Haas NewsWire


Haas NewsWire, May 1, 2000


CONTENTS
Skyflow Wins the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition
Spain's Deputy Prime Minister to Speak at Commencement
UC Berkeley Teams Take First Place at Two Real Estate Competitions
Upcoming Faculty Alumni Colloquium Explores Global Issues
Young Entrepreneurs at Haas Announce Business Plan Competition Winners
Graduating MBA Student Debriefing with Dean Tyson
Dean Tyson Appearing on City Arts and Lectures May 17
Gundars Strads Reports on the Faculty/Staff vs. MBA Student Softball Game
Faculty News
Haas in the News
Happening at Haas

Haas NewsWire Archive
Contact Haas NewsWire


HAAS HEADLINES


SKYFLOW WINS THE UC BERKELEY BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

A business that develops infrastructure software for wireless applications won the $50,000 first prize on Saturday, April 29, in the second annual UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition at the Haas School's Arthur Andersen Auditorium.

Venture capital judges awarded first, second, and third place winners. The audience chose a People's Choice award winner.

The competition winners are:


Completing its second year as a self-funded, student-run program, the competition embodies the Haas School's commitment to entrepreneurship and involvement in the Bay Area business community. By bringing ventures led by UC Berkeley students and alumni in touch with Silicon Valley's community of business leaders, venture capitalists, and technology companies, the competition serves as a springboard for the university's most innovative ideas and technologies.

"With fundability as the primary judging criterion, the high caliber of all eight finalists' plans made our job as judges a difficult one," said Steve Domenik, partner at Sevin Rosen Funds. "As the lead underwriter for the competition, Sevin Rosen sees UC Berkeley as a valuable partner in cultivating high-tech entrepreneurship and sourcing high-quality, viable ventures."

The judging committee for the competition's final round included representatives from ComVentures, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Intel Ventures, ONSET Ventures, Versant Ventures, Sevin Rosen Funds, SoftBank Venture Partners, and 21st Century Internet Ventures. For more information on the competition, visit http://bplan.berkeley.edu/.

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SPAIN'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER TO SPEAK AT COMMENCEMENT

Rodrigo Rato, deputy prime minister of Spain and minister of the economy and Haas MBA from the class of 1974, will give the commencement address at this year's Haas graduation ceremonies on May 21 at 9:00 a.m. in the Greek Theatre.

"Rodrigo Rato symbolizes the global forces that the Haas School has embraced for many years," said Dean Laura Tyson, "In addition, the Haas School and UC Berkeley have long been enriched by the large number of international students in the academic programs - Mr. Rato is among the most distinguished alumni members of that group."

Rato applies the financial expertise he acquired at the Haas School of Business to the economic challenges of his home country. Spain, along with the rest of Europe, is undergoing extensive economic and political change following the formation of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the adoption of the single European currency, the euro.

The student commencement speakers are Brooks Collat Mendell (MBA Program), Hubert H. Wang (Undergraduate Program), and Fred Kohler (Evening MBA Program). The closing message will be delivered by JoAnn Dunaway, MBA 92, president of the Haas Alumni Network. The ceremonies will be followed by a reception on Kleeberger Field from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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UC BERKELEY TEAMS TAKE FIRST PLACE AT TWO REAL ESTATE COMPETITIONS

Two teams of UC Berkeley students had all their hard work pay off last week when they won the two major west coast real estate competitions. Berkeley teams took first place at the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Challenge and the Bank of America Low-Income Housing Challenge.

The NAIOP challenge, which pits Cal vs. Stanford, brings together students from various departments to create a development proposal that will bring home the coveted Golden Shovel. Heading into the competition, Cal and Stanford were tied five to five. This year's winning team members from Berkeley were Kali Rembold (Haas 01), Glen Cerdono (Haas 01), Martin Dare (Haas 01), Justin Reginato (Ph.D. candidate in Construction Management), and Kevin Hufferd (city planning). The team's $2000 prize from Bank of America will go to Challenge for Charity.

Founded by Haas Adjunct Professor in Real Estate Steve Chamberlin in 1990, when he was president of the local NAIOP chapter, the challenge was meant to give students at Cal and Stanford a taste of the challenges that face real estate professionals after graduation. This year's project site was Pier 70 and the client was the Port of San Francisco.

The Bank of America Low-Income Housing Challenge is a competition among several west coast graduate schools. The UC Berkeley team, consisting of Sky Dufaux, Nick Griffin, Fernando Marti, Lihbin Shiao, and Jeannie Wong, was made up of students from various campus departments. There were no Haas students on the team this year. Each team must identify a site, gain community support, and then create an affordable housing project. This year's Cal team chose a site in San Francisco for their proposed development. The Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics sponsored both of the Berkeley teams for the NAIOP Challenge and the Bank of America Low-income Housing Challenge.

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UPCOMING FACULTY ALUMNI COLLOQUIUM EXPLORES GLOBAL ISSUES

This year's Faculty Alumni Colloquium brings together Haas faculty and alumni to discuss issues relating to the global economy. The event takes place on Saturday, May 6, at the Haas School of Business.

Keynote speaker Alex Mandl, MBA 69, CEO and chairman of Teligent, will speak on "The Brave New World of Data." Drawing on his experience at AT&T, and the recent launch of his own start-up, Teligent, Mandl will give his view of the future of the telecommunications industry. Teligent provides local, long-distance, high-speed data, and Internet access to small and mid-sized business customers using fixed wireless technology. Teligent is rapidly expanding its nationwide network, and had grown to almost 3,000 employees by fall 1999.

The concurrent morning sessions offer attendees the choice of hearing Professor Michael Katz speak on "AOL, Amazon, FedEx, Yahoo!, & Haas: Creating Sustainable Advantage in the World of the Web" or Professor David Vogel discussing "The Future of the WTO After Seattle: Balancing Trade and Environment in the Global Economy."

The afternoon program offers concurrent sessions on e-business and career management. Professor John Freeman moderates the E-Business Alumni Panel. Haas Alumni on the panel are: Tom Brigham, MBA 94, senior consultant in e-commerce, KPMG Consulting; Doug Galen, BS 84, MBA 88, vice president for business development, E-LOAN; Peter Goettner, MBA 92, president & CEO, DigitalThink; Steven Peletz, MBA 99, president & CEO, RedLadder.com; and Dave Rochlin, BS 85, COO, Reel.Com. John Morel, alumni career advisor, conducts the Career Management Seminar. Joining Morel will be Mark Yowe, office manager, Heidrick & Struggles; Laurence O'Neil, consultant, Heidrick & Struggles; John Renner, Ph.D., Hagberh Consulting Group; Mark Cole, Confidante; and Sheridan Hitchens, MBA 96, managing consultant, Towers Perrin.

The Haas School Faculty Alumni Colloquium takes place on Saturday, May 6, 2000, from 8:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Registration is required. Please visit the Alumni Colloquium web site at http://haas.berkeley.edu/alumni/colloquium/colloq4.html for more details. For more information, please contact the Haas School Alumni Relations Office at 1-510-642-7790 or e-mail alumni@haas.berkeley.edu.

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YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS AT HAAS ANNOUNCE BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION WINNERS

Competition was the name of the game on Saturday, April 29, for the twenty-seven teenagers from Oakland, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, and Richmond enrolled in the Young Entrepreneurs at Haas (YEAH) program. After spending months building business plans with concepts ranging from graphic design and pet shops to imports, recording studios, athletic shoe sales, and retirement homes, they each had to pitch their plans to a volunteer venture capital board.

Five winning YEAH participants were awarded prizes ranging from $200, to defray college application costs, to up to $500 in seed grants for their ventures. The students with the top five plans were:


YEAH is part of the East Bay Outreach Project. For more information on the program, please call 1-510-642-7873.

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GRADUATING MBA STUDENT DEBRIEFING WITH DEAN TYSON

The members of the MBA Class of 2000 are invited to a debriefing hosted by Dean Laura D'Andrea Tyson on Friday, May 5. Tyson plans to ask the members of the class about their experiences at the Haas School. Class members are asked to bring ideas and suggestions for change, and also be prepared to talk about what they liked about their time at Haas. The goal of the session is to seek student opinions - positive and otherwise - of their Haas School experience. This debriefing is the first in what Tyson hopes will be an annual event to help the staff and faculty at Haas continually improve the academic offerings and student services in the MBA Program.

The session will take place from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. in the Arthur Andersen Auditorium.

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DEAN TYSON APPEARING ON CITY ARTS AND LECTURES MAY 17

Dean Laura D'Andrea Tyson and her husband, Erik Tarloff, will take part in an informal conversation with Wendy Lesser for the City Arts and Lectures "On Art and Politics" series on May 17.

Tarloff is a novelist, screenwriter, journalist, and occasional speechwriter for President Clinton and Vice President Gore. His new comic academic novel, The Man Who Wrote the Book, is about to be released. Wendy Lesser is the founder and editor of the Threepenny Review - a literary and contemporary arts journal.

Lesser's conversation with Tyson and Tarloff will focus on areas of their joint and separate expertise, including economic trends and the contemporary novel. They will discuss life in Washington, D.C., and political life, and how it compares to life in Berkeley and academic life, and how to stay married and find balance in a high-power dual-career family with a teenage son.

For more information or tickets call City Arts and Lectures at 1-415-563-2463.

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GUNDARS STRADS REPORTS ON THE FACULTY/STAFF VS. MBA STUDENT SOFTBALL GAME

This year's game was a resounding success. First of all, there were no reported injuries. Secondly, everyone had fun despite the intense pressure to save face. Finally, the Faculty/Staff Team scored a major moral victory (which unfortunately was not represented in the point total outcome--to quote Yogi Berra, it was "like deja vu all over again.")

Mirroring general trends at Haas, both teams improved enormously over last year's rankings. The final box scores showed 16 runs for the MBA students and 12 for the Faculty/Staff (a significantly narrowed point differential compared to the 1999 championship). The statistics showed tremendous growth over last year in total runs (a surprising increase, considering the time constraints on this year's game), in slugging percentage, and in profit margins and ROI. Both teams intend to go public by next year.

The consensus voting for Game MVP goes to Rich "Say Hey" Lyons for an outstanding performance that included most RBIs and a "Play of the Day" diving and spinning circus catch that should have been videotaped for the Haas Archives. Congratulations to the MBAs, who in victory proved that they are the team of the future. Nevertheless, in this case, competition made everyone a winner. I thank all the players and fans for demonstrating that the Haas School is always up to any challenge.
By co-coach Gundars "The Natural" Strads

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FACULTY NEWS

HAAS FACULTY PROMINENT IN "WHO'S WHO IN ECONOMICS"

No fewer than eleven Haas faculty are included in the latest edition of "Who's Who in Economics." Included in this edition are Nils Hakansson, Dwight Jaffee, Michael Katz, Hayne Leland, Jonathan Leonard, David Levine, Carl Shapiro, Pablo Spiller, David Teece, Hal Varian, and Oliver Williamson. In addition, two retired faculty members are also listed: John Harsanyi and Richard Meese. The collection covers leading economists worldwide since 1700, and includes 1,082 living economists selected on the basis of the usefulness of their contributions as measured by the Social Science Citations Index.

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HAAS IN THE NEWS

Jennifer Chatman, Harold Furst Professor of Management Philosophy and Values, was quoted on CNN/Time on Sunday, April 30, at 9:00 p.m. about what is necessary for companies to compete in the new economy. The transcript of the show can be found at http://cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0004/30/impc.00.html.

Haas lecturer Terry Pearce's new book, Clicks and Mortar, co-authored with David S. Pottruck, president and co-chief executive of Charles Schwab, was reviewed in the New York Times on Sunday, April 30.

Professor Jerry Engel was interviewed on CNET's News.com - a program that discusses the latest trends and issues in the technology sector. Engel was featured as an expert on entrepreneurship. The program aired Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30. Streaming video of the interview can be viewed at http://www.cnet.com/cnettv/0-22653.html?tag=st.ne.1002.dir.122653.

The UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition was featured in the Oakland Tribune on Saturday, April 29. The article, "Big Prizes at Stake in Business Contest," quoted members of several of the finalist teams and one of the judges and published photos of the two teams in the Berkeley Business Incubator.

Richard Kurovsky, executive director of Marketing and Communications, was quoted in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on April 27, as part of an article on the University of Washington's new MBA program in e-business. Kurovsky explained that the Haas School does not offer a separate e-business MBA because courses on e-business are integrated into the curriculum.

Rich Chen, MBA 99, and Jim Moliski, MBA 99, co-founders of OptoMail (www.optomail.co.jp) have received a good share of press lately. OptoMail was introduced in the May issue of J@pan Inc., a leading magazine on the Japanese Internet economy. Rich was quoted in the June issue of Upside magazine, in an article on Japanese Internet start-ups and venture capital. The article is available at http://www.upside.com/texis/mvm/story?id=38fe276f0. OptoMail was also briefly introduced on NHK, the national (public) television network, on April 27 during a broader feature story about Japanese Internet start-ups.

The Haas School was in the New York Times on April 26, 2000 in an article titled "Business Students Seem to Be Keeping Their Cool." Students Brian Ree, BS 01, Nick Sturiale, MBA 00, and UC undergraduate student Brian Case were quoted on how they view their career prospects and whether the recently tumultuous stock market will affect their plans. Career advisor Lesah Beckhusen was quoted on the difficulties of negotiating salaries with some of the firms.

Professor Severin Borenstein was quoted in an Associated Press article on April 26 on increased profits for oil companies. Borenstein explained that oil companies and gas stations are making up for losses earlier this year by maintaining higher prices.

OpNet, a nonprofit founded by Dan Geiger, MBA 98, was featured on Good Morning America on April 25. OpNet is also featured in the May print issue of Business 2.0 (p. 51) and mentioned as one of the best groups bridging the digital divide in Anthony Perkins' column in the May issue of Red Herring. OpNet will be part of a three-part story on the digital divide scheduled to air on KRON Channel 4's 6:00 News on May 3.

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HAPPENING AT HAAS


Ph.D. SEMINARS


ALUMNI EVENTS

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The Haas NewsWire is the electronic news weekly for the Haas community published every Monday by the Marketing and Communications Office at the Haas School. Send your news, feedback, and suggestions to Haasnews@haas.berkeley.edu.

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