aluminate may 2011 edition

Raise a smileWHY HAPPINESS IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS FORTHE PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL WORLD>>>>

SEE PAGE 20

Career on track?ADVICE ON LANDING YOUR DREAM ROLE >>>>

SEE PAGE 24

ALSO INSIDE>>>>NEWS>>>>ALUMNI GROUPS>>>>GUIDE TO REYKJAVIK>>>>ALUMNI SERVICES>>>>

ALUMNUS EMBARKS ON ADVENTURE>>>>RESEARCH>>>>WHERE ARE THEY NOW?>>>>WEDDINGS>>>>

AluminateMAY 2011

The magazine for postgraduate alumni

ALUMNI COMMUNITY NOW INCLUDES MSc AND PhD, AS WELL AS MBA ALUMNI>>>>

Big eventBOOK NOW FOR FIRST EVER

ALUMNI WEEKEND IN JULY >>>>

SEE PAGE 5

Aluminate May 2011_p01-40 20/4/11 14:24

2 | aluminate | may 2011 www.business-school.ed.ac.uk

editor’s comment

W elcome to the May 2011 issue ofAluminate, my first since returningfrom maternity leave. It has been

lovely to be welcomed back by many of youand exciting to discover the changes that havetaken place while I have been away, not leastthe fact that we are now in a different building.

The new facilities have a very different feel from Bristo Square, with space and light being paramount and plenty of room forgroup working and social spaces. It is certainlyproving to be an ideal working environmentfor both staff and students.

You are all welcome to come and view thenew facilities during our inaugural AlumniWeekend in late July (28-30). The weekendwill feature a mix of lectures, guest speakers,social events and family-friendly activities.

A number of classes are already organisingtheir own reunions to tie in with the events. If you have yet to do this, do get in touch with

your class representative (see page 19) ormyself. Equally, you are welcome to attendthe event on your own or with your family, asyou will have the chance to meet with alumnifrom other years and programmes when youare here. Full details of the weekend can befound on page 5 and at www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/alumni-weekend

With the continuing difficult economicclimate and job uncertainty, many bigcompanies are looking to increase thehappiness of their employees to maximiseproductivity as well as loyalty. The feature onpage 20 gives an insight into research by theSchool which helps companies to benchmarkemotions among their workforce. A numberof alumni also share their stories.

This links in nicely with our feature oncareers. Career management has manydifferent dimensions, including findingenjoyable work which makes the most of yourstrengths, that energises and motivates, andthat strikes the right work/life balance. Diana Dawson offers some tips on careermanagement success on page 24.

And it’s not just career challenges thatare motivating our alumni. As I write, JustinPackshaw (Class of 1993) is heading for one ofthe biggest challenges in his life to date – theascent of Everest. We met with him before he left, to find out what motivates him, bothfrom a business and personal perspective.Turn to page 30 for his story.

As a student, many of you will havebenefited from contact with companiesthrough project work, dissertations andinternships. Now that you are back in theworkplace, it is worth remembering that weare always keen to look at ways of havinginteraction with your organisations, so turn to page 26 for a reminder of the type ofmutually beneficial interactions which exist.

If this is your first issue of Aluminate, page18 provides a reminder of the alumni servicesavailable. Don’t forget to update us on contactand career information changes, in particularemail addresses, so that we can keep in touchwith you in the future. Please send anyupdates to [email protected]

Recent global events, including theearthquakes in both New Zealand and Japan,really do bring the global nature of the alumninetwork into perspective. Our thoughts arewith those alumni who have been affected bythese and other disasters around the world inrecent months.

Best wishes to you all and I hope to seemany of you at the alumni weekend in the summer.

Jane ShortEditor

‘DON’T FORGET TO UPDATE US ON CONTACT ANDCAREER INFORMATION CHANGES, IN PARTICULAREMAIL ADDRESSES, SO THAT WE CAN KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOU IN THE FUTURE’Jane Short

It’s good to keep in touch

If you no longer wish to receive future issues of thismagazine, please contact the Alumni Manager: University of Edinburgh Business School, 29 BuccleuchPlace, Edinburgh EH8 9JS. Tel: +44 (0) 131 650 9840 Email: [email protected] views expressed in Aluminate are not necessarily

those of the University of Edinburgh Business School.Magazine design by Connect Communications.

The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body,registered in Scotland, with registration numberSC005336.

Aluminate May 2011_p02-3 20/4/11 16:41

www.business-school.ed.ac.uk may 2011 | aluminate | 3

SCHOOL NEWSHead of School report 4News 5Events 11

GLOBAL CONNECTIONSAlumni groups 14India office 14Where in the world – Perth, Australia 14An insider’s guide toReykjavik 16

ALUMNI LINKSBecome a class rep 18Services for alumni 18

SPECIAL FEATURESReasons to be cheerful 20How the School is helpingtrack worker wellbeing – agrowing concern for bigorganisations

Key to happiness 22Alumni share their storieson how they are striving forcontentment and tips theypicked up along the way

PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENTShifting sands 24Advice on managing a winning career

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTNew perspective 26How organisations canbenefit from students’ fresh insights

RESEARCHNews 28

PEOPLECool customer 30Explorer and alumnusJustin Packshaw talks about his latest adventuresin the wild, and in business

New life for medicines 33Spyridon Tsakas develops arevolutionary technology toextend the shelf life of drugs

Where are they now? 34Wedding bells 37New arrivals 38

‘KNOWING ANDWORKING TO OURSTRENGTHS IS FARMORE POWERFULAND EFFECTIVETHAN TRYING TOCHANGE OURWEAKNESSES’Diana DawsonSee page 24

11

22

contents

30

www.business-school.ed.ac.uk4 | aluminate | may 2011

head of school report

Each time I start to write my Head ofSchool piece for Aluminate, I begin bylooking at what I wrote last time –

not least to avoid the embarrassment ofaccidentally recounting the same piece of news more than once.

Looking back at my last report, I see that we had only just moved into the newbuilding and welcomed the new intake ofstudents. I can’t believe that the last sixmonths have passed so quickly and how far through the academic year we are.

It has been a good few months. The new building is working very well and hascreated a great sense of community amongstaff and students alike. The new teachingspaces are great and the 18 syndicate roomsfor group working have proved especiallypopular, so much so that we convertedsome public space into group workingspace shortly after the Christmas break inorder to increase the space for groups towork together. Of course, we have hadsome niggles, as with any major newbuilding, and the contractors remainregular visitors to our premises while theseissues are ironed out, but overall, we arevery happy with the new facilities.

Here in the UK, the headlines are full ofnews about cuts in public spending as theeconomy recovers from the financial crisis.Universities are clearly not immune fromconditions in the UK’s public finances moregenerally, but the Business School’s financesare in good shape. Due to our stronginternational student populations at bothpostgraduate and undergraduate levels,about 75 per cent of our total incomecomes from sources other than the UKstate. Thus, as long as global demand for

quality business education continues to be buoyant, we expect to continue ourtrajectory of growth and development.

This is reflected in our application figures for 2011 entry, which show thatpostgraduate applications are up 34 percent on the same time last year.

Undergraduate international applicationsare up 23 per cent, although applicationsfrom home undergraduates are down 11 per cent.

In January, the 2011 Financial Times MBArankings came out and we were pleased toappear in the top 100 in the world for the11th consecutive year. Of course, we are notcontent with our current rank of 88 andwill continue to strive to improve thistowards our longer-term goal of being a top30 business school. However, there areestimated to be some 10,000 businessschools in the world, so being in the top100 is definitely an achievement to beproud of. The support of our alumni is veryimportant to this – it is you who providemost of the data that drive the rankings,and your support in responding to requestsfor data by the rankings agencies is crucialto our success.

I am writing this in mid March, just a few days after the terrible earthquake andtsunami that struck Japan. Heart-rendingpictures of the destruction continue toappear and engineers are battling to controlthe situation with the damaged nuclearreactors at Fukushima. Our sympathies goout to all our Japanese friends and alumniat this very difficult time.

Nick OliverHead of School

AS LONG AS GLOBALDEMAND FOR QUALITYBUSINESSEDUCATIONCONTINUES TO BE BUOYANT,WE EXPECT TOCONTINUE OURTRAJECTORYOF GROWTHNick Oliver

We strive tobecomeeven better

Aluminate May 2011_p04-5 20/4/11 14:22

www.business-school.ed.ac.uk

school news

FIRST ALUMNI WEEKENDTO BE HELD IN JULY ISOPEN TO ALUMNI FROMALL YEARS, AS WELL ASTHEIR FAMILIES

Book now for a great time...

may 2011 | aluminate | 5

THURSDAY 28 JULYBUSINESS SPEAKER AND WELCOME RECEPTIONAn evening reception in thenew School building gives youthe chance to hear a prominentbusiness speaker.

FRIDAY 29 JULY‘SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS’ONE-DAY CONFERENCEProvisional plans for theSustainability in Businessconference involve sessions onsustainable talent, sustainablebusiness, sustainability andethics and a sustainable publicsector. Each session willfeature a business speaker andan academic.

SATURDAY 30 JULY‘A TASTE OF THE FRINGE’ ANDFAMILY LUNCH AT THE SCHOOLAlumni, partners and family areinvited for an informallunch at the School.Guests will betreated to a tasteof the EdinburghFestival Fringe withentertainmentprovided by jugglers,acrobats andmagicians.

CEILIDH IN THE CITY CHAMBERSThe highlight of the AlumniWeekend will be the eveningceilidh at Edinburgh’s City

Chambers on the Royal Mile.The evening will include abuffet meal and traditionalentertainment including a piper

and ceilidh dancing.Tickets are priced at

£25 per person or£15 for children(aged 5-15).

UPDATES ON THE SCHOOL

There will also be a number of

opportunities over the weekendto hear about the future of the School from the Head of School, Professor Nick Oliver, and have a tour of the new building.

CLASS ACTIVITIESIn addition to the programme ofevents, there is plenty of timeover the weekend for your ownclass reunion activities. Why notplan a visit to some of your oldpub haunts on the Friday night,or organise a game of footballor rounders in the Meadows onSunday morning?

A number of classes havealready made plans – visitwww.business-school.ed.ac.uk/alumni-weekend for details.

HOW TO BOOKThere is no cost for the events(except the ceilidh) butregistration is required for all events.

ALUMNI WEEKEND PROGRAMME

Reserve a place online

To book or for more details,visit www.business-

school.ed.ac.uk/ alumni-weekend

T he School is hosting its first everAlumni Weekend on 28-30 July forevery postgraduate alumnus, no

matter what year they graduated.. The weekend gives alumni the chance

to visit the new Business School, updatetheir knowledge, reconnect with oldfriends and make newcontacts, and re-engage with theSchool and the City.

The weekend isdesigned to appealto all postgraduatealumni (MBA, MScand PhDs) and theirfamilies.

Aluminate May 2011_p04-5 20/4/11 14:22

In January, the BusinessSchool unveiled the Derekand Maureen MossScholarships, open tostudents joining the MSc inCarbon Finance programmein September.

Each scholarship is worth£8,000 and available toapplicants from any country.

They will be awarded tothree students who have anexcellent academic recordand an in-depth interest inthe subject area.

Derek Moss is a graduateof London University whoretired from IBM in 1989 afterholding various technical,marketing and seniormanagement positions.

He is a passionate believerin the need to control globalwarming. In addition, heappreciates the value ofresearch on climate changebeing vigorously pursued by the University ofEdinburgh.

For more than five years,Derek has donated funds tothe University in support ofclimate change research.

He is offering thesescholarships to supportoutstanding students whowill join the world’s firstMSc in Carbon Financestarting in September 2011,dedicated to climate change investment and the carbon market.

CarbonFinancescholarshipslaunched


school news

6 | aluminate | may 2011

The Edinburgh MBA was ranked13th in the UK and 88th in theworld according to the latest

Financial Times rankings for 2011. This represents a modest

improvement on last year’sperformance and is the 11thconsecutive year that theEdinburgh MBA features in the global top 100.

Bearing in mind that there areestimated to be about 10,000business schools in the world, weare of course happy to be in theglobal top 100, but we are notsatisfied at being at number 88.The FT rankings give us some clearpointers as to where we need tofocus attention and thisfeedback is very useful aswe continue to refinethe MBA programme.

This year, wewelcomed ourMBA students

to our new premises at 29Buccleuch Place, situated at theheart of the University ofEdinburgh’s campus. This buildingis transforming the studentexperience and is part of our long-term strategy to positionEdinburgh among the world’spremier business schools.

Recent changes to theprogramme include an increasedfocus on leadership with both aLeadership and Professional

Development Programme anda new module onestablishing and leadinghigh-performance teams at

Firbush outdoor centreon Loch Tay. In

addition, MBA

students who wish to have morefocus within their programme cantake advantage of a BusinessSchool Certificate in one of theSchool’s recognised areas ofspecialisation (Finance, CarbonManagement, Entrepreneurship,Strategy or Family Business).

Our exchange partnershipscontinue to grow with otherinternationally leading businessschools including recent additionsin Mexico and the USA for theMBA in International Business.

Rankings are of course only oneindication of the MBA market at aparticular time. They reflect theprevailing conditions such assalaries, jobs available and thesituation at the School at the timethat the survey was carried out. Allrankings use different criteria andschools should not be judged onrankings alone. That said, theserankings are very important to thereputation of the School and weare actively engaged in assimilatingthis feedback to enhance many ofour activities.

Looking ahead foreven better ranking

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For further information, visithttp://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/rankings

WANT TO KNOW MORE?A number ofscholarships areavailable for each of our postgraduateprogrammes. Visit the relevantprogramme page on www.business-school.ed.ac.uk for details of thescholarships available.

ABOVE AND LEFT:A recent improvement to theprogramme is a module held at Firbush, Loch Tay, onestablishing and leadinghigh-performance teams

SCHOOL PLACED 88THIN WORLD – BUT ISAIMING HIGHER

Aluminate May 2011_p06-7 20/4/11 17:04

Alumni Assistant Toni Berg joined the BusinessSchool in January, replacing Sebastian Sandoval Simila.

Toni’s main role is to manage the alumnidatabase and to support the roll out of alumniservices to all postgraduate alumni of the School.

After growing up in Israel and Birmingham, Toni attended Queen Margaret University.

She supervised projectsfor IpsosMori for several years and has recently returned toEdinburgh from Newcastlewhere shestarted a familyand worked for the NHS.

TONI JOINS THE TEAM


school news

Fresh viewshelp guide the School

The School’s Advisory Board wasfurther strengthened towards theend of 2010 with the appointment

of three new members: Stephen Halliday,Chief Executive of Wood Mackenzie;Jack Perry, Non-Executive Director ofRobert Wiseman Dairies; and JohnWaddell, Chief Executive of ArchangelInformal Investment.

They join a board of highlyexperienced industry practitionerswhose role is to provide independentexternal and commercially orientatedstrategic advice to the School.

Stephen Halliday is the CEO ofinternational energy and metals researchconsultancy organisation WoodMackenzie. Prior to becoming CEO in2007, he was Executive Director forEnergy. Stephen is a graduate of theUniversity of Edinburgh, holding a BSc(Hons) in Chemical Engineering.

Headquartered in Edinburgh withmore than 600 professionals in morethan 20 offices worldwide, WoodMackenzie analyses the assets, marketsand companies operating upstream anddownstream; in oil, gas, coal, carbon,metals and power generation.

Jack Perry CBE is a Non-ExecutiveDirector of FTSE 250 listed RobertWiseman Dairies PLC and a member ofthe UK and Ireland Advisory Board ofBarclays Wealth. He is also a consultantto McCulloch Unique Hotels. Jack waspreviously Chief Executive of ScottishEnterprise until retiring from that post in November 2009. He has also beenManaging Partner of Ernst and Young’sGlasgow office and was Chairman of CBIScotland. He has a Bachelor’s degree inPure Science, is a Chartered Accountantand US CPA. He was also awarded anHonorary Doctorate in BusinessAdministration in 2010. Jack is a US/UK dual national.

John Waddell is Chief Executive ofArchangel Informal Investment. Hebecame the youngest partner in nichelaw firm Steedman Ramage at the age of27, leaving there to become AssistantCompany Secretary and in-house lawyerat Christian Salvesen plc where he wasappointed to the Management Board.

He then spent three years at Bank ofScotland, Corporate Banking, latterly asHead of Strategic Planning, before joiningmerchant bank Noble Grossart Ltd wherehe was a Director, in 2001. He is currentlya Director of CXR Biosciences, Bloxx andNorthern 3 VCT Plc. He is also on theadvisory boards of Amadeus and AngelsSeed Fund and Seraphim Capital.

Building on the success of the last 25 years of thePart-time MBA, the School is about to embark on a major review of the programme, with a view tolaunching a new Executive MBA in 2012.

The review will undertake extensive primaryresearch involving key stakeholders includingalumni, current students, staff and the corporatecommunity. We will therefore keep you informed ofdevelopments and of how you can be involved inshaping the new programme.

As a consequence of the potential changes, wehave taken the decision to suspend admissions forSeptember 2011. While the review was undertaken,we felt applicants would not wish to commence aprogramme which was due to be relaunched a year later.

Part-time MBAunder review

ABOVE: Stephen Halliday

ABOVE: Jack Perry

LEADING FIGURES JOINTHE SCHOOL’S ADVISORYBOARD AT END OF 2010

Aluminate May 2011_p06-7 20/4/11 17:04

school news


A warded inNovember 2010,Zoomatelo was

the winner of the GrantManagement BusinessPlan competition,securing the £3,000 cashprize for its growingbusiness. Valtteri Hyvönen(MSc in Managementgraduate) was part of theteam along with JonathanMillin, a graduate fromthe University’s MSc inArtificial Intelligence, and Nicholas Pilkingtonand Michael Winn, both from outside of the University.

Zoomatelo’s product,Zoom2Work, facilitatesbuilding a carpoolingrelationship betweenemployees in largeorganisations. Themajority of commuterstravel to work alone andeach require a parkingspace at their destination.Carpooling couldpotentially save businesses

money (in terms of lessparking spaces required),as well as saving moneyfor commuters, whilereducing carbonemissions, trafficcongestion and makingthe daily commute moresocial (increasing socialcohesion within theworkplace). In fact, twothirds of British driversthink carpooling is a goodidea, but only one fifthactually do it.

The reason for thisdifference is down to aninformation gap. We don’tknow where our colleagueslive and we don’t feelsecure giving our addressto strangers. Zoom2Worksolves this information gapby creating a closed socialnetwork available only tothe employees of anorganisation. It suggestsappropriate matches basednot only on home anddestinations, but alsopeople on route. This

match can also takepreferences into account to match those who chat,listen to music or prefersilence during the drive.

Zoom2Work allowsorganisations and users to track their carpools,providing reports on the amount of carbonreduced and money saved.

Although the service hasbeen configured for theUK, its founders believe itis internationally scalableand built to supportmultiple languages.

The judging panelincluded Colette Grant of Grant Management, Dr Geoff Gregson of theBusiness School, andGeorge MacIntosh andGavin Don, bothEntrepreneurs-in-Residence for the E-Club.

Dr Gregson stated: ‘Thejudges were veryimpressed with thequality of entrants andhow much effort they putinto their business plansand presentations. Thismade the decision on a

Innovativecompanygets a lift

Even in the currenteconomic climate, many companies arecontinuing to recruit. Ifyou are looking to fill aposition in your company,but struggling to identifysuitable candidates withexperience in your sectoras well as knowledge ofthe latest business

thinking, then why notthink about one of ourMBA students?

Representing adiversity of nationalitiesand industry sectors, thestudents are typically intheir early 30s andalready possesssuccessful careerrecords in management

or specialist fields in awide range of industrysectors. On average,they have eight yearsof work experience.

To help in yoursearch, the Schoolproduces a studentprofiles book whichdetails each of thestudent’s career

achievements, theirqualifications andemployment to dateand preferred locations.

The full-time MBAstudents will completetheir studies in earlySeptember and theMBA in InternationalBusiness students inlate December.

CARPOOLING VENTURE WINSBUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

FRONT ROW: from left,Valtteri Hyvönen, Colette Grant of GrantManagement, Jonathan Millin. BACK ROW: Dr GeoffGregson and GeorgeMacIntosh

LOOK NO FURTHER FOR RECRUITS

Aluminate May 2011_p08-9 20/4/11 14:37

The Alumni Advocates Schemeled to ten more alumni receivingsubscriptions to the Economistmagazine to thank them forrecommending a colleague orfriend to the Edinburgh MBA.

If you would like to become anMBA or MSc alumni advocate,simply promote one of theSchool’s postgraduateprogrammes to friends orcolleagues. If they join theprogramme and highlight your

help in an induction survey, youwill receive a one-yearsubscription to the Economist, a

high-profile, weekly publicationwhich provides coverage of worldbusiness and current affairs.


school news


A fter more than 15 years as Career DevelopmentManager with the Business

School, Merri Scotney retired inDecember.

Merri has provided careerguidance and support to MBAstudents, supporting them in allaspects of career planning and self-marketing. She has always favoureda holistic approach to career andpersonal development and hasworked closely with EddieCochrane on the development and delivery of skills developmentprogrammes, using her previousexperience in organisation andmanagement development.

Prior to joining the School,Merri worked in the private sectoracross a range of industries,including beverage, consultancyand newspapers, as well as in localgovernment. She has considerableexperience of working in thevoluntary sector. After more than 25 years working in themanagement and delivery oftraining and development, Merri’sexperience is complemented by anMBA, from the Open University,which has provided her with usefulinsights into the academicdemands and opportunitiespresented by an MBA programme.

Summing up her time at the

School, Merri said: ‘It has beenboth rewarding and challenging. Ithas been a privilege to work withso many talented students in sucha culturally rich environment.’

Merri hopes to spend her

retirement pursuing her passionsfor gardening and hiking in exoticclimates as well as devoting moretime to voluntary work andcompleting a teaching english as aforeign language qualification.

winner particularlychallenging’.

A diverse range ofbusiness ideas wererepresented among theother finalists includingweb design, socialnetworking technology,health and wellnessservices, a new boardgame, a theme park andhologram technology.

Leaving on a high

Sing School’s praises for a prize

CAREER GURU RETIRESAFTER HELPING MANY STUDENTS

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information onZoom2Work, visitwww.zoom2work.co.uk

MBA ALUMNI ADVOCATES FOR THE 2010-11 SESSION

• Findlay McCutcheon (MBA student)• Sander Henzing

(MBA Class of 2009)• David La Vista (MBA Class of 2007)• Jennifer Roberts

(MBA Class of 2010)

• Siddharth Das (MBA Class of 2010)• Feixia Chen (MSc F&I Class of 2010)• Eiro Taniguchi (MBA Class of 2002)• Teresa Ironside (MBA student)• Hung-En Chen (MBA Class of 2010)• Justin Lotak (MBA student)

Pictures: Jonathan Littlejohn

WANT TO KNOW MORE?The individual studentprofiles can be viewedonline at www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/partners/business/recruitment or torequest a printedstudent profiles book, [email protected]

ABOVE: Climbing andhiking are just two ofthe pursuits Merriplans to enjoy in her retirement

Aluminate May 2011_p08-9 20/4/11 14:37


school news


The MSc in Accounting andFinance has had another busyyear. Now in its third year,

there are 60 students currently on the programme.

Following feedback over the pasttwo years, there has been a move to 15 credit courses within theprogramme. This is because they fallnaturally into two semesters of fourcourses, which is normal practicewithin MSc courses in businesses.Also, they allow a good balancebetween the spread of topics and thespace to study in depth. They alsooffer the opportunity to go into thelevel of detail that is expected from a masters-level programme. Andthey allow time for learning todevelop and for reflection throughfeedback, both formative andsummative, during the course.

As well as the core and optioncourses, the programme includes awide range of guest speakers. Thisyear, they have included Sir DavidTweedie, Chairman of theInternational Financial StandardsBoard; Professor Isabel Sharp,Deloitte partner; and Dr DennisJullens, European Head, UBSValuation and Accounting Research,as well as a number of speakers from

other business schools in Europeand the US. They included ProfessorMara Faccio, from Krannert Schoolof Management, Purdue Universityand Professor Katherine Schipper,Duke University: The Fuqua Schoolof Business.

Students also have the chance tochoose from a range of sponsoredprojects, sourced from finance andinvestment professionals. Theserepresent areas of research that are

of value to the project hosts.Undertaking one of these is seen asa valuable way to gain insight from,and provide feedback to, the financeand investment industry. Hosts thisyear include Alliance Trust, AubreyCapital, Baillie Gifford, CornelianAsset Managers, Martin CurrieInvestment Management, RIACapital Markets, Scottish WidowsInvestment Partnership, StandardLife Investments and State Street.

The School is proud toannounce the addition ofDuke University’s FuquaSchool of Business to theMBA exchange network.

Consistently ranked inthe top 30 in the worldby the Financial Times,the Fuqua School ofBusiness at DukeUniversity in Durham,North Carolina, hasestablished itself as oneof the leading businessschools in the world.

Duke University islocated in the TriangleMetropolitan area. In addition to beingregarded as one of thenation’s most desirable

places to live, the areahas been rated as one ofthe hottest places forbusiness by sources fromMoney, Fortune andEntrepreneur magazines.

The new additionbrings the total number ofinternational exchangepartners to 11. Otherschools in the networkinclude IPADE BusinessSchool in Mexico,Schulich School ofBusiness, York Universityin Toronto, NanyangBusiness School inSingapore, and MacquarieGraduate School ofManagement (MGSM) in Sydney.

Jens Hagendorff took overfrom Seth Armitage asDirector of the MSc in Finance and Investmentin January 2011.

Jens joined the BusinessSchool in 2010 as a SeniorLecturer. He holds a PhD(Finance), MA (Economics)and BA (Economics andManagement) from theUniversity of Leeds. Jens is also a Research Fellowat the Financial StabilityDepartment of the Spanishcentral bank (Bank of Spain)and a visiting scholar at theresearch department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Jens works withpractitioners in Edinburgh’sfinancial sector as well aswith central bankers andfinancial regulators to inform his research and teaching.

His current researchexamines if bank strategiesand regulation havemeasurable effects on the riskiness of banks.

Also, his ongoing workwith the Bank of Spain and the Federal ReserveBank of Atlanta analyses the performance and riskimplications of bank mergersand acquisitions in theEuropean Union.

New Directorfor MSc inFinance andInvestment

Exchange network expands

Programme evolves

ABOVE: Jens is a ResearchFellow for the Bank of Spain

CHANGES MADE TOMSC IN ACCOUNTINGAND FINANCE

One recent speakerSir David Tweedie

Aluminate May 2011_p10 20/4/11 14:41

events

Alumni went back to theirchildhoods last October whenDr Jim Paton of Invenzymepresented on the creativebenefits of using thechildren’s toy LEGO as a tool to overcome business

problems. Dr Paton’s

presentationwas the firstof the Latest

Thinkingseries to

be held in the new building. He explained how most

individuals think differentlyand learn more effectivelywhen building with theirhands and so LEGO couldoffer useful insights into realworkplace dilemmas.

Alumni had the unusualopportunity to put theory intopractice and were invited touse LEGO to simulate andexplore various challenges.The event was followed by awine reception.

LEGO is a registered trademarkof the LEGO Group.

FORTHCOMINGEVENT

Former Chancellorvisits specialist centre

Picture: Photo Express

A listair Darling, former Chancellor of theExchequer, visited the Credit ResearchCentre (CRC) at the Business School in

late November. The mission of the CRC is toconduct research into theory and practices ofall aspects of credit, and especially consumercredit, to the highest possible standards.

Professor Jonathan Crook gave apresentation outlining recent findings of workon predicting when borrowers default, stresstests, modelling default by small and mediumsized businesses, international scorecards,debt holdings by older people and predictingaggregate default rates. This was followed by adiscussion with Alistair Darling and othermembers of the CRC.

Alistair Darling was then given a tour of thenew Business School by Professor Sir TimothyO’Shea, Principal of the University andProfessor Nick Oliver, Head of the Business School.


CREDIT SCORING ANDCREDIT CONTROL XIICONFERENCE, 24-26 AUGUST 2011 Organised by the CreditResearch Centre, this isEurope’s premierconference for creditscoring and relatedtopics. The conferenceincludes talks rangingfrom current industryissues to the lateststatistical researchfindings. For furtherdetails or to registerfor the conference, visit www.crc.man.ed.ac.uk/conference/ or email [email protected]

HOW TO LEARN THROUGH PLAY

RIGHT: Alistair Darling (second from left)with Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea,

Principal, Professor Nick Oliver, Head ofSchool and Professor Jonathan Crook

Aluminate May 2011_p11-13 20/4/11 16:46

events


A capacity audience of 300 filled the PlayfairLibrary in February to

hear Antonio Horta-Osario speakabout the future of UK banking.He became CEO of LloydsBanking Group on 1 March.

Previously, as CEO of SantanderUK, he had promised to speak at the University, so we werefortunate that he was still willingto do this in his new role. AsHead of the largest retail bankgroup in the UK, his views werekeenly anticipated.

Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea,Principal of the Universitywelcomed him to the University.He then hosted a dinner after theevent which was attended byLady Susan Rice MD of LloydsScotland, two members of theSchool’s Advisory Board andrepresentatives from theUniversity.

Mr Horta-Osario started hiscareer at Citibank Portugal wherehe was Head of Capital Markets.At the same time, he was an Assistant Professor atUniversidade Catolica Portuguesa.He then joined Goldman Sachs inNew York and London. In 1993,he returned to Portugal as Group

Chief Executive of BancoSantander de Negocios Portugal.Three years later, he set upSantander’s operations in Brazilwhile still managing theinvestment bank in Portugal.

Most recently, as well as beingCEO of Santander UK since 2006, he was also Executive VicePresident of the Santander Group,a member of its ManagementCommittee and Chairman ofSantander Totta in Portugal.

He is a graduate ofmanagement and businessadministration at UniversidadeCatolica Portuguesa, and has anMBA from INSEAD where hewas awarded the Henry Ford IIprize and an AMP from HarvardBusiness School.

The Business Schoolhosted the fourthScottish MBA StudentCareers and InternshipsFair in February.

This was the first timethat the event was heldin the School’s brandnew facilities.

Co-hosted byStrathclyde Business

School, students from eight otherScottish and north of England businessschools attended. The 17 participatingorganisations rangedfrom blue-chiporganisations to SMEs, and recruitment-related organisations.

They includedAccenture, Amazon,BAE Systems, Ernst &Young, IBM, PWC andStandard Life.

The event was openedby a keynote talk fromLinda Urquhart, CEO of CBI Scotland andthroughout the day,there were a number of

company presentationsby the organisationsrepresented.

In addition, theAssociation of MBAs(AMBA) presented on‘How MBAs get jobs’

and John Devlin fromTalent Scotland’srelocation advisoryservice, spoke on ‘Visa requirements for working in the UKafter your studies’.

Picture: Photo Express

Banking ona big crowd

Fair way to launch careers

WANT TO KNOW MORE?Next year’s Careers and Internship Fair will be atStrathclyde Business School on 3 February 2012.Please contact our Corporate Relations Manageron [email protected] if you areinterested in being involved.

ABOVE: Antonio Horta-Osario (left)and Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea

LLOYDS BANKING CEO LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

Aluminate May 2011_p11-13 20/4/11 16:47

events

may 2011 | aluminate | 13www.business-school.ed.ac.uk

Fond memories were onceagain created with the annualBurns Supper in late January.This year the event was held on a Friday evening, which waswell received. The supper tookplace at Pollock Halls with 122 guests in attendancecomprising alumni, currentstudents and staff.

Simon Earp, CorporateDevelopment Director,welcomed all guests on behalfof the School. Murray Smith, anundergraduate alumnus, pipedin the haggis which was thenaddressed by Alistair Fenton(MBA Class of 1993). Alastairhas done this a few times forthe School and, as ever, wasexcellent. Neha Singhota, oneof our current part-time MBAstudents delivered an inspiringimmortal memory.

Reflecting the internationalnature of the School, Paul

Tambeau, a Canadian MBA student delivered thetoast to the lassies and Amelia Whitelaw, his Australian classmate, wasresponsible for the reply from the lassies. Needless to say, both entered gamely into the spirit of the toasts and there was muchamusement among the

audience. One of the morememorable incidents was when Nick Oliver, the Head of School, was ‘asked’ on stage to help Ameliademonstrate a point aboutAustralian men and theirdancing skills!

The vote of thanks was then given by Audrey Healy, Marketing and

Communications Manager,before the room was turnedover to the popular ceilidhband, The Occasionals.

In no time at all, theysucceeded in having even the shyest of dancers taking to the floor after some easyinstructions. The event finishedat 1am with a traditionalrendering of Auld Lang Syne.

One of the UK’s leadingcoaching and trainingorganisations, CFM

Consulting, launched theircoaching club ‘A Place toDevelop’, in conjunction with the Business School in 2010.

Its aim is to encourage activecontinuing professionaldevelopment among the coachingcommunity. It also aims to offerCFM clients and Business Schoolalumni a place where they canregularly meet to learn and shareideas on best practice in coaching.

The focus is on takingmembers’ coaching practice tothe next level, whether they are

new to coaching or at masterpractitioner level. Delegates spana wide range of industries andinclude a mix of independent and in-house coaches.

The sessions are built aroundinteractive learning, aiming tooffer the delegates insight intonew ideas and models, as well as a refresher on established best practice.

Feedback and the growing

numbers is evidence thatattendees are benefiting from the more formal learning aspect, as well as the informalconversations over coffee.

The emphasis is on self-awareness, development and peer support in a relaxedenvironment. Students studyingfor qualifications can also use the hours towards their coaching portfolios.

In November, Peter Hill fromCFM Consulting conducted asession on transference. This wasfollowed in February by a sessionon transactional analysis byExecutive Coach and FacilitatorMary Parker.

She looked at howtransactional analysis offers apicture of how people arestructured psychologically, atheory of communication, andstrategies aimed at creating andenlivening more effectiverelationships.

ETHICAL DILEMMAS FORCOACHES, TUESDAY 17 MAY9.15am-noon followed bylunch. Cost: £10

Join Katharine St John-Brooks foran exploration of the ethicaldilemmas that arise for coachesand ways to avoid or resolve them.The emphasis will be onacknowledging that dilemmas willsometimes arise, and that there arethings that you can do to minimisetheir frequency and the emotionalenergy needed to sort them out.

Katharine St John-Brooks is anexecutive coach and member ofthe European Mentoring andCoaching Council’s Research andEthics Community of Practice.

Contact [email protected] to book a place.

FORTHCOMINGEVENT

Pictures: Jonathan Littlejohn

CLUB ESTABLISHEDTO HELP ALUMNIDEVELOP THEIRCOACHING SKILLS IN A SUPPORTIVEENVIRONMENT

LADS AND LASSIES LAUNCH INTO THE SPIRIT OF BURNS SUPPER

| ABOVE: Dancers take to the floor after some instructions (left) and Alistair Fenton (right) addresses the haggis

| ABOVE: Peter Hill

Join the club for advice

Aluminate May 2011_p11-13 20/4/11 16:47

global connections


CONTACTS AROUND THE WORLDInternational alumni groups, set up by MBA alumni, are well established in anumber of countries. Where numbers are smaller, we also have key MBA alumnicontacts located in various areas of the world, or work in conjunction with otherUniversity of Edinburgh alumni groups.

We are keen to extend these groups to MSc and PhD alumni. If you areinterested in getting involved, or if you would like to make contact with alumni in countries not listed below, please contact the Alumni Manager on [email protected] who can help with identifying appropriate contacts.

Argentina Rodrigo Salgado [email protected]

Australia Todd Booth [email protected]

Brazil Paulo Almeida [email protected]

Frankfurt Ralph Rudolph [email protected]

Ghana George Adjei [email protected]

Greece Giorgos Gerakakis [email protected]

Panos Georgakopoulos [email protected]

Iceland Oli Klemensson [email protected]

Einar Skulason [email protected]

Sigurbjorn Gunnarsson [email protected]

Rebekka Valsdottir [email protected]

India Amrit Singh [email protected]

Indonesia Handoko Bayumurti [email protected]

Japan Eiro Taniguchi [email protected]

Madrid Charlie Wilson [email protected]

Malaysia Sanjay Saigal [email protected]

Munich Markus Geisenberger [email protected]

Claus Doerfler [email protected]

Shanghai Martin Jensen [email protected]

Singapore Jay Jayaseelan [email protected]

South Africa Yoni Titi [email protected]

Switzerland Charles Barber [email protected]

Markus Kuenzler [email protected]

Gian Plattner [email protected]

Yannick Pottier [email protected]

Etienne Rumo [email protected]

Thailand Vishnu Somboonpeti [email protected]

Toronto Josh Gillespie [email protected]

NEW SCHOLARSHIPS FOR INDIAN STUDENTS

To coincide with the official opening ofa liaison office in Mumbai (see aboveright), the University has launched anew programme of scholarshipsdedicated to students from India whoare studying for a Masters degree at Edinburgh.

In all, 15 scholarships – called thePrincipal’s Indian Masters Scholarships– are available in 2011-12 to studentsfrom India for a masters-level study inany subject. Each scholarship will havea value of £3,000, which will be tenablefor one academic year.

Building on its long-standing ties with India, the University opened a new liaison office inMumbai in February.

The office will simplify communication andcollaboration between the University and partners in Indian education, business and government.

By working with Indian partners within India, the

Tory Manning (MBA inInternational Business Class of 2003) is in Perth, Australia

WHY ARE YOU LOCATED IN PERTH, AUSTRALIA?My husband Graeme’s company,OTR Tyres, has a small businesshere. The company recentlyacquired another, much larger tyredistributor. It’s Graeme’s job tomanage the integration, figure outa future strategy for the combinedbusiness and eventually hire hisreplacement, someone to run thecompany for the long term.

WHERE ARE YOU LIVING IN PERTH?We are currently in a temporaryapartment in East Perthoverlooking the Swan River. We wake up every morning to panoramic views of the river and the city.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE PLACE? Well, the weather is certainly a bonus. We’re also about 20minutes from the beach, whichis fun. Professionally, Graeme isreally enjoying being in a

Where in the world?

Office in I

NEW OFFICE OPENS IN MUMBAI TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LONG-STANDING LINKS BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY AND INDIA

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global connections

PARTNERSHIPSWITH INDIA WILLHELP US NOT ONLYTO FURTHEREDUCATIONACROSS THEWORLD, BUT ALSOTO JOINTLY PURSUESOLUTIONS TOSERIOUSPROBLEMS FACING US ALLProfessor Sir Timothy O’Shea

University’s presence in Mumbai will impact on widersociety, helping to tackle a range of pressing concerns suchas environmental challenges, economic development andhealth issues.

To celebrate the launch, a series of public lectureswere held in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

Speaking about the launch, Professor Sir TimothyO’Shea, Principal of the University, said: ‘Our effortsshow that the University of Edinburgh is committed to working with Indian partners and institutions.

‘Our partnerships with India will help us not only to further education across the world, but also to jointly pursue solutions to serious problemsfacing us all.’

booming economy. Previously,he’s only worked in the UKwhere you’re working reallyhard for one or two percentmarket share gains. Here, thereis lots of new business to behad. In fact, one of thechallenges is the very lowunemployment rate. They canget contracts with the miningcompanies, but they can’talways find the employees tofulfil them. People here arepaid very well compared withthe UK (although there is asimilar cost of living) and if onecompany is paying slightly moreup near the mines, peopledon’t hesitate to jump ship.

HOW EASY WAS THE RELOCATION? We knew about it for about sixmonths before we left the UK,so we had quite a bit of time toget organised and the companypaid for the movers to comeand pack up the house so wedidn’t really lift a finger there.It’s been harder managing bothof our careers. I have officiallyleft my company, Avery Weigh-Tronix, but I’m working forthem remotely as a contractoron our website redevelopmentproject. For me, this is ideal, asI have flexible hours, a steadyincome and get to finish one ofthe pieces of unfinished

business that I had with the company. We should go live in September, and then I’ll decide if I wantto find a full-time position here or continue doing contract work.

HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO LIFE IN THE UK? The working day starts earlierhere, about 7am. I think this ispartly as we’re on the westcoast of the country and there’sa three-hour time difference

between here and Sydney andpartly because people like toget out of work early and enjoyoutdoor activities. For me, theoutdoor lifestyle is the mostobvious difference to life in theUK. Everywhere you go, peopleare running, biking, sailing,swimming, kite boarding...doing something active.

IS IT A PLACE TO PUT DOWN ROOTS? It would be, if it wasn’t so faraway from our families in theUSA and Ireland. But it’s a greatplace for us at this stage in ourlives and we’re going to enjoyit as much as we can.

The University’s presencein Mumbai will impact on

wider society

| ABOVE: The working day begins at 7am in Perth

n India opens The School has attended a number of TopMBA fairsinternationally over the past few months.

Fairs provide an excellent opportunity to meet withprospective students face to face and allow the students tomeet with alumni who have been through the programme and who can share their experiences.

The US was the destination for Audrey Healy, Marketing andCommunications Manager, in February.

In New York, she was assisted by Russell Mante (Class of2008); in Washington, by Kevin Fagan (Class of 2005) andNeeraj Bhargava (Class of 2003); and in Boston, by Ben Leung(Class of 2006). This was then followed by attendance at thefair in Toronto, which was attended by Brad MacKay, MBADirector, with the help of Soraiya Walji (Class of 2008).

Brad also met with a number of alumni for dinnerwhile in the city.

In early March, the Schoolattended fairs in Almaty,Kazakhstan and Moscow.Aidan Hetherington, Careersand Corporate RelationsManager, attended theMoscow event, where he wasably assisted by AnnaMyachina (Class of 2005),Rowan de Arkotxa Mackenzie(Class of 2002) and Yulia Zaeva(Class of 2002).

Moving closer to home,Simon Earp, Director ofCorporate Engagement,attended the fair in Geneva,where he was assisted byPanayotis Pournaras (Class of1991), while Inger Seiferheld,MBA Executive Director,represented the School atfairs in Paris, where she washelped by Stephen Beatson(Class of 1992), and Frankfurt.

Finally, Kenneth Amaeshivisited Lagos and Accra, wherehe was joined by Fiona Laryea(Class of 2006).

ON TOUR AROUND RECRUITMENT FAIRS

New York – From left:Audrey Healy andRussell Mante (Class of 2008)

Moscow – From left:Anna Myachina (Class of 2005) and Yulia Zaeva(Class of 2002)

Aluminate May 2011_p14-15 21/4/11 10:34

global connections

EINAR SKULASON (MBA CLASS OF 2003) OFFERS A PERSONALGUIDE TO REYKJAVIK

WHY IS REYKJAVIK THE PLACE TO GO?It’s a small city with only 110,000 inhabitants, reaching180,000 if you include the surrounding towns. But eventhough the city is small, it’s got a big city attitude.

The nightlife is great on Friday and Saturday nights. It starts slowly, but after 1am the most popular bars arefull. People get drunk when they go out, so it might befrightening for someone unfamiliar with the situation.Those who have the guts, just dive in, take it easy andenjoy yourself. One thing to keep in mind. Icelandersdress up when they go out, so be slick and sexy.

The outdoor swimming pools (known as spas in most countries) are another reason to visit the city. Withwarm water, they are open all year round. The “hot pots”(whirlpool baths) are important in Icelandic culture, sincepeople discuss politics and other matters there.

Kolaportid Market, open on Saturdays andSundays, has a fascinating mixture of

immigrants and all kinds of Icelanders selling and buyinggoods. Check out the dried fish – it’s a more popular snack than crisps.

WHERE TO STAY?Hotel Holt is a small, well-established and very well-situated, five-star hotel. Its art gallery has one of the best collections in Iceland, apart from the public galleries.

Hotel 101, Hotel Borg and 1919 are all considered great choices in the centre of Reykjavik. A bit on theoutskirts, but still within walking distance fromdowntown, are Hilton Nordica Hotel and Hotel Saga.

The hostels on Laugavegur and in Laugardalur are cheap.

WHERE TO EAT?I would recommend Hotel Holt for dining and for small business meetings. Its restaurant is one of the best in Iceland.

To taste whale meat, puffin and other exotic delicacies,try the small and cosy restaurant called Thrir frakkar

hjá Úlfari (three coats at Ulfar).

HOW TO GET AROUND?The airport bus is a fine way of travelling

from the airport, much cheaper than ataxi and doesn’t take much longer. Iftravelling in a group, a taxi might bejust a bit more expensive for eachperson. There are no trains or trams

in Iceland.Once you get to Reykjavik the bus

system is the only transport system. Thebuses are not as frequent as inhabitants of larger

cities might be used to. However, downtown Reykjavikcan easily be covered by foot and it’s easy to get taxis.

BUSINESS ETIQUETTEThere is a tendency for Icelanders to arrive the same minute the meeting is supposed to start or a few minutes late. Of course, it doesn’t apply toeveryone, but don’t take it as an insult. Most people can speak good English and there is generalknowledge of many other languages, especially

An insider’s view of

Reykjavik

www.business-school.ed.ac.uk16 | aluminate | may 2011

Did you know?

Temperatures are moderate year-round in Iceland. Average July

temperatures are around 11°C inReykjavik. Average Januarytemperatures in Reykjavik, at around zero, are higher

than those in New York

| BELOW: The city can beexplored by foot or bus

| B

Aluminate May 2011_p16-17 20/4/11 15:48

global connections

the Nordic languages, German and French.

When you shake hands, look the other person in the eye and have a firm grip. Usually Icelanders can takedecisions quickly and the communications channels are short. Many of them like to do business in thatmanner and might become impatient if they feel thingsare moving too slowly.

WHAT TO SEE?It’s great to see the swimming pools, especially in thewinter. Swim in the hot water and get lost in the foggysteam while you are surrounded by snow and the dark sky.

Try the Blue Lagoon. Even though it’s getting moreexpensive and looking more and more like a tourist trap, it is still a unique experience.

Visit the Pearl, on top of hill Oskjuhlid. You can’t miss it, since it looks like a giant space ship. There is a view ofthe whole city from there.

Those who like literature can visit Thjodmenningarhusto take a look at the old manuscripts, the Sagas.

IT’S GREAT TO SEETHE SWIMMINGPOOLS, ESPECIALLYIN THE WINTER.SWIM IN THE HOTWATER AND GETLOST IN THE FOGGYSTEAM WHILE YOUARE SURROUNDEDBY SNOW AND THEDARK SKY


HIDDEN GEMS...

If you come in the middle of the winter, checkout the Northern lights (Aurora Borealis),weather conditions permitting.

At Reykjadalur, near Hveragerdi, you can takea bath on a hillside in a natural hot streamflowing there, any time of the year. Take care inthe winter and ask the locals if it is safe.

Also, try the Nautholsvik lagoon, which is openall day, every day in the summer. 20,000 litres ofhot water are pumped into the lagoon every day,and during the summer, the temperature of thewater ranges from about 18-20°C.

| ABOVE: Aurora Borealis above Reykjavik

| ABOVE: Swimming pools are a must-see

| ABOVE: Relax in the midst of the steam

| BELOW: Reykjavik is a small city with only 110,000 inhabitants

| BELOW: The Pearl has fantastic views of the city

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information on Reykjavik, visit www.visitreykjavik.isFor more information on the thermal pools,visit www.swimminginiceland.com

Aluminate May 2011_p16-17 20/4/11 15:48


alumni links

UK EVENTS The School hosts a number ofspeaker events in Edinburghwhich are open to alumni andcurrent students, perfect forexpanding your network. Socialevents include the annual BurnsSupper. Social and speakerevents are also held in Londonon a regular basis.

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS International alumni groups arewell established in a number ofcountries. Where numbers aresmaller, we also have key alumnicontacts located in various areasof the world. Turn to page 14 fora list of groups and contacts.

On occasion, informal events are hosted by visitingacademics and we sometimesapproach alumni to assist atpostgraduate recruitmentfairs. Keep us updated on yourdetails, and we’ll notify you byemail of any events happeningin your area.

BIZINFO SERVICES For vital research information,an alumni version of the BizInfowebsite (formerly known asMIRACLE) is available. Althoughit is not the full version forstudents, it still has a wealth ofinformation and comprehensivelisting of electronic resources.

For access, email [email protected]

CAREERS SUPPORT... ...FOR MSC/PHD ALUMNI Recent graduates (up to two

years after the date ofgraduation) are encouraged to use the facilities of theUniversity of Edinburgh CareersService. This includes access tothe Careers Information Centre

W ith the inaugural alumniweekend almost upon us, weare grateful to many of the

class representatives for helping topromote the events to their year group.

A number of classes are already co-ordinating their own reunion activities to coincide with the alumni weekend.These include the MBA classes from1996, 2000 and 2001. We hope that therewill be many more, so if you are keen toreconnect with members of your yeargroup, get in touch with your classrepresentative (see right) or email us at [email protected]

There are still year groups which donot have a representative so if you noticethat there is no representative listed foryour cohort and you are interested in the

role, or alternatively would like tonominate a fellow class member, pleasecontact the Alumni Manager.

We are particularly interested inhearing from our MSc Accounting andFinance and MSc Carbon Managementalumni as these newly createdprogrammes have yet to nominaterepresentatives.

In addition to helping with the alumniweekend, the role of class representative ismostly a figurehead role but provides avaluable, additional point of contact foralumni who want to reconnect with eachother. Class reps are also occasionallyapproached as an alumni focus group andcontacted for their advice and feedback ona particular alumni issue, but there isnever any obligation to respond.

A NUMBER OF SERVICES ARE PROVIDED BYTHE SCHOOL TO HELP YOU MAXIMISE THEVALUE OF YOUR POSTGRADUATE DEGREE

SERVICES FOR YOULINKEDIN GROUPS LinkedIn is the online network of more than 75 million professionalsaround the world. There is now a LinkedIn group for every postgraduatedegree programme. All alumni are encouraged to join their relevantgroup. To join the MSc/PhD group, visit www.linkedin.com/e/gis/128027

and then select the relevant subgroup for your degree.Not only is LinkedIn a great way to

reconnect with fellow classmates andexpand your own networks, but the virtualnetworking site is now a key recruitmenttool. In 2010, Accenture’s Global RecruitingManager planned to make 40 per cent of his hires through social media and

said: ‘If you don’t have a profile onLinkedIn, you’renowhere’.

and be countedStand up

Aluminate May 2011_p18-19 20/4/11 15:52

on Buccleuch Place, individualcareers guidance from a careersadvisor, computer-aided careersguidance, aptitude tests andpersonality questionnaires, talksand workshops, and vacancyinformation. For more information,visit www.careers.ed.ac.uk

...FOR MBA ALUMNIThe School’s career and personaldevelopment staff who supportthe current MBA students, arealso happy to assist MBA alumni.This can range from one-to-onecareer advice, through topsychometric testing anddiagnostics. The School alsoprovides a range of careerinformation online for MBAs,

including access to twointernational job-posting platformsprovided by MBA-Exchange andTopMBA. To request support or forfurther information, please [email protected]

TAILORED EXECUTIVE EDUCATIONThe School is happy to discusstraining and development needswith you or your organisation,covering the broad spectrum of management skills andknowledge. For more informationor to contact the team, email [email protected]

ACCESS TO THE WIDER UNIVERSITYOF EDINBURGH ALUMNI NETWORKIn addition to joining the Business

School postgraduate alumninetwork, you are alsoautomatically inducted into anetwork of more than 160,000alumni from across the University.This gives you access to abiannual magazine (Edit) and aregular e-newsletter, as well as the opportunity to apply for aUniversity of Edinburgh alumnicard, offering a number ofdiscounts on the hire of Universityvenues, accommodation andcatering, membership at theUniversity’s Centre for Sport andExercise, borrowing rights atUniversity libraries and all bookspublished by Edinburgh UniversityPress. To apply for your card, visitwww.ed.ac.uk/alumni

2010 PT Karen Fielding [email protected]

2009 FT Zev Kessler [email protected]

2009 PT Rhian Davies [email protected]

2008 FT Bing Tate [email protected]

2007 FT Lindsay Keith [email protected] Taylor [email protected] Chaikin [email protected]

2007 PT Peter Lo [email protected]

2006 FT Justin Gray [email protected]

2005 FT Kevin Fagan [email protected]

2005 PT Neil Harrison neil_d_harrison@ hotmail.com

2004 FT Jake Deacon [email protected]

2004 PT Simon Fairclough [email protected]

2003 FT Tony Banger [email protected]

2001 FT Kirsty MacGregor, [email protected] Herndon Stokes [email protected]

2000 FT Hlíf Sturludóttir [email protected]

1999 FT Sebastian Lo [email protected]

1998 FT Hamdi Unutmaz [email protected]

1997 PT Suzanne Grahame [email protected]

1996 FT Jonathan Collie [email protected]

1995 FT Ann Fazakerely [email protected]

1991 FT Tod Dimmick [email protected]

1991 PT David Duncan [email protected]

1989 FT Krisnan Srinivasan [email protected]

1989 PT Alan Johnston [email protected]

1988 FT Graham Thomson [email protected]

1987 FT Pat Apperson [email protected]

1986 FT Bjorn Erikkson [email protected]

Year FT/PT Name E-mail Year FT/PT Name E-mail

MBA CLASS REPRESENTATIVES

MSc CLASS REPRESENTATIVES

MSc Finance & Investment

2009 Bjorn Schubert [email protected]

2008 Uday Rathod [email protected]

2007 Pavle Sabic [email protected]

2006 Manish Modi [email protected]

MSc Management

2009 Elisabeth Einhaus [email protected]

2008 Pankaj Kankaria [email protected] Seidt annalaura.seidt@

googlemail.comUsman Piracha [email protected]

MSc International Business & Emerging Markets

2009 Heather Webb [email protected] Morris [email protected]

2008 Alexandra Fraser [email protected] Delissy [email protected]

2006 Markos Voudris [email protected] Bethell [email protected]

Year Name E-mail Year Name E-mail


alumni links

1,000TH MBA MEMBERCongratulations toNobuyuki Kamei (Class of2006) who became our1,000th member of the MBAalumni group in March. Thisrepresents almost a third ofour total MBA alumnicommunity so LinkedInreally is the place tonetwork. We are keen togrow the community furtherso if you haven’t alreadyjoined, please visitwww.linkedin.com/e/gis/3858

Aluminate May 2011_p18-19 20/4/11 15:52

A n asthmatic economy, job uncertaintyand a frightening pace of change inpeople’s lives are just a handful of the

issues that have been casting a gloom over theUK and beyond.

They’re not the best conditions to put aspring in your step, but because of the currentfinancial climate, it’s perhaps the best timeto focus more on feelings rather thanfigures. And that means happiness, orwellbeing, is becoming a much moreserious business. Many big blue-chipcompanies are now looking toincrease happiness among theirworkforce, thus maximisingproductivity and loyalty.

Already helping many of them todo this is cutting-edge technologydeveloped by the venture EmotionalSciences and supplemented by thework of PhD researcher Ed Cochrane,who is also involved in delivering theservice in his role as the School’sExecutive Development Manager. Theservice was established to provide companieswith an ‘emotional balance sheet’ that can sitalongside traditional accountingmeasurements to help inform decisionmakers. ‘Many companies are looking atbenchmarking emotions among theworkforce, so they know on a regular basiswhat factors will affect emotions, and, as aconsequence, business performance,’ said Ed.

At the heart of the service is theEmoSurvey. It works by a special piece ofsoftware analysing the language in staff surveyanswers for their emotional content (see box).This avoids bias, producing a more reliableresult compared with, for example, ten-pointscales or lengthy face-to-face interviews.

It’s a technology stemming from research inEmotional Intelligence (EI), a relatively youngdiscipline that first gained prominence in the1980s. At a basic level, EI is someone’s abilityto identify, assess and control theiremotions and those of others.

‘Until recently, the field was concerned mostly withdeveloping skills such asteamworking or leadership

abilities, but the focus has now begun to shifttowards measurement,’ said Ed. Crucially, theterms are changing as well – from “EmotionalIntelligence” to “Emotional Resilience”.

‘This reflects darker times in an age ofausterity. People need more “resilience” in theface of job uncertainty and shrinking salaries.And, in order to find ways of improvingresilience, you need to first turn tomeasurement,’ Ed said.

It’s an environment that provides fertileground for mapping negative emotions –fear of redundancy, distrust of management,overwhelmed by change – in order to try and

turn them into positives. Wendy Loretto, Professor ofOrganisational Behaviour at

the School, ran aresearch projectlooking at the effects

special feature


‘MANY COMPANIESARE LOOKING ATBENCHMARKINGEMOTIONS AMONGTHE WORKFORCE, SO THEY KNOW ON A REGULARBASIS WHATFACTORS WILLAFFECT EMOTIONS,AND, AS ACONSEQUENCE,BUSINESSPERFORMANCE’Ed Cochrane, ExecutiveDevelopment Manager and PhD researcher

WORK AT THE SCHOOL IS HELPING TO MAPHAPPINESS IN WORKFORCES – A GROWINGCONCERN FOR BIG BUSINESS

Reasons to be


Aluminate May 2011_p20-23 20/4/11 16:48

of organisational change across the NHS inEngland and Scotland over 2005-09. Sheexplained: ‘Despite the popular conceptionthat people fear change, we actually foundthat change doesn’t always negatively affectpeople’s wellbeing. Having the opportunity forpromotion and for training can havea positive mental effect onmental wellbeing. And, as wefound out in one study, it’snot just about staff waitingfor organisations toprovide such opportunities.A key factor for one groupwe looked at wasindividuals and groupsproactively seeking training.’

Wendy has also been involvedin research on the wellbeing ofindividuals as their working life comes to anend. She explained: ‘What came throughstrongly from our research was that choicewas a very important factor in determining

people’s wellbeing in retirement, and thatcomes from their financial position at thetime, typically pensions, and the options theemployer provides at the end of their workinglife. For example, the employer may allow theperson to choose the date of their retirement,

and allow them to ‘wind down’ byfirst moving to part-time hours.

Popular in the US, but still to really take off here, are

bridge jobs – moving toanother position with lessresponsibility or hours towind down.’

But what about afterretirement when, as Wendy

says, ‘people lose theiridentity if it is wrapped up in

what they do, particularly higher-up positions’?Alumnus Mark Freeman (MBA Class of

1988), a senior executive with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, may have an

answer. He said: ‘We recently received a noticeat work about holiday entitlement. One thingI observed is that the more senior one is themore holidays they get, until finally you reachretirement age and then you get all the time inthe world. So maybe the trick is preparing forthe inevitable – keeping up the hobbies.’

Perhaps one of the biggest areas in anorganisation’s efforts to foster a happierworkforce is by encouraging a good work/lifebalance with many companies, for example,offering flexible hours to staff so they canundertake the activities that make themhappy. But there are limits to this approach,explained Sue Longo (MBA Class of 2002), Region Manager, Associate, for Golder Paste Technology Ltd in Canada: ‘A lot of the frustration in our company regardingwork/life balance is that the neglect ofbalance is self-induced. No one is forcing youto work the hours that you do or take on thecommitments that you do, however, as anoverachiever it just seems to be the way itevolves. The responsibility for your life andcareer is up to the individual and no one else.’


special feature

TURN OVER FOR MORE STORIES AND VIEWS FROM ALUMNI ON

HOW TO ACHIEVE HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE AND CAREER >>>

Assessing the emotions of staff isjust one use for cutting-edgetechnology developed by theUniversity of Edinburgh andmarketed by Emotional Sciences.

Recently the venture scannedTwitter feeds to discover whichcelebrity was the happiest onthe planet (the answer isAmerican basketball playerShaquille O’Neal). But thetechnology can be used to lookat a wide range of text sourceswith various aims, including:

• Identifying social ills to help shape public policy –participants from different citiesagree to blog and the postingsare analysed• Assessing the impact ofpoliticians’ language on voterintentions by seeing how votersrespond to the emotionalcontent of what politicians say• Gauging the impact of productrecall/defects on a brand byanalysing the emotional contentof comments in the blogosphere.

This newtechnology works bylooking for patterns linkingemotive words and the focus ofthose emotions.

USES FOR EMOTIONAL TRACKING

be cheerful

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information visit www.emotionalsciences.com

Graham Thomson (MBA Class of1988), says the secret to a happy

career is good pay, appreciation ofyour work quality, job variety and

minimal commuting. He is happiestworking from home as a freelancer.

Turn to pages 22-23 for more alumni views

Did youknow?

‘HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY FORPROMOTION AND FOR TRAININGCAN HAVE A POSITIVE MENTALEFFECT ON MENTAL WELLBEING’Wendy Loretto, Professor of OrganisationalBehaviour

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special feature


Happiness needn’t always be about gaining thepositive, it can also be about preventing thenegatives from building up – namely,depression, stress and anxiety. It is theseconditions that Ian Drever (MBA Class of 1994)is planning to tackle with his new venture, apartnership with the Priory in Woking.

Ian explained: ‘The new concept has beento reposition a stay at the Priory as being anaspirational, indulgent experience, and tocombine the power of our clinical services.

‘It includes some of the “softer” types ofinput, such as some spa services, and tothereby reach out to people who recognisethat they’re not feeling as well as they wouldlike, but may have otherwise gone to a sparesort, or an expensive foreign island.’

The idea, a marriage of the businessacumen he gained on the MBA programmeand 16 years of experience in the psychiatryprofession, has come to life as DreverAssociates. ‘Most of the patients I see are

Some say we are born happy,but it’s the things we craveand the goals we set thatcause unhappiness.

It’s an idea that Samuel KofiSedowofia (MBA Class of 1991)has taken to heart, not justbecause he’s a life coach, butalso because for the past twoyears he has been recoveringfrom a serious car accident.

‘For me, happiness is aboutbeing realistic about the goalsyou set yourself. After theaccident I decided nothingwas more important than myrecovery. I wake up everymorning now and am happythat I’m here and alive. I could be unhappy for all thethings I haven’t been able todo, the goals I now can’taccomplish and that I haven’tworked for a while now, but

I don’t think that way. ‘People get too obsessed,

too driven with goals. It’simportant to be content withwhat you do achieve, insteadof focusing on what you don’t.’

Samuel hopes to soonreturn to his job withClearSpring Coaching, wherehe feels he does importantwork: ‘It empowers people totake control of their lives anddo the things they have thecapacity to do, but neverrealised they could,’ he said. ‘I firmly believe that workplacesthat have introduced coachingare much happier places.’

FROM SETTING SENSIBLE GOALS TO GETTING PLENTY OF EXERCISE, OURALUMNI TELL US WHAT THEY THINK IS THE SECRET TO CONTENTMENT

How to find thekey to happinessO pening up opportunities for a dream career,

fulfilling achievements and building meaningfulrelationships are just some of the things that

can play a role in happiness. In fact, all of these may have helped define many

alumni’s experiences during their time studying at theSchool. But what are the other secrets?

Aluminate talked to a range of alumni about their tips on achieving happiness as well as their personal route totapping into one of the most precious of emotions...

For Graeme McLaren (MBAClass of 2003), happiness is amovable feast that changes asyour priorities change. For himand his family, their most recentpriority was moving to Qatar sohe and his wife could achieve abetter work/life balance.

However, as AgreementsSpecialist with Qatar

Petroleum, his career is stillvitally important.

‘For me it’s important toforge the right career and havea sense of control over myprofessional destiny,’ Graemesaid. ‘Success for me is lessmeasured in quantifiableaspects – earnings, disposablecash – and more so in the

MAKE ‘BALANCE’ A PRIORITY

PUT YOUR GOALS IN PERSPECTIVE TACKLE THE NEGATIVES

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information onClearSpring Coaching, visit www.clearspringcoaching.co.uk

‘ILLNESSFEATURES ARE GENERALLYEASIER TORESOLVE AT ANEARLIER STAGE,RATHER THANLETTING THEMBUILD’Ian Drever

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suffering from a range of depressive, stressedor anxious features, which invariably arise as aresult of numerous life pressures piling up,one on the other, for months or years,’he explained. ‘These individualsoften keep soldiering on, tryingto hold everything together –work, family, financial etc –until it all takes a significanttoll on their physical orpsychological health, andvarious “warning lights” start toappear, such as disrupted sleep orappetite, diminished levels of energy,poor memory and concentration, and aninability to feel enjoyment.’

Ian warns people to take action beforematters get out of hand. ‘Illness features aregenerally easier to resolve at an earlier stage,rather than letting them build,’ he said.

He recommends regular, adequate sleep,good nutrition (particularly fish oils), pacingyourself (keep space for downtime in your

diary), and regular exercise – a powerfulantidepressant in its own right.

He also noted that for manypeople Cognitive BehaviouralTherapy techniques can help tochange the way we think,helping to develop alternative

ways of viewing situations whichare less likely to cause depression.

Also, he said that sharing problemswith support networks, such as family,

friends and work colleagues are also vital foremotional wellbeing.

For some, living in the fast lane can be a thrill, but for others a slower paceof life can be the better option.

Mark Freeman (MBA Class of 1988)has experienced both speeds. Havingembarked upon a ‘quest into a higherpaid occupation’, he found himselfproject managing developments for a hotel chain.

He said: ‘Looking back, I am not surethat I was terribly happy at work, despiteachieving career goals. I put this downto the pace of life I had chosen and myown metabolism – it wasn’t me.’

Then there was a downturn in theproperty market and he found himselfwithout a job and without good health.‘Racing around London took its toll,’ hesaid. ‘After a little meditation, I decided totake some time out and found myself partof the crew aboard a yacht that was sailingthe Atlantic for a year. After that I feltrefreshed and everything fell into place.’

Mark now works at Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in Ireland.The secret to happiness for him isphysical activity (sailing and cycling),finding time for yourself and family, apositive outlook and seeking wealth inmoderation. ‘The level of risk is relatedto the rewards,’ he said. ‘But it alldepends on your situation. I have afamily and spending time with them isimportant to me.’

special feature

quality of time with my familyand friends.

‘Personal and workachievements are important, as is being part of somethingsuccessful. I also enjoy thechallenge that comes fromdemanding work.’

He offers some sage advice:‘I feel we typically don’t stop

and consider what’s importantto us, instead trying to “spintoo many plates”. The effects of this could be the negativeaspects of stress. By objectivelysetting out what’s important tous – simply write it down –we’re more likely to makedecisions that will contribute to happiness over time.’

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information on Ian’s new venture,visit www.dreverassociates.co.uk

TAKE TIME OUT TO REASSESS

LEFT AND BELOW:One key to happiness is totackle problems such asstress and anxiety

Explorer Justin Packshaw’ssecret to happiness is an

inquisitive mind, busy hands,laughter and love. Read more

about his next adventure on pages 30-32

Did you know?

Aluminate May 2011_p20-23 20/4/11 16:48


professional development

T he current economic situationhas highlighted how changeablecareers can be, with frequent

redundancies and restructuresaffecting individuals in the job market.

Over the last couple of decades,increases in globalisation, technologyand economic changes have resultedin more frequent organisationalrestructuring, increased workloads,more short-term contacts, increasedchanges in skills required in theworkforce, more part-timejobs and an increase inworking from home.The types of jobsavailable have alsochanged. Many careers,such as in technology,did not exist 20 years ago,while others, such as heavyengineering, have reduceddramatically. In 20 years’ time therewill be a whole raft of new types of jobs and careers created as theworld changes.

With the increased changes comesa demand for a flexible and adaptableworkforce. Knowing our strengthsand transferable skills is vital for aflourishing career, so we are preparedfor change and uncertainty. For many, the responsibility of careermanagement has shifted from beingthat of the organisation to that of theindividual – a need to manage ourcareers and take responsibility forknowing and updating skills and

understand what is required in themarket place.

Career management has manydifferent dimensions, includingfinding the kind of work that isenjoyable and that makes the most of strengths, that energises and

motivates and that strikes theright work/life balance.

Setting career goals toachieve and planning for career transitions are also important to career planning.

As a career counsellorand coach, I work with

individuals on their careerchoice, transitions and careermanagement and have found thefollowing tips to be integral to careermanagement success.

MAKE TIME FOR CAREER MANAGEMENT It sounds so obvious to make time tothink about what is important to usfrom our work lives but it is easy toget so wrapped up in the process ofwork that sometimes we forget tofind the time to stand back and thinkabout what we are doing. Often wethink about our career and the futurewhen we have to: at appraisal time orwhen we are faced with a careerchange or transition. Career

management starts with anunderstanding of what we have in our ‘tool set’ – who we are, what wewant, what the workplace demandsand what we have to offer. And like any project, career management isabout planning, taking action andreviewing activities.

Having a vision of where we wantto get to in our career, of course,helps, as we can visualise what wewant and work out how to achieve it but this is an aspect of careermanagement that many find difficult.Not everyone is able to visualise intothe future and imagine where theywill be in ten years time. Noteveryone sees their future as being atthe top of the tree, others find careersatisfaction from different sourcesand even short-term plans assist tofocus activities.

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHSResearch from the field of positivepsychology has shown that peoplewho understand and use theirstrengths tend to be happier, lessstressed, more confident, moreproductive and successful at work.Peter Drucker wrote that successfulcareers are the careers of people ‘who are prepared for opportunitiesbecause they know their strengths,

‘HAVING AVISION OFWHERE WEWANT TO GETTO IN OURCAREER IS ANASPECT OFCAREERMANAGEMENTTHAT MANYPEOPLE FINDDIFFICULT’ Diana Dawson

THE DEMANDS ON WORKERS IS CONSTANTLYCHANGING, BUT GOOD CAREER MANAGEMENTCAN HELP YOU ADAPT, WRITES DIANA DAWSON

Did you know?

People spend about 70 percent of their lives at work,

and during that time many jobs will

change

sandsShifting

Aluminate May 2011_p24-25 20/4/11 15:17


professional development

the way they work and their values.For finding where one belongs makesordinary people into star performers’.

Knowing and working to ourstrengths is far more powerful andeffective than trying to change ourweaknesses. The idea is that wemaximise the use of strengths andminimise the use of weaknesses byputting ourselves in positions wherewe can use strengths. Strengths comefrom our innate abilities, skills andpersonality and we can usually tellwhen we are using strengths as wefeel energised and motivated. Usingweaknesses is where we feel zappedof energy – these are the things thatfloat to the bottom of our in trays. Inmy career counselling practice I alsouse ability, personality and strengthstesting to facilitate self understandingwhich aids clients to get an objectiveview of where they can excel.

KNOW YOUR WORK VALUESKnowing and fulfilling your workvalues is also important to careersatisfaction – knowing what yourdrivers are at work. For some, it isimportant to have meaningful workthat has a positive effect on others, orit could be a need to manage others,to have challenging problems, to be anexpert in their field, to have flexiblework or a need to have a lifestylebalance. While money is important,for many work is not only aboutearning and career satisfaction isgained from other values.

CAREER RESEARCHOnce we have an understanding ofour strengths and values we will havean understanding of what we wantfrom work and how we can excel. Wealso have to know our options – whatare the opportunities?

This could be opportunities withinyour organisation or externally, butcontinual networking and researchaids understanding of what and where these opportunities are.

DEVELOP YOURSELFWe are all familiar with competencieswhich are generally defined as skillsand characteristics that are requiredto be successful in a position orcareer. Competencies can also begrouped into two broad categories of‘leadership’ competencies and‘technical’ competencies.

Understanding those competenciesrequired in your career or futurecareer and understanding ourselvesfrom self-assessment and feedback

from others, means we can do somegap analysis as to where strengths canbe developed, weaknesses minimisedand skills gained. There are hundredsof ways to learn and develop. Fortechnical competencies, researchindicates that almost 70 per cent of learning and competencydevelopment takes place through on-the-job learning – increased by extraactivities such as being involved indemanding projects or cross-functional teams, for example. Forleadership skills, these could includeself-reflection, reading, training,classroom learning, coaching,mentoring, observing a highperformer, dialogue with a seniorleader and 360 degree feedback.

CREATE A PLANResearch has shown success in goals is hugely increased by writing themdown. By creating a career plan wecan monitor our effectiveness overtime of progression to goals and wehave evidence of our success. It alsohelps at times, such as appraisals, whenwe have evidence to support ourcontinued learning and development.It gives focus to self marketing andbuilds confidence and, as they say, ifyou don’t know where you are going,you are unlikely to get there.

‘KNOWING AND WORKING TO OUR STRENGTHSIS FAR MORE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE THANTRYING TO CHANGE OUR WEAKNESSES... WECAN USUALLY TELL WHEN WE ARE USINGSTRENGTHS AS WE FEEL ENERGISED’Diana Dawson

DIANA HAS THE ANSWER FOR INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONSDiana Dawson is an Occupational Psychologist, CareerCounsellor and Coach based in Edinburgh.

She works mainly with career changers but also works with organisations on their people selection, development and outplacement.

Diana has an MA in Psychology from the University ofAberdeen, an MSc in Career Counselling and Managementfrom Birkbeck, University of London, and an MSc inOccupational Psychology from the University of Strathclyde.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.workingcareer.co.uk

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business development


Companies can open the door to fresh insightsand innovative solutions by commissioning theSchool’s students to conduct research. During

their studies, MBA and MSc students participate inprojects that offer organisations the chance to access ahigh-quality research resource – for no more than thecost of covering essential project expenses. MBAstudents can generally offer businesses a broad, strategicview, while MSc students typically provide a morefocused perspective within a particular area of expertise.

MBA CAPSTONE PROJECTSTo benefit from the expertise of an industry-experienced student, your business can becomeinvolved in the capstone (dissertation) project. Eachstudent is required to complete a substantial andauthoritative work which can take many forms,including a research-based document, business plan orreport. Previous projects have included Network Rail’scorporate turnaround strategy, strategic analysis of thewind energy industry in Scotland, and the UKintroduction of real estate investment trusts. Application deadline: end of February Project timescale: June-September

MSC IN FINANCE RESEARCH PROJECTSEach of our finance MSc students complete adissertation – which could be sponsored by companies.This year, 45 research topics have been contributed bymembers of the banking, finance and investmentcommunity in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee andLondon. These are currently being matched withstudents on the MSc in Finance and Investment andMSc in Accounting and Finance programmes as topicsfor dissertation research. Application deadline: end of JanuaryProject timescale: April-September

DOING BUSINESS IN EMERGING MARKETS PROJECTSAs part of the MSc in International Business andEmerging Markets, students are required to carry out awork-based project with a company that wishes to takea product or service to a new international market.

This year, 13 student teams consulted with eight localbusinesses on issues relating to doing business in China,Russia, Poland, Thailand, Eastern Europe and NorthAfrica. Topics included strategies for exporting, finding

Benefit from anew perspective

ORGANISATIONS CAN BENEFITFROM STUDENT INSIGHTS

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Companies involved in the MBA Consultancy Projects scheme can task MBA studentswith a strategic business project. A team of two or three students – supported by ouracademic staff – will spend about 150 hours consulting on an important managementissue identified by the organisation. We currently have 21 teams consulting withorganisations in a range of sectors. Below and right are examples from recent years.Application deadline: 1st week in January Project timescale: March-June

RED ISLAND Red Island is the creator ofthe Walkodile, an award-winning innovative childsafety walker, designed tokeep groups of up to sixchildren together and safewhen walking on schooloutings. Its main use is inprimary schools andnurseries for educationalwalking trips.

The objective of theproject was to evaluate marketdevelopment strategies for the Walkodileproduct in the UK. Following marketresearch and an analysis of their clients’own resources, the student team identified

three strategic alternativesfor the marketing of theproduct: an internal salesforce; use of a partner’ssales force; or concentrationon direct sales, either onlineor by mail order. The teamconcluded that a mix ofthese options was the mostappropriate way forward fortheir client.

CEO John Stephen said:‘We cannot praise our teamhighly enough. Theyconsistently performed way

above our expectations. They have comeup with findings that have helped usbecome clearer about the ways to take the business forward to the next stage.’

State Street InvestmentAnalytics (SSIA) providesperformance and analyticsservices to help monitor andmeasure the success ofinvestment strategies.

The aim was to carry out

an analysis of the life cycle ofchange within pension funds toprovide recommendations onhow SSIA could better engagewith existing clients and expandtheir client base. The three-person student team carried

out a survey of 25 pensionfunds to collect information on these major changes. Theresults of the survey fed intorecommendations that coveredbrand awareness, customerservice, market segmentationand customer satisfaction.

‘I found the project extremely

useful and the outputs havereally helped crystallise some of our own thinking,’ said DavidCullinan, Head of PerformanceConsultancy. ‘I was veryimpressed by the quality of the students whose disparateexperiences gelled very well into joined-up thinking.’

STATE STREET INVESTMENT ANALYTICS

MBA CONSULTANCY PROJECTS


business development

market channels, setting up branches, establishing supplychains, sourcing materials and setting up production sites. Application deadline: end of DecemberProject timescale: January-March

INTERNSHIPS MBA and MSc students are always interested in internshipwork, either during or after their programmes. These areoften project-based and can be an excellent way fororganisations to access the strategic skills and expertise ofour students across a broad range of functional areas.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?If you would like to take advantage of any of theseopportunities or have a more general conversationabout student projects, contact Douglas Graham,Student Projects Manager, on +44 (0)131 651 5330 or [email protected] For more information on any of our services for the business community, request anOpportunities brochure by [email protected]

Douglas Graham joined theBusiness School in October2010 as Student ProjectsManager. This new role has aremit of building contacts andconnections between studentsand the business communityin the areas of research,business consultancy,internship and placement.There are already a number ofregular, highly successfulinteractions in these areas,which he plans to expandand build on over time.

His goals are to strengthenthe link between businessand academic programmes;

enhance the studentexperience by providing moreopportunities to put theoryinto practice in liveenvironments; and add valueto businesses and providethem with opportunities totap into the skills, expertise

and thought-leadershipavailable at the School.

Douglas previouslyworked for the Edinburghoffice of Thomson Reuterswhere he worked inbusiness development andrelationship managementwith a broad range ofScotland’s finance andinvestment community.

Douglas holds an honoursdegree in Law and Frenchfrom the University ofGlasgow and a Masters inInternational ComparativeLaw from UniversiteitMaastricht.

DOUGLAS TO STRENGTHEN BUSINESS LINKS

THIRD WAVE LTD Thirdwave Ltd is a sustainable developmentand corporate responsibility consultancythat works with public, private and thirdsector clients to develop good practice.

The project was to define the marketopportunity for a sustainable developmentaccreditation scheme for public sectorprocurement and to establish thecommercial feasibility of such a scheme.

Their research included a number ofinterviews with procurement officers aboutbest practice, procurement processes andpublic sector interest in sustainability. Thestudent team concluded that currentinterest, and current EU regulations meantthat a system of ‘devolved certification’ thatfocused on evaluating and improving theperformance of organisations’ currentsuppliers was the most appropriate way forward.

Malcolm McRobert, Director, said: ‘Boththe report and presentation addressed theintended issue and the outcome wasindeed a valuable one.’

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research news

Professor Peter Rosa and Dr Sarah Cooper of theEntrepreneurship and

Innovation Group have beenfunded by the CommonwealthSecretariat to help establish a newEntrepreneurship and BusinessDevelopment Centre at theFaculty of Commerce,University ofSwaziland. PeterRosa spent threeweeks in Septemberon the first phase ofthis project carryingout a situation analysisof small business supportin the country.

Interviews of representativesfrom support organisations,government departments, thebanks and the University ofSwaziland were undertaken,culminating in a consultative

workshop of leading stakeholders. Swaziland is a small landlocked

country, facing challenges ofpersistent rural poverty, highyouth unemployment, and one of the highest incidences ofHIV/Aids in the world. However,

it has a well developedinfrastructure of roads,

power, education and institutions, it is peaceful, nothaving suffered the upheavals of

many other Africancountries, and it has

orderly systems ofgovernment.

In the last three decades it hasmanaged to attract significantlevels of foreign directinvestment, but this is decliningas many companies are relocating,and recent free trade agreements

have tended to favour moreaggressive African competitorsrather than local companies.

There is a feeling that althoughbusiness opportunities exist, andthe environment is favourable inmany respects, few Swazis havethe entrepreneurial motivation orcapacity to exploit them.

Not only that, but the lack ofaccess to finance or start-ups andthe burden of regulations aresignificant de-motivators ofpotential entrepreneurs.

Although small businesssupport has been growing sincethe 1970s, and there are nowmany providers of support forentrepreneurs and smallbusinesses, most interviewersthought it was too basic, out ofdate, and incapable of upgradingthe capacity of entrepreneurs to a level that will meet nationalaspirations and needs. As onerespondent put it, the supportnetwork ‘teaches businesses tosurvive, but not to thrive’.

A Corporate Responsibility andGovernance Network has been launched whichrecognises the multidisciplinarynature of corporate responsibilityand governance.

This new network seeks tobring together members fromacross the University who areinterested in this area as well aspractitioners from the private,public and third sectors. It willreflect the broad interest of itsmembers covering a range ofthemes, including business andhuman rights, comparative

corporate governance, corporatephilanthropy and ethics, socialentrepreneurship, sustainablefinance and responsibleinvestments, and sustainableinnovation and greentechnologies.

Founded by Dr KennethAmaeshi, Senior Lecturer inStrategy and InternationalBusiness, the network will be aplatform for knowledge sharingand socialisation, with the aim of generating interdisciplinaryresearch grants and jointpublications, as the opportunities

arise. It will also supportteaching and student-ledactivities, where necessary.Engagement with policy makersand practitioners across allsectors is also an importantobjective of the network.

The network has a mailing listwhere events, funding calls andnews items can be circulated.

Network launched to reflect broad interests

Centre set tosow seeds of growth

| ABOVE: Swaziland faces the challenges of persistent rural poverty

SCHOOL ACADEMICS HELP BOOSTENTREPRENEURIALISM IN SWAZILAND

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information and to join the mailing list, visitwww.business-school.ed.ac.uk/crgnetwork ABOVE: Dr Kenneth Amaeshi

Did you know?

The population ofSwaziland is about 1.3million and the main

export earner is sugar

Aluminate May 2011_p28-29 20/4/11 16:49


research news

An article by a School academic has been themost downloaded in 2010 from the journalEvidence & Policy.

The article, ‘Evidence and policy in sixEuropean countries: diverse approaches andcommon challenges’, was written by ProfessorSandra Nutley with Sarah Morton, Tobias Jungand Annette Boaz.

It reflects an international interest in therelationship between research evidence and theconcerns of policy makers and practitioners. Theresearch draws together findings from a seminarseries that considered evidence and policydevelopments in the Netherlands, Norway,Iceland, Ireland, Scotland and Sweden.

Across all countries there is less status andreward for academics engaging in policy andpractice-relevant work than for publishing intraditional peer reviewed journals.

This affects the resources available toconduct policy-focused work and researchtranslation. There are also some commonchallenges around the use and misuse ofresearch in highly politicised areas of publicpolicy and practice. A scarcity of shared spacesfor exchange and debate between the academyand policy-makers and practitioners was ashared concern. Such spaces are particularlyimportant if we want research to questioncurrent policy and practice thinking, as well as informing and refining current thinking.

Despite these common challenges, and ashared commitment to evidence-informedpolicy and practice, there is diversity in howstakeholders in the six countries haveapproached the task of developing betterlinkages between evidence and policy. Theexplanations for this diversity seem to berooted in differences in national cultural,political and administrative arrangements.

Evidence andpolicy gap isa hot topic

Treasures threatenedby climate change

A rchaeological treasures that have beenfrozen for millennia are beingdestroyed because of climate change,

suggest researchers from the Business School.Remains in some of the coldest places

on earth are being exposed aswarmer temperatures cause iceand hardened ground to thaw.The fragile materials at riskinclude ancient tombs, artefactsand human remains. They areoften culturally significant,especially for indigenouspopulations.

The researchers studied cases of damagedarchaeological remains in three locationsaround the world – at permafrost in the AltaiMountains in central Asia, sea ice in Alaskaand glaciers in the Rocky Mountains.

Coastal erosion caused by retreating sea icewas found to be damaging remains in an Inuitvillage in Alaska, including a fourth-centurycoastal cemetery. Melting glaciers in theRocky Mountains pose a threat to NativeAmerican human remains and artefacts suchas hunting tools, weapons and clothing.

Researchers also discovered that thawingtemperatures represent a risk to burialmounds in the Altai Mountains of central Asia.

The site, containing the only frozentombs in the world, is the resting

place of Eurasian nomadichorsemen with links to modern-day Siberian nomads.

Scientists are calling fora global organisation to be

set up to maintain a record ofvulnerable sites and co-ordinate

efforts to conserve items that are atrisk, particularly indigenous remains.

Dr Dave Reay, Director of the MSc inCarbon Management, who supervised thestudy, said: ‘Warming climates are expected tolead to more melting ice and we need to takeaction to safeguard ancient treasures.

‘Long-term efforts are needed to locatearchaeological remains that are at risk, andresearch how best to care for them. We mustalso consider the political and culturalimplications of preserving important relics.’

‘EFFORTS ARE NEEDED TO LOCATEARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS THATARE AT RISK, AND RESEARCHHOW BEST TO CARE FOR THEM’Dr Dave Reay

Did you know?

Burial mounds in the AltaiMountains contain

treasures such as gold and ancient

carpets

RESEARCHERS DISCOVERTHAT ARCHAEOLOGICALREMAINS ARE AT RISK

Archaeological remainsare at risk in Alaska

Aluminate May 2011_p28-29 20/4/11 16:49

people


Few could class themselves as explorers who havewalked to the North Pole. One alumnus of theSchool can – Justin Packshaw (MBA Class of 1993).

And now he’s scaling the world’s highest mountain witha couple of his friends.

Justin is Managing Director of the highly successfulniche fashion house ‘De Roemer’, which he set up withhis wife, the designer Tamsin de Roemer. As a globaladventurer of considerable renown, he has recentlybeen charting new territory in the world of motivationalspeaking.

Justin’s love of the outdoors began almost before hecould walk. Brought up on the island of Malta, he andhis siblings built their own dinghies, which they racedfor fun.

‘I was extremely fortunate that my parents were veryfond of the sea and instilled that love in us all,’ he said.‘I suppose that’s where I got my first taste for adventureand exploring and I have been inquisitive about learningmore about myself and our world ever since.’

Later, he swapped the warm climes of the Med forthe slightly cooler – but for him, just as exciting –surroundings of Edinburgh, where he studied for hisMasters degree after leaving the British Army with therank of captain. ‘Scotland is stunning. It’s like having aback garden that’s full of opportunity and I was lucky

enough to be able to make the most of it while I was at the University.

‘I feel sorry for children who are not fortunateenough to be able to spend time learning the lessonsthat the outdoors offers up. Through this I am apassionate supporter of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, which gives young people a fantasticopportunity to explore the great outdoors, and fulfilother aspects of their potential.’

He spent eight years in the Army (4th/7th RoyalDragoon Guards) and candidly admits that, alongsidesoldiering, he was lucky enough to be able to indulge inhis love of adventure – time was spent learning aboutjungles, skydiving and skiing, while he also sailed aroundthe world in the 1989/90 Whitbread Yacht Race.

‘When I was a soldier the military was a fantasticplatform to push oneself and learn new skills. It seemedall one had to do was show some enthusiasm and therewas a good chance you’d be allowed to go and do it.Sadly, our services are much smaller in numbers nowand are so overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan thatthose opportunities are far harder to come by.

‘Military life is so different from civilian life;obviously you have enormous responsibilities and areoften put in life-threatening situations – daily for ourpresent servicemen – and when one leaves and joins the

‘THE MBA WASTHE BEST THING I COULD HAVEDONE. IT WAS A BRILLIANTTRANSITION FROMTHE MILITARYENVIRONMENT TO THE BUSINESSONE’Justin Packshaw

ON THE EVE OF HIS ATTEMPT TO REACH THE TOP OF EVEREST, JUSTIN PACKSHAW EXPLAINSHOW ENTERING THE WORLD OF BUSINESS BECAME ONE OF HIS GREATEST ADVENTURES

Husband and wife team,Justin Packshaw and Tamsinde Roemer, run the luxuryfashion label ‘De Roemer’.

The brand designs andmanufactures high-qualitycashmere for women and men,fine jewellery and handbagsand accessories which are soldin some of the world’s mostinfluential shops.

Since its launch the label’sproducts have had excellentreviews and are coveted by thelikes of Rachel Weisz, Kate

Moss, Jade Jagger, Lucy Liuand Sylvie Guillem.

De Roemer was recentlynamed ‘Luxury Brand of Tomorrow’ by theprestigious Walpole Group(www.thewalpole.co.uk).

The company has justopened the doors to its firstshop at 14 Porchester Place,London, W2, with the aim ofopening several more in thenext year.

Michael Ward, the ManagingDirector of Harrods, recently

became the label’s chairman. He said: ‘How could anyone

not want to become involvedin De Roemer? The product isexquisite and the enthusiasmof Justin and Tamsin isamazing.

‘I am privileged to be part of a team which Ibelieve will create a trulyamazing British brand.’

BUSINESS IN STYLE

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information, visitwww.deroemer.com

Cool custom

Aluminate May 2011_p30-33 20/4/11 16:52


people

rank and file of civilian street there is a lot to adjust to, not all of it easy.’

Justin spent the final months of his armyservice engaged in the first Gulf War, and ashe prepared to leave the service, wonderedin which direction life would take himnext. ‘I’d done all the things I wanted to doin the military, but I also knew I was ratherbehind the curve, compared with my peersoutside of the military. A good army friendof mine, Rupert Mackenzie-Hill, had alreadyundertaken the Edinburgh MBAprogramme, and recommended it to me as aconduit from the army into civilian life. ‘Iapplied and was accepted, and I rememberthinking that the programme would startteaching me the language of business.

‘It was the best thing I could have done. It was abrilliant transition from the military environmentto the business one. I’d just returned from the firstGulf War and pursuing academic studies, even thoseas fast-paced as a Masters in Business, gave methe time I needed to adapt. You spend ayear with business

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 >>>

omer

RIGHT: Justin Packshawduring his trek to theNorth Pole

Aluminate May 2011_p30-33 20/4/11 16:52

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professionals, you learn the building blocks of thelanguage of business, and you have time to adjust.’

As Managing Director of his own business, thesuccessful De Roemer fashion house, Justin is still usingthe lessons he learned in Edinburgh. ‘I was 30 when I wentto do my MBA, and I soaked up so much fantasticallyuseful information. An MBA for anyone aspiring to runtheir own business is going to be invaluable.

‘One of the best attributes of the programme was theinteraction between students from many differentcultures and professions. We had 160 people on ourprogramme, and there was a lot of interaction betweenus. You could sit through a marketing lecture, forexample, and then go and talk about it to the marketersamong your fellow students.’

After completing his studies, Justin went to the USAwhere he worked for a New York finance organisation,before setting up an advertising newspaper in theMediterranean. He also worked with News Corporationwhen they sponsored the 2000 Clipper Round theWorld yacht race, run by one of his heroes, Sir RobinKnox Johnston – the first man to sail single-handed,non-stop around the world.

In 2005, he and his designer wife set up their ownbusiness – the De Roemer fashion label. ‘It was anambitious thing to do, as the luxury fashion world isextremely difficult to break into and predominantlydominated by three or four major organisations whohave a tight monopoly on it all. But we’ve done well –we have a lovely shop, we wholesale all over the worldand we have a growing e-commerce platform. We aspireto build a truly global business, and we have surroundedourselves with very bright people who know

considerably more about business than we do.’

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 >>>

JUSTIN PACKSHAW ON HIS LATEST EXPEDITION

After my family, exploring is myreal love. I’m fascinated bywhat’s out there and I am veryinterested in pushing myselfphysically and mentally andlooking at the parameters thatadversity creates and how onehas to adapt to them. I’m 46now and that drive to testmyself is still there. Whether itwill ever go away I don’t know.Everest is next – we left the UK on 27 March and comeback on 1 June.

After leaving the Army, I got quite involved in polartravel. Through that, I met David Hempleman-Adams andan amazing Norwegian chapcalled Rune Gjeldnes, both of whom are extraordinaryachievers.

Back in 2007, David hadasked me to join him on atrip to the GeographicNorth Pole with histhen 15-year-olddaughter, Camilla. Fora time she was theyoungest female toreach the Pole.

Off the back ofthat excursion wedecided to plan theEverest Expedition(www.deroemereverest.com).

I’m extremelyfortunate as my wife,Tamsin allows me toperiodically go off onthese trips. She is trulyamazing and thankfully will becoming to Everest Base Campfor the last couple of weeks ofthe expedition so she will getto see the extraordinary beauty

of the Himalayas. Sadly, our twochildren are still a little young tobe coming too.

Planning any high-altitudemountaineering requires verydiligent preparation and thisEverest trip is no exception,considering that we are goingto be on the mountain for eight weeks.

It comes down to putting asuperb team together that onetrusts, getting oneself fit andhealthy, and hoping that theelements that we have littlecontrol over, such as the

weather, are respected andmethodically understood.

All the planning andpreparation pre-leaving onthese adventures is great funand keeps the spring in one’sstep, and puts back all thegood things that the monotonyof day-to-day life can suck outof you.

The same can be said forone’s approach to work whenone returns. I have alwaysfound that I relish being backand feel totally recharged andexcited about everything.

A LIFE OF HIGH ADVENTURE

‘I’M EXTREMELY FORTUNATE AS MY WIFE, TAMSINALLOWS ME TO PERIODICALLY GO OFF ON THESETRIPS... SADLY, OUR TWO CHILDREN ARE STILL A LITTLE YOUNG TO BE COMING TOO’Justin Packshaw

Did you know?

By the end of the 2008climbing season, Everesthad seen 4,102 ascents toits peak by about 2,700

individuals

Justin’s next challengewill be an ascent of

Mount Everest

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A revolutionary concept which could prevent thewastage of billions of pounds worth of medicinesevery year has been devised by MSc in

International Business and Emerging Markets alumnus,Spyridon (Ross) Tsakas (Class of 2010).

He has created and patented a unique method forprolonging the lifespan of drugs so they can be storedwithout refrigeration for years instead of days withoutlosing any of their effectiveness or potency. The singlevial system designed by Spyridon and his father, retiredGenetics Professor Spyridon Christos Tsakas, formedthe foundation for Eulysis Ltd which intends to licensethe technology from Scotland for use around the world.

Spyridon has been awarded an Enterprise Fellowshipfrom the Royal Society of Edinburgh and ScottishEnterprise to develop his product for thepharmaceutical, diagnostic, nutritional and cosmeticindustries. The fellowship offers him a year’s salary todevelop the product, hosted at the Business School,business training and access to networks of mentors,business experts and professional advisors.

The single vial system works by storing life-savingmedicines such as antibiotics, vaccines, insulin andothers in dry powder form inside a specially attachedcap fitted to a small bottle of buffer solution. When thecap is depressed, the powder is mixed with the solutionand the medicine becomes immediately active.

This is an important revelation for all liquidmedicines sold today, which not only have short shelflives but also require refrigeration from production until use.

Many medicines such as antibiotics and vaccines arecurrently manufactured in sets of two separate vials,one containing the powder form and the other theliquid ingredients of the end product. Until now, usershad to extract the liquid from one vial and mix it with the powder to create a product which, unlessrefrigerated or used within a short time frame, soon deteriorates.

The new process means one depression of thehollow cap containing the powder will mixwith the solution to create the vaccine orantibiotic in a single vial at themoment it is needed. Until thepowder and solution aremixed together, theingredients remaininactive and canbe storedwithoutrefrigerationfor up to fouryears at a time.

‘The prospects are immense’, said Spyridon. ‘If thesingle vial system could be used to deliver theseproducts, it would avoid the need for refrigerationand reduce manufacturing and transportationcosts. It would also simplify the end process for

the user and have a much longer shelf life whileavoiding many contamination risks.’

Professor Grahame Bulfield, former Head ofthe College of Science and Engineering,described the single vial development as animportant solution to a very big problem.

‘The beauty of this system is that it canallow all sorts of materials, includingvaccines, to be transported around at roomtemperature and taken into the most

difficult conditions in the field, suchas in Africa, India and even

remote parts of Britain for thatmatter, and kept for a long

time. Some of the materialsthat have been used so far have

had shelf lives of three or four years.’

REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGYPROLONGS LIFESPAN OF DRUGS

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information on EulysisLtd, visit www.eulysis.com For details on the EnterpriseFellowship, visit www.royalsoced.org.uk/research_fellowships


Spyridon has remainedclosely involved withthe current students onthe MSc in InternationalBusiness and EmergingMarkets through hisinvolvement in theDoing Business Projectsin Emerging Marketscourse. Two studentgroups conductedresearch projects onEulysis Ltd. One projectfocused on an insulintreatment that thecompany has developedand intends to marketin North Africa. Thegroup selected Moroccoas the country ofchoice. The secondproject was on an acne treatmentdeveloped by thecompany, and thegroup selected China.Both groups compiled a report and gave apresentation on howto market to these two areas.

STUDENTENGAGEMENT

New life for medicines

‘THE SINGLE VIAL SYSTEM WOULD AVOIDTHE NEED FOR REFRIGERATION ANDREDUCE MANUFACTURING ANDTRANSPORTATION COSTS’Spyridon Tsakas, pictured

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MBA CLASS OF 1986 PART-TIME

TERRY LAMB‘My wife Joanne, who is also an Edinburghgraduate (PhD, 1972), has just finished writing a book about VictorianEdinburgh which we have jointly published. Visit www.dcedin.co.ukfor details.

‘I retired from Strathclyde Business School a fewyears ago and book publishing has been a new andexciting venture for me. We have now just enteredthe marketing/selling phase of the project.’

MBA CLASS OF 1987 FULL-TIME

GEORGE (PAT) APPERSONAfter 25 years of international commodities, Pat hasreturned to school at Clemson University to pursue aPhD in Economics. He is living in Greenville, SouthCarolina, and extends an invitation to all classmates to come and visit.


ALFREDO ABADIn August 2010, Alfredo, Christine, Mónica and Nereidamoved from Luxembourg to South Africa. Alfredo hasbeen appointed Head of the European Investment

Bank (EIB) Regional Office, located in Tshwani,Pretoria. This office covers the bank’s activities in the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean regions. The EIB is the European Development Institution of the EU.

TIM ASHBYTim has founded a new company, Federal RegulatoryCompliance Services, LLC (www.FRCSglobal.com),offering a range of regulatory compliance services tocorporate clients, including the pending UKAnti-Bribery Act.


MARGERY MCBAIN‘It is now five years since I started my business,Gravitate HR, and this year saw us moving to biggeroffice space – still in India Street and located in theancestral home of James Clerk Maxwell – hoping thiswill allow us to go from strength to strength.’


JANE CAMPBELL‘I have recently been elected University of EdinburghIT Campus Liason for Credit Suisse to build the brandand recognition of Credit Suisse on campus and attract applications to our IT graduate programmes. I am also President of the University of EdinburghLondon Alumni network, which is open to all alumni in the London area, including all postgraduates from the Business School.’


ALAN CRAWFORDAlan spends his summers inVancouver, Canada, where he runs a venture capital firm, TechVenFinance Corporation, which provides seedfinance and public offerings for junior naturalresource and technology companies. He spends his winters in Panama, Central America, where he provides offshore finance consulting andstructures, as well as enjoying boating and fishing. If any of his classmates are travelling in these areas, he would love to hear from them [email protected]


ANIL SHUKLA

‘Until recently I was working as Head of the UttarPradesh State Office of the Confederation of IndianIndustry in Lucknow. The photograph shows my wife,Neerja, and I with Dr APJ Kalam, former President,Republic of India, on a very exclusive event at theGrosvenor House in Lucknow. I left to become theSecretary General with the Sugar Technologists'Association of India in New Delhi.’

SERGE ROUX-LEVRATSerge and Barbara have taken up a new activity at theweekends since January of this year: preaching theWord of God to people and helping them have a more abundant life through SRL Ministries(www.SRLMinistries.org). They are amazed at howthe love of God is transforming people for the betterand enabling them to have a new start in life.


JIM DRUMMONDIn addition to being Managing Director for JHDrummond & Associates Inc, Jim is now teachingpublic speaking at Central Maine Community College.


DONALD HARLEYDonald has just started his tenth year with the BritishMedical Association, where he is Deputy Secretary forBMA Scotland. Since graduation he has also spenttime with the Hertz Corporation and Direct Line.

He is married to Cathy, and his twochildren, Morag and Gregor, are now

13 and nine respectively. In recentyears he has dedicated himself togaining fluency in Spanish andtravelling around Latin Americain stages. He has now spent atotal of four months covering

seven countries.


CHRIS MONTGOMERYChris is now EVP, Commercial Development at theRoyal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), where he isresponsible for the USA expansion strategy. Previously,he was the North American head of EMI Classics andGlobal VP, Consumer Digital. He still resides inSouthern California.

people


Where arethey now?

Get in touch

Update your old classmateson what you’re doing andwhere you are headed, torekindle old connections

and make new ones.Details overleaf

MBA CLASS OF 1991 FULL-TIME REUNION 12-14 AUGUST 2011

Join us for this special 20 year reunion - theweekend will provide an informal, funopportunity for classmates to reconnect. More than 20 members of the class have already saidthey plan to attend. Events in the pipeline includea visit to the new Business School building, a classdinner, a cocktail party, a game of rounders andpossibly a brutal replay of the infamous footballon The Meadows. For more information contactTod Dimmick on [email protected]

FORTHCOMING EVENT

FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CLASSMATES HAVE GONE WITH THEIR DEGREE...

Aluminate May 2011_p34-37 20/4/11 15:39

IVAN VELLAIvan has been named General Manager, Commercial,for the Copper Product Group in Rio Tinto. Hisfirst assignment will be in Mongolia, leading the transition and integration activities for the Oyu Tolgoicopper/gold project (the world’s largest copperdevelopment) following Rio Tinto’s move to take on control.


FIONA VAN ASWEGEN (NÉE WARD)Fiona, her husband and three children are currentlyon an overland trip from Scotland to Cape Town. At the time of writing they had made it throughEurope and the Middle East and were in Egyptheading towards Sudan. En route they plan to decide where to settle and would love to hearfrom fellow alumni. Fiona can be contacted [email protected] and the blog for the trip iswww.5plus4x4.blogspot.com


ELENA KHARTCHENKO‘It is my husband’s and my second year in Beirut.

We really enjoy the beauty of Lebanon. I conduct aBuddhist study group and am translating a book onBuddhism to be podcast in Russian. We have foundmany interesting people with progressive minds here.’


PAUL BUTLER‘I am now working for Honeywell Inc as a GlobalCommodity Manager (Electronics) and have relocatedwith my wife Jane and son Daniel from Turin, Italy, to Zurich, Switzerland. I would be happy to meet upwith anyone else in the area.’


DAVID MUIR‘I am currently working in the renewable energysector with Brisbane-based company Ingenero as their Residential Sales Manager. The industry is a very interesting sector as it is largely driven bygovernment decisions. In the past 12 months, we have seen changes to both individual state andfederal laws governing the industry, which has drivena boom-or-bust type cycle. Fortunately, Ingenero isacross both the residential and commercial sectors

which reduces the impact of many of these decisionswhich are largely focused on the residential or retailside of the industry.

A strong focus on quality product and service,combined with a degree of mobility, will see us get through the next few years, which will be challenging.

On the home front, many of you will have seen thedevastation caused by the floods here in Queensland.Fortunately, my immediate family has not beenaffected. However, we have many friends and distantrelatives who have been hit hard both at home andat work. For many of the farmers in Queensland thisflood follows years of drought, and the only light isthe fact that they now have a water supply for thecoming years.

In the cities, we are only just seeing the end of theflood and the true magnitude of the destruction willonly become apparent in the coming weeks. This issomething I will be very glad to only experience oncein my lifetime. Our thoughts and prayers go out toanyone who has been affected by natural disaster allover the world.

On a lighter note, we welcomed the arrival ofIsabella Clare on 21 September’ (turn to page 38 fora photograph).


people


DEREK MITCHELLDerek project managed the Hydrogen Officeproject in Fife, a £4.7m state-of-the-art researchfacility, expected to become one of Europe’sleading centres for the creation and developmentof energy storage technologies.

It uses surplus electricity from a wind turbine to electrolyze water, creating hydrogen, which is then stored for periods when there is no wind.During these calm periods, a hydrogen fuel cell generates the electricity from the stored hydrogen, offering reliable and

secure electricity from renewable, butintermittent sources.

The office was officially opened by Scotland’sFirst Minister, Alex Salmond, in January 2011.

Derek believes the opening of the projectmarked a new beginning. He said: ‘Scotland hasthe potential to produce far more renewableenergy than it currently generates for all itselectrical needs; yet because we can’t controlwhen we generate energy from some renewablesources, this huge potential is still limited.

‘There is no need for such a limit and thisbreakthrough charts the future to realisingScotland’s full potential. Storing wind energy as

hydrogen, which we can do in large quantitiesand for long periods, means we can then use thisenergy for virtually anything, including in ourcars, our cooking, our homes and offices.

‘We can do this without generating anypollution or carbon dioxide and we can use this energy regardless of whether the wind is blowing.’

Derek is now heading the UK operations for Global Wind Power, the wind turbinemanufacturer set up by the Reliance ADA Group in India in 2006. Global Wind Power offers arange of proven wind turbines ideally suited to the Feed in Tariff market in the UK.

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LUIS ASPILLAGA‘I have moved back to Peru and am working for myfamily business. It is a construction-related companycalled Chema (www.chema.com.pe). I decided to jointhem to help them take the company to the nextlevel. We are going multinational!

As International Business Manager, my firstchallenge is to enter the Colombian market with theopening of our first overseas office. I am very happywith this challenge.’


NATHAN P MCNAMEE‘I have recently been appointed as President of TotalWealth Management, an independent investmentadvisory firm that specialises in alternativeinvestments and is based in San Diego, California. Thisnew responsibility is a great honour and opportunityand will be an exciting challenge. Prior to my newappointment, I served as Vice President onInstitutional Services for the same firm.’


KIRSTY CREESKirsty now lives in St Louis, USA,and is working for Wells FargoAdvisory as a Project Manager.In her spare time she has beenworking on young adult novelsand has just published her firstbook Prygon: The Circle of DarkMagic. The book is nowavailable on www.amazon.com andthrough www.kirstycrees.com She recently appeared on a US chat show where shewas able to promote her new book.

In April, Kirsty and her husband Richard areexpecting their first child. The writing continues, work goes on and the baby will add to the mix!

SIMON BAILEY‘I am now working for Standard Life Investments as Head of Strategic Business Insight. This is a newrole within the Global Marketing function, with theaim of embedding market and client insight into theoverall strategy, planning and control processes.Previously, I was working for AEGON UK as Head ofCustomer Insight.’


ALEXANDER ZARETSKY‘After returning to New York City, my wife, Cherilyn, and I relocated last summer to Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, where I took a role at the AugustWilson Centre for African American Culture. As VicePresident for Development and External Relations, I oversee fund development and all initiatives related to building the brand of a new,multidisciplinary arts centre in downtown Pittsburgh.’

MBA CLASS OF 2003INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

TORY MANNING (NÉE PETERS)Tory and Graeme, along withtheir daughter Poppy, recentlymoved to Perth, Australia.Graeme’s company, OTR Tyres,bought a tyre distributor inWestern Australia, so Graeme is going to be merging the new company with the existing business and defining the future strategy. Torywill continue to work for AveryWeigh-Tronix as a consultant ontheir website redevelopmentproject, as well as pursuingother local marketing

opportunities. Poppy is going tolearn to swim, surf, ride a bikeand all the other things thatAustralian children do in such a

fabulous climate! Turn to page 14 for Tory’s ‘Where in the world’ article about theirmove to Perth.

AMIT KACKER‘I am working as a consultant for a company called TheConversation Group. The office is located at LeicesterSquare in London. It is a great experience and I reallylove my job. As far as the personal life is concerned, Iam still single, but that might not stay the same fortoo long and maybe, in the next issue, you might findmy wedding pictures!’

KPMG EMBA

TRISTAN NAGLERTristan has now left KPMG Corporate Finance andjoined Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance, partof Investec Specialist Private Bank. It providesentrepreneurs, management teams and private equityhouses with asset-based lending, mezzanine financeand minority equity investment. Tristan originallyjoined KPMG in 1988, transferring into KPMG CorporateFinance in 2001 where he rose to become a Director inits London mergers and acquisitions team.

With Aluminate going to all of the School’s postgraduatealumni, we welcomecontributions from MSc and PhD, as well as MBA alumni.

EDITORIALWe are always on the lookout for articles, so if you have started your own business, recently beenpromoted or have an interesting story to tell, for example, please contactthe Alumni Manager.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?Why not let us know of anycareer changes, relocations andfamily news. Send no more than60 words, stating your name,programme and year ofgraduation.

BIRTH AND WEDDINGSFor new arrivals, send a photoof yourself with your baby, and include the baby’s fullname, date of birth and yourpartner’s name. For weddingphotographs, please include

the date and location of the wedding and yourpartner’s name.

Pictures: Digital files as high aresolution as possible please.

Copy deadline: Monday 15 August 2011.

Send to: [email protected] or AlumniManager, University of EdinburghBusiness School, 29 BuccleuchPlace, Edinburgh EH8 9JS.

SHARE YOUR GREAT STORIES

MSC CLASS OF 2009ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

SONG WEIVivi (Song Wei) isnow in Shenzhen,China, working forGuohai Securitiesas an InvestmentConsultant.

Aluminate May 2011_p34-37 20/4/11 15:39


ABOVE: Karen Jack and Michael Fielding (bothMBA Class of 2010 part-time) were married on 12September 2010 at Inchcolm Abbey in the Firth ofForth. Their son, Alexander David Fielding, wasborn on 21 March 2010.

BELOW: Hugo Coz (MBA Class of 1993 full-time)and Patrycja Stanko were married on 1 July 2010in Krakow, Poland. Although a traditional Polishwedding lasts three days, Hugo and Patrycja had alovely two-day wedding, with friends from the UK,Australia, Peru, Spain and France attending thecelebrations. They then spent their honeymoon in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

BELOW: Khurram Zuberi (MBA Class of 2008International) and Zehra Aftab were married on21 February 2010 in Karachi, Pakistan.

BELOW: Johnny (Shih-Yi) Liu (MBA Class of 2007full-time) and Maggie Chen were married inTaoyuan, Taiwan, on 1 January 2011. They areboth living and working in Taipei, Taiwan, and aregoing to Italy for their honeymoon.

RIGHT: Minyi Ouyang(MSc Class of 2006IBEM) and NathanPetralia (MSc Class of2007 Design andDigital Media) wouldlike to share the newsof their marriage on24 September 2010 inSouth China. Theysend kind regards to their classmates.

people

WeddingbellsCONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE HAPPY COUPLES

ABOVE: Kushal Gurung (MSc Class of 2009Carbon Management) and Bidhya Laxmi Gurungwere married on 22 November 2010 in Nepal.Kushal would like to share their news with allthe good people he met while taking the course.

BELOW: Neeraj Bhargava (MBA Class of 2003 full-time) and Holly were married at the Stonegatein Newburgh, New York, on 8 September 2007.Alumni attendees included Matthew Lawrenson(MBA Class of 2003 full-time) and Maria EugeniaAlvarez (MBA Class of 2005 full-time).

ABOVE: Natasha Galavodas (MBA Class of 2007International) and Graeme Macdonald weremarried in St Andrews on 2 October 2010.

BELOW: Julie Fraser (MBA Class of 2003 part-time) and Stjohn Walsh were married on 28August 2010 in St Andrews. They relocated toEdinburgh in October 2010.

Aluminate May 2011_p34-37 20/4/11 15:39

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INTRODUCING THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE ALUMNI FAMILY...

New arrivals

Laura Moore Hay (MBAClass of 2006 full-time) andScott welcomed Ava SkyeMoore Hay into the worldon 2 September 2010. Ava was born in Sydney,Australia, where Laura andScott currently live.

ABOVE: David Muir (MBA Class of2003 full-time) and Anna welcomedthe arrival of Isabella Clare Muir on 21 September 2010.

ABOVE: Luis Soler Martini (MBA Class of 1999 full-time) is happy toannounce that his wife, Paula Vigneaux, gave birth to identical twins Pedroand Tomás on 15 June 2010 in Santiago, Chile. Their first son, Luis Felipe,who was born on 23 April 2008, is a proud big brother.

ABOVE: Mary Avgeni (MBAClass of 1996 full-time) and herhusband George welcomed theirbaby daughter Maria-Valeria intothe world on 16 March 2009 inAthens.

BELOW: Jeremy Olsen (MBAClass of 2003 part-time) and Cateare thrilled to announce the birthof daughter Millie, born on 5December 2010, weighing 11lbs5oz. For the interested mothers –yes, a natural birth. At 9lbsheavier on arrival than herpremature older brother Jacob,it’s a good average for the two!

ABOVE: Neeraj Bhargava (MBA Classof 2003 full-time) and Holly welcomedthe arrival of their son, Griffin KumarBhargava, on 25 January 2010 inWashington DC.

ABOVE: Karen Galloway(MBA Class of 2007 part-time) and Liam Parkerwould like to announcethe birth of baby Phoebe Iona Grace on 22 June 2010. Thalia Lily May, now nearly three years old, is a proud big sister.

ABOVE: Hamdi Unutmaz (MBAClass of 1998 full-time) and Elaare proud to announce thearrival of their baby girl Elif BanuUnutmaz, born on 25 November2010. Mother and baby are bothdoing fine.

Aluminate May 2011_p38-39 20/4/11 15:44


people

BELOW: Randall Helms (MBA Class of 2010 full-time) and Iwona celebrated the birth of their new baby daughter, Emilia Marianne Helms, on 14 February 2011. A lovely present on Valentine’s Day!

BELOW: Laura Toner (MBA Class of2006 International) and Ian Jackson(MBA Class of 2006 full-time) aredelighted to announce the birth oftheir daughter, Isla Gabrielle Jackson,born on 30 August 2010.

BELOW: Solomon Okopi (MBA Class of 2009 full-time) announced:‘Our home was aglow with the arrivalof our son Anteyi Solomon Okopi on 3 February 2011. We pray hebecomes a positive tool of leadershipin changing the economy of our dearcountry Nigeria.’

BELOW: Anne Bark and JayHenderson (both MBA Class of 2006International) welcomed AmaliaSophie into the world on 7 October2010 in London.

ABOVE: Esther Khor (MBA Class of 2003 full-time) and husband Yao Loong Ng are delighted toannounce the birth of their daughter,Natalie Jiawen Ng, on 15 March 2010 in Hong Kong. After seven long years away from home (six inLondon, one in Hong Kong), they are finally moving back home toSingapore, where Esther has started her own fashion business(www.surrealistlovescene.com).

ABOVE: Gordon Waters (MBA Class of 2003 part-time) and Sallywelcomed their new daughter, Lauren Grace Waters, into the worldon 23 November 2010. Mother anddaughter are both doing very well.

ABOVE: Morag Attwood (née Laidlaw) (MBA Class of 2003 part-time)and Darran welcomed the birth of their son Adam, born on 22 May2010, a brother for Jenny.

ABOVE: Denise Treanor (MBAClass of 2009 part-time) andChristopher Young welcomedtheir beautiful baby girl, CaraDelma Young, into the world on 6 April 2010.

ABOVE: Sean Eamonn Walsh (MBA Class of 2008 International) andwife Cao Wei, are delighted to introduce son James Cao Walsh, whowas born on 2 September 2009. Sean is currently working in StreamGlobal Services, an IT company based in Dublin. Sean and Cao Weimet when Sean was on exchange in Shanghai in 2008.

LEFT: James O’Toole (MSc Classof 2010 Carbon Management) and Clare would like to announcethe arrival of their baby boy, John-James Boyce, born on 11 August 2010.

RIGHT: Etienne Rumo (MBA Class of 2004 full-time)and Romy are proud toannounce that their daughterJoséphine Renée was bornon 18 January 2010 inFribourg, Switzerland.

ABOVE: Kyle Sale (MBA Class of 2009 full-time) and Stacie are excited to announce thebirth of Knox Anderson Sale on 9 November 2010 in Austin, Texas.

Aluminate May 2011_p38-39 20/4/11 15:44

Thursday 28 July Welcome reception and business speaker

Friday 29 July ‘Sustainability in Business’one-day conference

Saturday 30 July ‘A Taste of the Fringe’ informal lunch, and Ceilidh in the City Chambers.

PROGRAMME OF EVENTSCome and be part of the Business School’sinaugural alumni weekend. Enjoy a tour ofthe new building, update your knowledge,reconnect with old friends and make newcontacts, and re-engage with the Schooland the City of Edinburgh.

For more information, visit www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/alumni-weekend

28-30 July 2011

Have fun atthe AlumniWeekend

Foralumni and theirfamilies

Aluminate May 2011_p01-40 20/4/11 14:24

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