IBM Exec Challenges B-School Students

IBM's SVP of Marketing and Strategy, Bruce Harreld, opened the Ross FuturTech conference Thursday evening through an overview of the challenges faced by IBM in maintaining its industry leadership position across several breakthrough technologies. What is the next big thing? The audience quickly agreed that Biotech is the next paradigm shifting age. We're almost there and our challenge is broader and deeper than the information age or the industrial age or any age before it. On a personal level, Bruce challenged the students to infuse their futures with a healthy shot of innovation. To create a culture that is constantly thristy for change.

Ross uses real student case work to develop class simulations

In Spring 2005 I was excited to be on Professor Michael Gordon's IMAP team to explore market-based mechanisms to build sustainable business models of reaching the very poor in Tanzania with a vital resource. That resource was a newly developed mosquito bed net to prevent the spread of Malaria called the Olyset. Prof Gordon was enthusiastic about turning our project into a valuable learning tool for the classroom and developed an online simulation exercise for our class in sustainable enterprise for Fall 2005.