Archive for May, 2009

By Renganathan Ramamoorthy ’10, Traditional Full-time MBA Program

BANGALORE, India — Armed with two trimester’s of knowledge on businesses, I am practicing what was taught in Thunderbird in finance, marketing, operations and project management as a product management and strategy intern at a young, up-and-coming startup in India called Crederity. I begin writing here at this juncture. Prior to coming to Thunderbird, I was an IT consultant for Siemens, working with them in their medical imaging applications. I was born and raised in India, save for a stint in the U.S. (10th grade), and I worked for a year in Europe. After nine months in Glendale, it is extremely fascinating to be back in Bangalore, which is one of my homes.

Life in India continues to be as colourful as ever, be it food, clothing or the new automobiles that are being unleashed onto the Indian roads. Bangalore is also the hub of some dramatic infrastructure overhaul. There are elevated highways, underpasses, no-signal road constructions and the likes propping up in every part of the city.
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By Christen Pechman ’10, Traditional Full-time MBA Program

Amsterdam – The summerim ended yesterday and I arrived in Amsterdam early this morning. Slovenia is a beautiful country and our four days there were much to short. The days were filled with meetings, as they were in Budapest. Unlike in Budapest, most companies are located outside of Ljubljana and therefore we spent quite a bit of time on a bus. The company visits were very interesting and it was valuable to be able to contrast the Hungarian and Slovenian economies. Both are EU member countries, but Slovenia also uses the Euro (Hungary hopes to adopt it in the near future). The use of the Euro has a visible affect on the economy and prices are definitely higher than in Hungary.
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By Christen Pechman ’10, Traditional Full-time MBA Program

ON THE TRAIN TO LJUBLJANA — I am sitting on the nine-hour train ride from Budapest to Ljubljana, Slovenia, catching up on this blog. It has been an incredible 11 packed days in Budapest, and I was sad to leave. Professor Hisrich did a phenomenal job of organizing this Summerim and included the perfect mix of coursework, corporate visits and cultural experiences. I feel that I was able to get a good feel for what life and business in Budapest is like, which was my primary goal in participating in this Summerim. In the process, I felt closer than ever to my grandmother and developed a deep appreciation for the city and its people.
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By Christen Pechman ’10, Traditional Full-time MBA Program

BUDAPEST — It is hard to believe the week is almost over! Yesterday was a great day. We spent most of it at a corporate technology park and met with the developer and a nanotechnology company. They have an incredible product (technologically over my head though) and are rapidly expanding globally. In between meetings we walked to some facinating Roman Ruins near the park. I love the mix of business and culture!
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By Christen Pechman ’10, Traditional Full-time MBA Program

BUDAPEST — Our presentation went wonderfully yesterday! I was surprised that the president stayed for our entire two-and-a-half hour visit. During our presentation he was very engaged, taking notes and asking a lot of great questions. I think we definitely impressed him and provided some good ideas of how they can differentiate themselves from Cisco and gain brand recognition in the U.S. market. The afternoon was spent at the Central European University, where we debriefed an entrepreneurial/venture capital case together with a group of local students.
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By Christen Pechman ’10, Traditional Full-time MBA Program

BUDAPEST — I spent the last few days alone in Budapest, and after the close-quarters environment for six-weeks in Prague it was a welcome change. There is something refreshing about wandering around a new city by yourself. Budapest is a very easy city to navigate – and it is saying a lot that I didn’t get lost because I typically get lost everywhere I go.
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