in the world sits down to talk with MBA students? Olin Business School students had a long list of questions for Citi CEO Vikram Pandit when he visited recently. The discussion ranged from the financial crisis to reform, compensation to career choices. Pandit offered candid advice to the students with concerns about unemployment numbers and the loss of jobs on Wall Street.

World leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations gather in Pittsburgh this week and the global banking system is on the top of the agenda. Topics for discussion will include how to strengthen banks and help prevent financial crises like the one that roiled global markets a year ago. U.S. and European regulations of executive compensation at banks will also be scrutinized at the summit. Olin Business School professor and banking expert Stuart Greenbaum’s advice: proceed with caution.

Jessica Jackley understands the power of the personal connection. She discovered it while visiting East Africa to conduct impact evaluation surveys for Village Enterprise Fund. At the same time, her husband, Matt Flannery, was in the field filming interviews with small business entrepreneurs. When they saw firsthand the life-changing power of micro financing, they devoted […]

Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva, the Internet-driven microfinance organization that connects lenders with budding entrepreneurs, will deliver the Assembly Series/Skandalaris Lecture at 5 p.m. Thursday, September 17 in Simon Hall’s May Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. This is the kickoff event for the Skandalaris Center’s annual business plan competitions: the Olin Cup, and the YouthBridge Social Entrepreneur and Innovation Competition.

The Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition (SEIC) enters its fifth year with a new name in recognition of a St. Louis community foundation. The competition offers mentoring, business advice and workshops for social enterprise start-ups. Contestants in the seven month-long competition must pass several hurdles before investment awards, totaling thousands of dollars, are announced next spring for the most promising ventures.

Mahendra Gupta, Ph.D., dean and the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting and Management at Olin Business School, has named Panos Kouvelis, Ph.D., the Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management, to the newly created position of senior associate dean and director of executive programs at Olin. The new position is […]

Kouvelis Panos Kouvelis, a professor of operations and manufacturing management at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, has been named to the new position of senior associate dean and director of executive programs. From St. Louis to Shanghai, Olin offers a wide variety of executive education programs including the Executive MBA degree, topic-focused seminars and custom corporate learning programs. Kouvelis brings a rich background of teaching, research and consulting to this new position which is part of a larger strategic plan for continued growth and innovation in executive education.

While the St. Louis Cardinals decide whether to re-sign baseball’s best hitter, Albert Pujols, following the 2010 season, they might want to consider a new study by a business professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Mike Lewis, assistant professor of marketing at the Olin Business School, claims that small market teams can get as many as four times more incremental wins by signing a high-level pitcher over an all-star hitter.