B-School Bulletin: HBS: Diversity Boosts Profits In Venture Capital

Wharton

Comcast Is Paying Up For Sky: Now What?

News from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

“By most Wall Street measures, Comcast is overpaying for its acquisition of Sky, the British satellite TV, broadband and mobile services provider. When the U.S. cable giant announced last month that it had won the auction for a controlling stake in Sky by bidding $40 billion, shares of Comcast fell by as much as 8% intraday amid a slew of analyst downgrades. It now might have to pony up more money to buy Fox’s stake in Sky to get full ownership. ‘It’s an extraordinary price,’ noted Mike Fries, CEO of rival telecom and satellite TV services provider Liberty Global, on Bloomberg TV.

“’If you look at any kind of metric that people are taught in business school, yes, they overpaid,’ said Erik Gordon, a professor specializing in mergers and acquisitions at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, on the Knowledge@Wharton radio show on SiriusXM. But if transformation is the goal, then the price paid for Sky could very well be justified. ‘If what you are trying to do is transform your company, and you think you have to make a dramatic move, maybe you are doing exactly what you have to do to face the future.’”

Kelley School secures $1.28M Title VI grant to support international programs

News from Indiana University Kelley School of Business

“Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business announced that its Center for International Business Education and Research has been awarded a $1.28 million Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

“For more than a quarter century, Kelley’s center has supported a national goal of the CIBER program to advance the study and teaching of international business and to support research that helps the United States remain competitive in the global marketplace.”

(LtoR): Governor Charlie Baker, President Lawrence Bacow, Seth Klarman, Beth Klarman, Dean Nitin Nohria. Photo: Susan Young

Klarman Hall Opens With Fanfare And Substance

News from HBS

“Harvard Business School (HBS) opened its new 1000-seat convening space — Klarman Hall — with a dedication ceremony and symposium last Monday, October 1. The ceremony included remarks by HBS Dean Nitin Nohria, Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow, and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.

“’Seth and Beth Klarman embody what we hope to see in every HBS graduate — active, engaged citizens working to make our world, our community, a better place,’ said President Bacow. ‘We celebrate today a space that I hope will be the site of countless interactions among faculty and students and staff as well as many, many people from the world beyond our walls.’”

Tuck Study Shows Firms Can Benefit From Powerful CEOs

News from Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business

“From Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg, some chief executive officers have more control over their companies while others have less, but does it make a difference?

“A recent study conducted by Tuck School of Business professor Gordon Phillips and finance professors Minwen Li and Yao Lu of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China has found that powerful CEOs add significant value to firms engaged in competitive product markets.”

NYU Stern

NYU Stern’s Creative Destruction Lab Selects 27 Startups For Its Launch Cohort

News from NYU Stern School of Business

“Last fall, NYU Stern School of Business announced the establishment of the first Creative Destruction Lab in the United States — CDL-NYC — to support the commercialization of early-stage science and deep technology startups. CDL-NYC received a landslide of applications for its inaugural 2018-19 cohort from founders associated with some of the top research institutes and academic institutions worldwide. CDL-NYC accepted 27 ventures with an admission rate of less than nine percent, becoming the most selective program in the CDL network. CDL-NYC’s founders aim to commercialize disruptive inventions in a variety of fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, material science, therapeutics and medical devices.

“The nine-month CDL-NYC program links experienced entrepreneurs and investors with venture founders to help scale their ventures through a structured, objective based mentoring process. The program also leverages NYU’s position as a world-class research university in business, technology, medicine, science, analytics and engineering to provide venture founders support on key technical milestones from NYU’s scientists, faculty, and economists. An affiliated CDL-NYC MBA course gives select students direct access to the venture development process as the students work directly with the venture founders. Finally, CDL-NYC’s corporate partners provide pro bono services, such as legal and accounting advice, to the startups. The CDL-NYC program is based upon the successful Creative Destruction Lab model founded at the University of Toronto.”

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