Graduate Students Events

The Babson Alumni & Friends Network
and the Alumni Club of South Florida cordially invite you to a

BABSON SUMMER RECEPTION

Please join fellow alumni, current parents, and students, as we gather in Miami for a fun summer social!

Help us welcome The Class of 2023 families and come share your Babson pride with these new members of our growing community!

Visit www.babson.edu/SummerReceptions for more information on additional locations.

One hundred years of Babson. Three signature events. One extraordinary celebration. Mark your calendars, and join us as we honor our past and offer inspiration for our next century. www.babson.edu/september2019

Please join visiting alumni from the Babson China Club, along with current undergraduate and graduate students, for a club meeting during Back to Babson Weekend.

As we re-launch the Babson China Club under the leadership of Warren Chen MBA'01 and Rong Zhou MBA'01, we hope to gather the Babson Chinese community, along with staff, faculty, and college leadership, to discuss the future of Babson engagements in China.

FORCES OF GENIUS:
From Nature's Laws to
Entrepreneurship & Enterprise

You are invited to this exclusive lecture and related exhibition showcasing rare books and manuscripts from the Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton.

This collection was developed by Grace K. Babson, spouse of Roger W. Babson, and is the third-largest assemblage of Newton materials in the world. Now on loan to the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA, it is used by researchers from around the globe and continues to inspire new generations towards discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Forces of Genius: Newton, Babson, and Huntington, from Nature's Laws to Entrepreneurship and Enterprise will be delivered by Huntington Library Curators D. Daniel Lewis and Dr. Joel A. Klein.

A 3-day program jointly delivered by Babson Prof. Jay Rao and Bocconi Prof. Gabriella Lojacono.

Your opportunity

These are times for luxury, a fascinating challenging market where intentional managers are asked to perform at their best, equipped with cutting edge management tools and endless creativity. This program is a unique opportunity for international professionals who want to take inspiration from luxury to further develop their career path.

You will develop a deeper knowledge of international luxury market codes with a broadened mindset; real examples will make you discover careful blending and commitment to both heritage and passion for modernity; you will learn about different industries, from cosmetics to yachting, that share the luxury logic.

What you'll be working on

You will be exposed to concepts and practical cases about the luxury companies, the new developments in the different markets, the strategies that companies use to grow their businesses in a dynamic and intensely competitive environment, the patterns of internationalization, and the challenges of entering new markets, especially in the developing countries. More specifically:

• Entrepreneurial Leaders impact change. They change the dynamics of competition in the market. Innovation is the primary weapon of the entrepreneurial leader. Does the luxury industry have distinct strategy and innovation rules that are different from other industries? Can the luxury industry learn from non-luxury industries?
• The luxury industry has dramatically changed in recent decades, by going through continued revolutions in digital technologies, international markets, and consumer trends. Emerging brands and new retail formats are constantly entering the industry, forcing established companies to re-think their business models and face a cultural change.
• Innovation and Design are the cornerstones of Italian made in Italy companies. The focus is on the practices that allow made in Italy to use innovation and design as key tools for positioning a brand, while staying true to the heritage and dna of the brand itself.
• The innovation journey is fraught with 'unknowns.' The journey entails a careful steering of ambiguity (unknown unknowns) exploration, uncertainty (known unknowns) navigation and risk (known known) management. Project management is at the heart of going into the future. All projects have 'unknowns.' Hence, the intentional choice, the prioritization, the resourcing and accelerating of future projects determine the success or failure of firms' future cash flows.
• Luxury brands exemplify paradoxes. They are timeless and trendy. They are ubiquitous and rare. They exude heritage and break traditions. Managing these paradoxes are at the heart of leading innovation at luxury brands. There are no magic formulas for managing paradoxes and creating enduring brands and brand loyalty. It is a careful choreography of fulfilling dreams, passions, and hedonism on the one hand and being pure, simple and Spartan on the other.
• Retail space, experience, and location are critical factors behind the success of luxury companies. The aim is to explore the key aspects of these choices, and to identify the critical markets, how to select them, how to adapt when necessary to local specificity.