EWMBA eZine - Week of March 26, 2009

Introductions: Communications Committee

Greetings! We're Sunil Kumar, Divyang Agrawal, Naveen Prasanna, Rahul Awasthy, Amber Ulrich and co-chairs Ramon Lim and Rohan Thompson. Together we form the Communications Committee.

The purpose of the Communications Committee is to ensure that all EWMBA students remain abreast of what's going on at Haas without being flooded by a torrent of information. That's no small task; as EWMBA students we're presented with a multitude of channels for discovering what's going on: the eZine, the MBA Alert, the EWMBAA blog, the MBA calendar, Yahoo! Groups and the EWMBAA forum. How many of those were you actually aware of and use on a regular basis? The primary goal of the Communications Committee is to take stock of all the available channels and streamline the flow of information such that access to it is as simple as possible.

While we're at it, a round of thanks is deserved for last year's committee. Under the stewardship of Anlei Lee and Ben Chong, the Communications Committee achieved major goals that many of us now take for granted. Prior to Anlei and Ben there was no eZine; finding information specific to EWMBAs was much more difficult. Thanks Ben, Anlei and the rest of the committee.

As the weeks progress, each committee will be introducing themselves in the eZine to give you a chance to get to know them better and understand the value they will bring to you.

- Communications Committee

Graduating Students: EWMBA Community Fellows at Commencement

To the graduating EWMBA students,

First off, congrats to those graduating this May! Before you get too comfortable, we need you to submit your volunteer hours log sheet to be considered for Haas Community Fellows. As a reminder, the Haas Community Fellow program is to formally acknowledge Haas students who actively volunteer in the community. Any EWMBA students who completes at least 50 hours of community service over the time at Haas will qualify. At the Commencement ceremony, the fellows will be recognized by the Dean during the program. Please complete the volunteer log sheet and return to Monika Matthews (monika_matthews@mba.berkeley.edu) by April 15th. Email Monika if you don’t have the log sheet. We've already received log sheets from a number of you; but please send us the latest version if you have new updates.

Thanks.
The Community Service Committee


EVENTS

Sales Club Event: Transitioning into Sales Post-MBA

Date: Tuesday, March 31
Time: 5:30-6:00 PM/6:00-6:30 PM
Location: C135

In this third event organized by the Haas Sales Club, Ben Sommers, an 05’ Haas alum and current VP Sales & Marketing, will speak to the Sales Club in a session focused on practical advice for making the transition to sales post-MBA.

To accommodate students with class conflicts, there will be two identical, 30 minute back-to-back sessions. They will be held on Tuesday, March 31 from 5:30-6PM and 6-6:30PM in C135.

Please register for the event here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cFMzeE11OFBJdnpwZTdFUEI1Ni14ZGc6MA

The session is primarily going to be Q&A to obtain practical, actionable career advice to help you in your searches.

Ben will also speak to the following topics:

- Transitioning into sales with no prior experience
- The differences between sales at a large company such as IBM, compared to sales at a start-up
- Practical advice for aspiring sales professionals at Haas
- Specific companies/programs that would most value an MBA
- Ideal company type (small, large, tech, etc)

Ben Sommers has a proven track record of building successful technology businesses. Most recently at IBM, Ben managed a Western U.S. territory, working across all of IBM’s solution areas and focusing on software & Internet-based business clients. He led an extended team of IBM technical and service specialists, along with a valuable ecosystem of business partners. Previous to IBM, Ben has held key finance and investment positions at Windspeed Ventures, a venture capital firm, and at Robertson Stephens, a technology-focused investment bank. In addition, Ben worked in business development at an early stage enterprise software company, THINQ Learning Solutions (acquired by Saba Software, Nasdaq: SABA). Ben has a BA in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from the University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

Financial Turmoil Series- Haas Faculty Panel: Managing Through Turbulent Times

Date: Tuesday, March 31st
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Wells Fargo Room

David Levine, who holds the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Chair in Business Administration, will moderate the panel, titled "The Challenges of Managing in Turbulent Times." The other participants will include Jenny Chatman, the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management, and Laura Kray, the Harold Furst Associate Professor of Management Philosophy and Values and chair of the Haas Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations Group.

The event is part of the Dean's Speaker Series on the financial turmoil. While past events in the series have focused on the causes of and policy responses to the financial crisis, this panel discussion will explore the effects of the crisis on the businesses and the people working in them. It will include a look at the macroeconomic data, such as unemployment and layoff rates, as well as a discussion of the difficult choices faced by managers within organizations and how they can respond.

Further Information: Meg Fellner. 510-642-3442 meg_fellner@haas.berkeley.edu


Entrepreneurial Best Practices Series: Incorporation and Compensation

Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Location: Wells Fargo Room, Haas School of Business
Time: 6:30-8:30pm

Avoiding the incorporation and formation pitfalls and landmines waiting for founders looking to grow the next Cisco, Genentech or Apple. What simple paragraph in your consulting agreements can substantially reduce the risk that all of your intellectual property will "walk out the door"? How to avoid significant tax surprises with your vested stock. Why deferring salaries on your financial statements while building sweat equity is frequently a very bad idea. How many stock options should I issue to my CTO? What will angel investors and VCs expect from my initial incorporation structure?

These start-up incorporation/formation topics and many more to be reviewed and discussed at the next Entrepreneurial Best Practices Series session.

The Entrepreneurial Best Practices Series brings to UC Berkeley and the Haas School of Business the best practitioners from the Berkeley and Silicon Valley community to speak about the practical aspects of entrepreneurial activity. The program will start with food and networking at 6:30. The presentation will open at 7:00pm. There is no pre-registration for this event.

For more information about the Entrepreneurial Best Practices Series, call 510-642-4255 or email lester@haas.berkeley.edu.


Social Committee Kickoff Happy Hour

Date: April 3, 2009
Time: 5:30 - 8 PM
Location: San Francisco Area, TBD

The Social Committee is hosting the kickoff event for the upcoming year! This event is open to all part time MBA students and we are including the new admission students for Fall 2009. The first hour of the social event will be open bar. Please join us!


End of the Year Vegas Trip

Date: May 22 through May 24, 2009
Location: Las Vegas

After a full year of classes, exams and group projects, it would be nice to sit back and relax, IN Las Vegas! Come and join a few of us who are already planning to spend the weekend with your fellow part time MBAers and your choice of vice in Las Vegas to celebrate the start of summer.
If you're interested, please contact Carmen Chan: carmen_chan@haas.berkeley.edu