Takes third place and the Social Impact Award for his company, Career Explorations, LLC.

November 17, 2008 | Ithaca, NY | Seth Flowerman (MBA '09) is extremely busy. Not only will he graduate from Cornell University with three degrees in just over five years, but he has also already grown two businesses into profitable enterprises: Career Explorations, LLC , a business that he launched at just 16 years old, that matches exceptional high school students with mentors and summer internship opportunities in New York City and Boston, and Vertex Academic Services, LLC , a full-service academic consulting and standardized test preparation company. Recognizing Flowerman's entrepreneurship skills, The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) recently awarded him third place and the Social Impact Award for Career Explorations in this year's Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.

After a successful summer internship in high school, Flowerman launched Career Explorations to help other high school students find similar positions. He started the business with $25,000 and brought it to profitability in its first year. Since then the company has hosted more than 400 students in internships in a variety of fields including advertising, fashion, finance, medicine, politics, and law to name just a few. Vertex Academic Services evolved as an offshoot of Career Explorations as many of Flowerman's clients requested academic consulting and test-preparation services. Between the two companies, Flowerman employs more than 40 full- and part-time employees in New Jersey, Manhattan, and Boston.

Flowerman was one of 26 finalists in this year's Global Student Entrepreneur Awards competition – the "Heisman Trophy" for top undergraduate and graduate student business owners. The annual competition, presented by Mercedes-Benz Financial, attracted 1,000 collegians from more than 300 universities in 11 countries. The finalists' businesses represented more than US$20 million in sales.

"The number and caliber of award nominations that the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards receives is more impressive each year. We congratulate this year's winners for distinguishing themselves from a talented pool of innovative young business owners," said Dave Galbenski, chairman of EO's Global Board of Directors. "Entrepreneurs drive economic recovery during down-turns. We are proud to offer programs like this that nurture the next generation of business leaders."

Dominic Coryell from Northeastern University and his company Husky Express, a high-tech laundry and dry cleaning service, placed first. Second place in the overall competition as well as the Lessons from the Edge Award was given to Joseph Pascaretta from the University of Michigan for his company Alps Technology International.

This award adds to Flowerman's growing list of accolades, including the Junior Achievement International Student Entrepreneur of the Year (2004), one of the top three Kaplan Most Promising Campus CEO's (2007), and BusinessWeek's 25 Entrepreneurs under 25 (2008). He has also been featured in Forbes, The Boston Globe, and Yahoo! Finance.

To learn more about Career Explorations visit http://www.ceinternships.com.
To learn more about Vertex Academic Services visit http://www.vertexacademic.com.

About Entrepreneurs' Organization
The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO)—for entrepreneurs only—is a dynamic, global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life. Membership in one of EO's 113 chapters is by invitation only; the average member is 39 years old with annual revenues of US$14.4 million. For more information on the Entrepreneurs' Organization, please visit www.eonetwork.org.

Johnson School Joins School of Hotel Administration and HEI Hotels & Resorts Collaborate to Give Students Practical Experience

November 13, 2008 | Ithaca, NY | Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the Johnson Graduate School of Management have joined forces with HEI Hotels & Resorts to create a course in which students will work with hospitality industry leaders to devise innovative and more cost-effective solutions to social and environmental issues.

This pioneering collaboration is being led by the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the Cornell Hotel School and by the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson School. Funding and strategic guidance is being provided by HEI Hotels & Resorts, a hotel investment and operating group led by brothers Gary Mendell and Steven Mendell.

"The hospitality industry must take the lead in confronting social and environmental issues such as global poverty, climate change, and ecosystem degradation," says Thomas Ward, managing director of the Pillsbury Institute. "Through this partnership, we aim to help students fully appreciate the need for sustainable business practices. Through the generosity of the Mendells, we also will provide students with field-based experience that will further prepare them to address the challenges they will face in the workforce."

Students will work directly with corporate leaders to seek solutions to an array of sustainability concerns. Certain projects will focus on the greening of current operations, others on the refurbishment of existing assets and properties, and still others on the formation of new businesses. Projects will range across all facets of the hospitality industry, including lodging, food & beverage, and travel, and will be sited in markets around the globe.

"We believe this course will benefit the students, sponsoring companies, and environment," says Gary Mendell, who along with Steven is a graduate of the Cornell Hotel School. "Students will develop and refine their critical analysis and decision-making skills, while executives will gain new perspectives on what they might do to become innovative leaders in the sustainability movement. HEI is thrilled to partner with Cornell and its students on this tremendous initiative."

The new course, entitled Sustainable Global Enterprise Practicum in the Hospitality Industry, began in mid-October and will continue through mid-March. It is taught by Dr. Mark Milstein, director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and lecturer of Strategy, Innovation and Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson School. Teams will conduct field work during the winter break.

Current enrollment includes 15 undergraduate upperclassmen and graduate students from the Hotel School, Johnson School, and Arts & Sciences.

Diverse team of students analyzed business and human capital implications for the merger of two companies

November 13, 2008 | Ithaca, NY | The Johnson School team, comprised of MBA students Javed Singha (team captain, MBA'09), Shaun Mathews, Roy Ashok (both MBA '09), Mohammed Alsalamah (MILR'09), Lauren Furgione and Swati Gupta (both MBA '10), took second place and a $5000 prize at the second annual National MBA Human Capital Case Competition held on Oct. 16 - 18 at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management in Nashville, Tennessee. The teams were judged by executives from General Electric and Deloitte Consulting who sponsored the competition, including the prizes for the winning teams.

Sponsored by the Strategic HR, Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (SHRLOE) club and the Johnson School, the team was comprised of men and women of various ages, nationalities, and ethnicities, and benefitted from a variety of prior work experiences, professional interests and academic concentrations.

Each year, the competition pits student groups from top graduate schools across the country against each other to address a real-world human capital issue and present solutions relevant in today's fast-paced global economy. This year, teams analyzed the business and human capital challenges which would be faced in a planned merger of two leading energy companies. After careful analysis of the business case, teams developed recommendations regarding the new company's proposed organizational structure, future profitability, human capital and labor management practices, and devised a plan for implementation. The competition also featured a new twist—as teams arrived in Nashville, they were presented with a "press release" complicating their already-prepared presentations with the announcement of a labor union resentment campaign.

The winning teams were awarded for their well-rounded analysis of the merger, recognition of the gaps in various aspects of business, culture, and human capital, as well as recommendations for innovative strategies to bridge those gaps.

For more information on the National MBA Human Capital Case Competition, log onto www.humancapitalcasecompetition.com.

Keith Cowing's Digiceipt provides free online tracking of receipts

July 27, 2009 | Ithaca, NY | Johnson School MBA student Keith Cowing (MBA '10) won the 3rd Annual DFJ $250,000 East Coast Venture Challenge (ECVC) following up a first place win by Johnson School alumnus Jon Greene (MBA '04) for Widetronix last year and a top five performance by Brad Treat's Mezmeriz (MBA '02) in 2007. Cowing's business Digiceipt provides a free way for consumers to manage and track all their receipts online.

The ECVC competition consisted of two rounds, an online voting process hosted at ecvc.studentbusinesses.com and the final event including two rounds of pitching and Q&A. The competition offers aspiring student entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their ideas to a panel of venture capital judges from Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) in Menlo Park and DFJ Gotham in New York City and to receive seed funding and professional feedback. The winner is also entered into the DFJ-Cisco Global Business Plan Competition, where they will compete for an additional prize of at least $250,000.

Cowing, who earned a BS in electrical and computer engineering from Cornell in 2004, competed against student entrepreneurs from leading universities along the East coast including Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Yale. He worked alongside Aaron Nathan on the competition. Nathan also has two Cornell degrees to his name, a BS in electrical and computer engineering (2006) and Master's in computer science (2009).

Digiceipt is an online solution to manage and track receipts. The idea was hatched before Cowing entered the Johnson School and he spent most of his first year developing the business plan and building a team of 14 computer science students from Cornell's College of Engineering who built the prototype for course credit with Professor William Arms.

Cowing utilized several Cornell entrepreneurs to help him perfect the pitch that landed him first prize. Along with taking Professor David BenDaniel's Entrepreneurship and Private Equity class, he worked with Zach Shulman, the J. Thomas Clark Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise, and John Jaquette, the Executive Director of Entrepreneurship@Cornell, as well as Cornell alumni to perfect his pitch. He offered his tips on how he won the competition in an online blog for the Business Insider where he suggests entrepreneurs should focus on finding a problem and building a solution rather than just developing a product.

Fills Critical Need for Companies, Offers Valuable Experience for Students

May 12, 2009 | Ithaca, NY | The Johnson School has recently launched the MBA Project Initiative to match MBA students and graduates with companies seeking assistance this summer on projects. The eight- to ten-week summer projects will help companies complete work that they may not have internal resources to carry out while providing legitimate work experience and compensation for students as they continue to search for a permanent job or seek internship experience before the second year of the MBA program. Through outreach to alumni, corporate and university partners, recruiters, and local start-ups and non-profits, the Johnson School has sourced over 90 projects that could employ 100 students.

The program is designed and coordinated by the Johnson School's Projects Office, launched in 2007 to manage incoming project requests from companies and help match projects to Johnson School faculty champions and students who could complete the work. To participate, companies must identify a project sponsor who will develop the scope the project, identify the deliverables, determine pay if applicable, select student(s) and supervise the work. "When working with companies to develop the scope of the projects, we looked for opportunities that will utilize MBAs' skills and abilities and provide business value to the company," commented Candace Maxian, manager of the Projects Office. "This initiative offers a win-win for companies and students: Companies gain access to talented individuals who can move a project forward, and students gain work experience that's not just a resume filler."

Projects include opportunities at PepsiCo International, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, as well as positions throughout Cornell University, at a host of entrepreneurial start-ups, and several Ithaca-based companies and non-profits. "The tight job market has forced students, career management offices, and companies to get creative about finding and filling employment needs," commented Karin Ash, director of the Johnson School's Career Management Center. "Flexibility is key. We have always looked at new ways to engage with recruiters and companies that don't fit the standard MBA internship or full-time recruitment mold. This year's MBA Project Initiative allows companies and students to manage their just-in-time hiring and employment needs more efficiently."

For more information or to sponsor a project, contact Candace Maxian at ProjectsOffice@Cornell.edu or 607-255-0161.

Johnson School communication expert speaks at the launch of the Caribbean Institute for Women in Leadership.

August 25, 2009 | Ithaca, NY | Angela Noble-Grange , lecturer of management communication at the Johnson School, last month helped launch the Caribbean Institute for Women in Leadership (CIWIL), an initiative of the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the Caribbean Office of the Commonwealth Secretariat. The two-day launch took place in Barbados, July 28, 2009, and July 29, 2009.

CIWIL's objectives are to monitor and strengthen the work of increasing women's political participation in the region, and to create a sustainable, effective and efficient women's political base, to achieve gender equality, through advocacy, networking, research, and capacity building. It aims to see 50 percent of women involved in political leadership in the Caribbean by 2015.

Noble-Grange was invited to the launch by ESADE exchange student Tonni Brodber, who took her oral communication class in fall 2008, while studying at the Johnson School. Noble-Grange addressed supporters on the role of communication in transformational leadership. "To reach mutual understanding, you must start with a very clear sense of purpose. What is your message and why should anyone listen to you? Once you've become clear in your purpose, take the time to learn about those you are trying to reach," she said. "It is then that you can begin to fashion your argument in a way that your audience can understand and appreciate. "

Among Noble-Grange's advice to the women at the launch: when trying to influence others, especially when trying to change another person's behavior, take Aristotle's age-tested advice: make your case in terms of their attitudes and beliefs, not your own. "It's tempting to overwhelm your audience with your own sense of what's right," she said. "However, if the other party is not in agreement, you will simply cause her defenses to rise, and the goal of mutual understanding will not likely be reached."

Noble-Grange, whose mother was born in Barbados, has dedicated her 25-year career to advancing the potential of others. At Cornell, she founded the Johnson School's Office of Diversity and Inclusion, to widen access to the MBA degree for women and underrepresented minorities. The office was the first of its kind among top-tier business schools. She served as its director for six years, before joining the faculty of the Johnson School as lecturer of management communication.