Darden Businesscasts

How can universities be a significant engine for economic growth in their local communities and beyond? In The Economic Impact of Entrepreneurial Alumni: A Case Study of the University of Virginia, researchers Michael Lenox, Andrew King and Asif Mehedi from Darden, along with Batten Fellow Charles Eesley from Stanford, look at the pathways by which universities help generate economic growth and create jobs. They examine–based on a survey undertaken in 2013–the entrepreneurial efforts of U.Va. alumni who have founded new ventures, been one of the first five employees, served on the governing or advisory board, or provided capital to the venture. Carefully extrapolated, the responses to the survey suggest that entrepreneurially active alumni have created approximately 65,000 companies, 2.3 million jobs, and estimated annual global revenues of $1.6 trillion. The researchers discuss the methodology, data visualization, and ramifications of their work. Hosted by Erika Herz of Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepre

McKinsey & Co. Global Managing Partner Dominic Barton sat down with University of Virginia Darden School of Business Dean Scott Beardsley during a recent visit to the School for a Darden Ideas to Action C-Suite Insights interview where the two discussed the four key trends impacting McKinsey’s clients around the world. Barton explained how business model redesign, organizational change, the introduction of advanced technology and business resilience were burning issues for many companies, regardless of where they operate. Beardsley and Barton also discussed new models of leadership given vast global change for employees, MBA students and McKinsey clients.

The Darden Leadership Speaker Series kicks-off its 2016-17 season with Dominic Barton, Global Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company. In his 30 years with the firm, Dominic has advised clients in a range of industries including banking, consumer goods, high tech and industrials. Prior to his current role, Dominic was based in Shanghai as McKinsey’s Asia Chairman from 2004 to 2009 and led the Korea office from 2000 to 2004.  For a full bio, visit http://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/dominic-barton Introduction by Dean Scott Beardsley. Recorded 8 September 2016.

What are the best ways to motivate socially-minded entrepreneurs to persevere in their quest to take on the world’s most pressing challenges? Using the tools of decision analysis and certainty equivalents, Darden professor and Batten Fellow Sam Bodily compared various backer financing mechanisms that encourage founders to launch a startup that has unacceptable risk although positive expected payout. These mechanisms include three traditional models: equity, incentive gifts, and insurance against downside loss. He also looked at two new ideas: swap hedges and revenue contracts, calculating the comparative risk-adjusted attractiveness of each mechanism to the entrepreneur for a similar level of expected cost to the backer. These efficient new ideas eliminate moral hazard and leave ownership in the hands of the entrepreneur. Hosted by Erika Herz of Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. To learn more, read Darden Ideas to Action.

More than 10 million Syrians are currently refugees in other countries or displaced from their homes within Syria, and more than five million of those people are children, according to Save the Children President and CEO Carolyn Miles. University of Virginia Darden School of Business Dean Scott Beardsley sat down with Miles, a 1988 Darden graduate, to discuss the biggest issues facing the safety and wellbeing of children in the world today as well as how organizations like Save the Children and Darden can inspire people to take on the world’s biggest challenges. Miles told Beardsley of her travel around the world to more than 80 countries where she has seen families disrupted by everything from war in Syria to poverty in Ethiopia to natural disasters in Nepal, but said she remains inspired by meeting children and the parents who want a better world for them.

Less than 2 percent of the world’s fresh water supply is required for basic human needs like hydration and sanitation. How should the world manage the other 98.5 percent of what is becoming an increasingly stressed and scarce resource? The challenges are many and global, but former Nestlé CEO and current Chairman Peter Brabeck is leading the charge among world leaders by fighting to make water challenges one of the highest priority issues for the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. He’s also leading a public-private partnership known as the 2030 Water Resources Group to start addressing the individual challenges one by one, from a global to a local level. In this latest installment of Darden Ideas to Action C-Suite Insights with Dean Scott Beardsley, Brabeck discusses his views and efforts around water. He also provides unique insight into what he hopes his legacy will be at Nestlé and advice for those at the beginning of their professional careers.

Corporate buyback activity has been a hot topic for investment analysts and market watchers.  Companies have bought back trillions of dollars of their own stock since the financial crisis.  Is buyback activity propping up the stock market?  Are buybacks a function of the broader economic environment?  What’s next?  Jake DuBois and Frank Coughlin, two Darden Capital Management student leaders spent a semester looking at the academic and industry research to gain a better understanding.  A research course from the Mayo Center for Asset Management helped them to explore the topic.

Darden School of Business Dean Scott Beardsley hosts PricewaterhouseCoopers Chief Financial Officer Carol Sawdye for a discussion about her career journey, global trends facing PwC’s clients, and her views on why it is important as a leader to speak out in support of important workplace issues like diversity and same-sex partnership rights.   PwC is one of the largest global professional services firms in the world, and Sawdye rose to the rank of CFO after leaving the firm early in her career to pursue other opportunities like serving as CFO of the National Basketball Association. She credits her aggressive and risk-tolerant approach to her career path as a key to coming back to PwC in a top leadership position. Dean Beardsley questions Sawdye about her advice for others on forging a career path and how business schools can better prepare students to make an impact at firms like PwC.

Darden School of Business Dean Scott Beardsley hosts ADT Corp. CEO Naren Gursahaney (MBA '89) for a discussion about how new smart technologies for the home are revolutionizing the home security business and driving disruptive innovation. The ADT Pulse suite of apps for your smart phone and the company’s partnership with Nest to sync control of a Nest Learning Thermostat with an ADT home security system through a mobile app are just a few examples of how ADT is innovating for the future. Wireless, connected devices and gadgets are a growing part of the smart home of the future, and they’re changing the way home security and monitoring is done as the sector focuses more on convenience for the consumer through automation and 24/7 ability to check on the security and status of a residence.

In this episode, Kiran describes a project where he was creating an in-store pickup option for buyers on eBay. When you've innovating in the context of a large, existing infrastructure you have to consider how a new concept will fit within the existing customer experience, not to mention, technical, logistical,and legal/regulatory frameworks in place. Kiran discuss his process for engaging with this web of people and process to introduce a successful innovation. You'll also hear a little about Kiran's career story- spoiler alert: it involves packing a car, driving across the country, and finding the cheapest possible place for a job seeker to live while in Silicon Valley.

In this episode, Josh describes a project where he was enhancing the signup and conversion on Google for Work. You'll hear about the project charter and how Josh and his colleagues used a disciplined process to iterate toward better and better outcomes. You'll also hear a little about Josh's career story. 

The Darden Leadership Speaker series welcomes John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. Mr. Mackey has led the natural and organic grocer to a $15 billion Fortune 500 company with more than 435 stores and 85,000 team members in three countries. The company has been included on Fortune magazine’s“100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 18 consecutive years and ranked first in the food and drug store industry as part of the magazine’s “Most Admired Companies” list in 2016. A strong believer in free market principles, Mackey co-founded the Conscious Capitalism Movement. (http://consciouscapitalism.org/) The presentation was co-sponsored in partnership with the Adam Smith Society and Net Impact at Darden. Recorded 22 March, 2016.

The Darden Leadership Speaker Series welcomes Peter Brabeck, Chairman of the Board and former CEO of Nestlé Group, to the School as the keynote speaker of a series of events across the University of Virginia around World Water Day. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe led the Nestlé Group from 1997 to 2008, first as CEO, till 2005, and then as Chairman and CEO. In April 2008, he handed over the office of CEO and remained Chairman of the Board of Nestlé S.A. Peter is also Chairman of the "2030 Water Resources Group", a Public Private Partnership housed in the IFC/World Bank, Washington. Recorded 29 February 2016.

Darden welcomes alumnus Sunil Ghatnekar (MBA ’92), CFO, Bottling Investments Group, the Coca-Cola Company back to Darden as part of the Leadership Speaker Series. Sunil also serves on the Darden Corporate Advisory Board. Sunil brings insights from more than 23 years of experience with the Coca-Cola Company. Part of the senior leadership team, Sunil shares his journey to CFO of BIG and his global experiences leading areas such as strategy, finance, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions. The Bottling Investments Group (BIG) one of the six main operating groups of The Coca-Cola Company. BIG is responsible for managing all the Company owned bottling operations across the globe (including markets such as USA, Canada, Germany, China and India) which collectively generate over $20 Billion in revenue annually. This event was co-sponsored by the Darden Finance Club. Recorded 24 February 2016.

Carol A. Sawdye, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of PricewaterhouseCoopers visits Darden as part of the Leadership Speaker Series. Sawdye has an interesting background beginning with her years as a partner at PwC, followed by moves to become the CFO & COO of one of the world’s largest law firms and then the CFO of the National Basketball Association before returning to PwC as Vice Chairman & CFO. She is also an undergraduate alumna of the University of Virginia. She speaks here on "Leading in a Rapidly Changing Society". The event was co-sponsored by Darden’s Graduate Women in Business organization. In her role as PwC's CFO, Carol is responsible for PwC's financial functions including budgeting and reporting, partnership taxation, treasury, internal audit and real estate and is a member of the U.S. Leadership Team. Recorded 3 December 2015.

Darden alum Naren Gursahaney (MBA '89), President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of The ADT Corporation speaks on "Innovation at ADT" as part of Darden's Leadership Speaker Series. The event was co-sponsored by Darden’s Technology Club . Naren and his leadership team’s significant contributions have helped make ADT the leading provider of home and small business electronic security, automation and alarm monitoring services in North America. Naren is focused on making ADT a world-class customer-centric organization, including building a strong management team, shaping the company’s culture, and maintaining and growing the company’s leadership position. Under Naren’s direction, ADT is poised for continued growth through new and expanded revenue streams and a focus on innovation. Recorded 2 December 2015.

Darden welcomes Robert G. Wilmers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of M&T Bank Corporation as a participant in the 2015-16 Leadership Speaker Series, “Leaders that inspire innovation, collaboration and growth." His presentation was followed by a "fireside chat" with Darden Finance Professor Ken Eades. Mr. Wilmers has received many honors and awards for his service to the banking industry, as well as for his leadership and contributions to the Buffalo, N.Y. community, where the M&T Bank is headquartered. These awards include the Greater Buffalo Chamber of Commerce ‘Western New Yorker of the Year’ Award (1991); State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management ‘Niagara Frontier Executive of the Year’ Award (1992); The Buffalo News ‘Citizen of the Year Award’ (1987 and 1994); American Banker ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award (2005); ‘Chevalier of the Legion of Honor’ by the President of France (2008); American Banker ‘Banker of the Year’ Award (2011); and the ‘Chancellor Charles P. Norton Meda

The Darden Leadership Speaker Series welcomes Javier Rodriguez, President & CEO of DaVita Kidney Care. Mr. Rodriguez speaks on "Community First, Company Second: Leading a Village" Javier Rodriguez is president and CEO of DaVita Kidney Care, a leading provider of kidney care services and a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a FORTUNE 500® company that provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad. DaVita Kidney Care delivers dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease. DaVita Kidney Care strives to improve patients’ quality of life by innovating clinical care and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services. This event was co-sponsored by Darden's Health Care Club. Recorded 17 November 2015.

The Darden Leadership Speaker Series welcomes alum and former Board of Trustees member Michael A. DeCola, Chief Executive Officer of HBM Holdings. This event was co-sponsored by Darden’s General Management and Operations Club. HBM Holdings was formed in January, 2014 to oversee all of the business interests owned by the Harry B. Mathews, Jr. Trust. Mississippi Lime, founded in 1907 by Harry B. Mathews, Jr. is a leading supplier of calcium products throughout the U.S. Its Ste. Genevieve facility is the world’s largest and most complex calcium plant in the world. Other calcium facilities are based in Verona, KY; Weirton, WV; Vicksburg, MS; Chester, SC and Mobile, AL. Mississippi Lime also owns Delavau, LLC, a supplier of food and pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as finished dosage forms for the nutritional supplement and OTC markets, and Tru-Flex, LLC, a manufacturer of high performance metal hoses and bellows that connect emissions systems to the pollution control platform on heavy duty trucks and equipment

He heads the Herd, otherwise known as the leadership team at Elephant. The Darden Leadership Speaker Series welcomed Kevin Chidwick, Chief Executive Officer of Elephant Auto Insurance. Chidwick joined Admiral Group Plc in 2005, becoming the Director of Finance. From September 2006 to mid-August 2014 he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Admiral Group Plc as well as its Managing Director of Elephant - USA. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of Elephant Insurance Services, LLC since 2012. Elephant believes people who like what they do, do it better and therefore encourages a climate of individual contributions, long-term commitment and profitable growth within the organization. This philosophy has garnered the company recognition as an award-winning employer having been named one of the Best Places to Work in Virginia, one of the 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in the United States in 2011 and 2012, and in 2014 won the HYPE Richmond Young Professionals Workplace Award. Darden’s General Management and Oper