This year’s Second Annual Symposium on Global Management addressed many important issues facing business leaders and students interested in succeeding in an increasingly global world market. The event also allowed students and visiting professionals the opportunity to exchange ideas and network in traditional Babson fashion.

The Symposium started Saturday afternoon, April 17th, with three workshops focusing on different challenges and competitive aspects of global management.

Associate Professor Maria Minniti led a workshop entitled “Macro Environment: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor” that focused on the issues and decisions entrepreneurs face when deciding to start a business venture outside of their home country.

Assistant Professor Carlos Rufin organized another presentation focusing on ways in which businesses can use foreign institutional environments and business policies to their advantage. “Using Non-Market Strategies to Change the Institutional Environment to your Advantage” walked participants through various examples of how companies have been able to expand globally by forming political and social partnerships, in addition to traditional business analyses.

Finally, Professor Jean-Pierre Jeannet led the discussion, “What Can Global Managers Learn from A Global Sports Team: Alinghi Wins the 2003 America’s Cup.” In this presentation, the audience was introduced to a business case outlining the organization and success of what many consider to be the most international sports team ever assembled. This interactive session touched on some of the cultural and social challenges managers may face when endeavoring globally.

Following a brief intermission, attendees were introduced to a panel of five esteemed managers and entrepreneurs operating in a global context. The discussion, led by Professor Jeannet, began by addressing the most important issues facing global business.

Gita Mattes M’94, VP and Chief Marketing Officer for Kitchen, Etc., mentioned brand management as one of the most difficult challenges she has faced in her career in marketing across international boundaries. Brand consistency is a particular challenge not only for U.S. companies expanding globally, but for foreign companies looking to the U.S. as their next growth market. Gita suggested that there may be many opportunities for young MBA’s to get their hands dirty in marketing by seeking out these businesses.

Susan Nye  M’84, founder of Kearsarge Services & Solutions Consulting, spent much of her career creating business and marketing strategies for foreign and domestic companies in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia. To her, the most significant challenge facing global business is to understand the fundamental aspects of business strategies and to turn those strategies into operational systems. She mentioned that companies often do a poor job of globalization, and systems, such as accounting or HR, which are often neglected during the rush for international expansion.

Following this, Francisco Perez Mackenna, CEO of Quinenco SA, commented that in order to get started in a global economy, the young business person needs to be prepared to work in a “chaotic” environment. The challenges that new businesses face are not always linear in nature, and the entrepreneur’s ability to adapt to a constantly changing environment will determine his or her success globally. Additionally, Mr. Perez Mackenna mentioned one of the most stable and important investments a new business can make: an investment in human capital.

“Without securing adequate foreign human capital, a resource that foreign governments can never take away, the global entrepreneur will have a very difficult time mitigating international risks,” he said.

This sentiment was confirmed by Fereydoun Firouz, President of the U.S. affiliate of Serono, Inc. As one of the largest players in the worldwide pharmaceutical market, Serono certainly places a high value on human capital in sales, marketing, research, and development. Protecting and managing the product discovery process becomes increasingly important as products are distributed across global markets.

Similarly, Antonio Jose Vincentelli, CEO and board chairman at Inelectra, the largest engineering and construction company in Venezuela, challenged young business people in the room to be more than entrepreneurs.

“To make it to the top, you have to take risks and turn them into opportunities. You have to be a pioneer in business and have the willingness to make ‘something out of nothing.’ This desire to truly invent and deliver to new markets is what sets the most successful entrepreneurs apart from the rest.”

To conclude the afternoon, the Glavin Center for Global Management distributed four Awards for Global Management, which are presented annually to Babson Alumni in several categories. Feyzi Celik M’91 received the Global Entrepreneur Award for the creation and management of OnePIN. Gita Chari Mattes M’94, one of the panelists, was presented with the Global Mandate Award; Susan Nye M’84 founder, Kearsarge Consulting and Jeff Schiebe M’81 VP of Business Development at OnePIN, each received International Manager Awards.

The symposium ended with a networking reception in the Needham/Wellesley room. The room was abuzz with ideas and opportunities as professionals, faculty, and students networked with one another. The effort, the Symposium on Global Management was a tremendous success and promises to grow at a rapid pace as global markets continue to expand and international business concerns become more important to managers. Certainly next year’s event will build on this recent success and provide the Babson community with an even greater insight into global business issues.