Jamie Dimon Sits Down With Stanford GSB MBA Students

Palo Alto, CA: “Jamie Dimon, who has led JPMorgan Chase for nearly two decades, had plenty to say when he sat down for a conversation with Stanford Graduate School of Business interim dean Peter DeMarzo last week. “I am thrilled to be here and I’ll try to answer everything as honestly as I can,” Dimon told a packed Cemex Auditorium in what may have been the understatement of the afternoon.

DeMarzo opened the session, sponsored by the Business, Government & Society Initiative, with a question about the failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and First Republic Bank in early 2023. What caused these seemingly successful institutions to fail? Regulators were caught off-guard, according to Dimon and bankers neglected the clear vulnerabilities on their balance sheets. “It shouldn’t have been a surprise. I wasn’t surprised. The Fed was surprised,” he said. “When the tide goes out, you see who was swimming naked,” he quipped, paraphrasing Warren Buffett. “And so you saw.”

Neither the collapse of SVB nor First Republic (which JPMorgan acquired) posed a serious threat to the banking system, Dimon maintained. “ I mean, two little banks basically go bankrupt, it’s a whole big kerfuffle,” he said. “We should have built a system that’s more resilient than that, and it’s not…. We should go back to the drawing board and build a system [where] if the bank fails, it’s not a big deal.”

Noting research by Stanford GSB professor of finance Amit Seru that found many U.S. banks were in similarly precarious positions — DeMarzo pressed Dimon on the need for risk management and resiliency. “The capital is not the issue,” he responded, rejecting the notion that a more robust financial buffer might better insulate banks during crises. “Again, if you look at these things, it was more about liquidity than it was about capital.”

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Former MIT Sloan Dean David Schmittlein Passes Away

MIT: “David Schmittlein, an MIT professor of marketing and the MIT Sloan School of Management’s longest-serving dean and a visionary and transformational leader, died March 13, following a long illness. He was 69.

Schmittlein, the John C Head III Dean from 2007 to 2024, guided MIT Sloan through a financial crisis, a global pandemic, and numerous school-wide milestones. During those 17 years, Schmittlein led initiatives introducing several new degree programs, redesigning the academic program portfolio while maintaining the MBA as the flagship degree, and diversifying executive offerings. Under his guidance, the school enhanced alumni engagement, increased philanthropic support, expanded the faculty, oversaw numerous campus capital projects, and opened several international programs. He also championed a centennial celebration of Course 15 — MIT’s designation for management — and led a branding and marketing effort that cemented MIT Sloan’s reputation as a place for smart, open, grounded, and inventive leaders.

In all, he brought MIT Sloan’s value to managers, organizations, and the world into clear focus, positioning and preparing the school to lead in a new era of management education.

“Dave transformed the MIT Sloan School of Management from a niche player to a top five business school and, in the process, drew us closer to the Institute in ways that all of the faculty, staff, and students welcome and support,” says MIT professor of finance Andew W. Lo. “He greatly expanded our visibility internationally [and] also expanded our footprint from a research and educational and outreach perspective. Really, it gave us the opportunity to define ourselves in ways that we weren’t doing prior to his joining.”

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Reddit Post On IIMs Stirs Debate On The Value Of An MBA

Business Today: “The MBA craze continues to grow in India. Every year, over 3.3 lakh aspirants compete for a seat at the coveted IIMs, but only around 5,000 make it. The exclusivity makes it feel like a golden ticket to success. But how true is the claim?

A recent Reddit post by an IIM graduate paints a different picture—one that’s filled with rising costs, uncertain job prospects, and a shifting job market.

The cost of pursuing an MBA has skyrocketed, with fees at top B-schools touching ₹25–30 lakh, while placements remain unpredictable. The return on investment (ROI) is increasingly skewed, as landing a high-paying job isn’t guaranteed. As the Redditor puts it, “Fees are skyrocketing, placements are unpredictable, and many students are drowning in bank loans. Unless you land a top-tier job, it can take years to break even.”

Adding to this challenge, recruiters are shifting from degree-based hiring to skill-based hiring. While an MBA may look great on paper, it’s problem-solving, analytics, sales, and leadership that actually get you the job. Without honing these skills, “even an IIM tag won’t save you,” warns the graduate.”

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Stanford GSB’s Steve Blank: How To Use AI To Start A Business

CNBC: “If you’re thinking of starting a new business and need advice on what to do, your first move should be turning to an artificial intelligence chatbot tool, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude.

That’s according to Steve Blank, who has written four books on the subject of entrepreneurship. He helped build eight different tech startups, of which he co-founded four, before retiring over two decades ago. His final startup, business software company Epiphany, sold to SSA Global Technologies for $329 million dollars in 2005.

Blank is currently an adjunct professor at Stanford University, where he teaches courses on innovation and his Lean Startup method.

For years, Steve Blank has advised students and the founders he advises to “get the heck outside” of the office or classroom to talk to actual potential customers and find out what it is they want and build their prospective businesses accordingly. Now, he says, AI’s generative tech can make that process even more effective.

“AI [is] a force multiplier to everything you do,” Blank tells CNBC Make It. “AI could help you figure out where to get outside, probably faster than anything else. If you have a business idea, [ask] something like ChatGPT: ‘I have Idea X, has anybody done it? Why hasn’t [it] worked? Where should I best do this?’”

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2024 Graduates At Babson Make Impact As Entrepreneurs

Babson College: “From the finance industry to the rise in entrepreneur founders who are crafting their own opportunities through their ventures, 2024 was a standout year for the graduates of Babson’s MBA program.

In the finance industry, the number of Babson MBAs entering the field saw an increase, and the graduates who landed finance positions earned 30% more on average compared with 2023 ($117,500 in the United States).

On a broader scale, the MBA Class of 2024 found work across a wide range of industries, following similar trends from years past, including technology (20%), financial services (18%), consumer packaged goods and retail (12%), manufacturing (12%), and consulting (9%).

In the face of a trying job market, finding career opportunities that are both engaging and satisfying can take time. However, at the end of the process, Babson’s MBA graduates consistently find excellent landings, with those working in the United States reporting an average salary of $108,308 and an average signing bonus of $22,200 in 2024.

“As a result of the coaching and support they receive, graduates have been persistent and strategic with the roles they apply to in this job market, successfully conveying their experience for employers in need of entrepreneurial leaders,” said Jessica Chance, director of Babson’s Graduate Center for Career Development.”

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