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The World Wildlife Fund's Carter Roberts: How to Connect the Dots between Corporate America and Conservation
From a childhood spent exploring the woods near his home, to a career spent protecting habitats in the far corners of the earth, Carter Roberts -- president and CEO of the non-profit World Wildlife Fund -- has fostered a connection to the natural world. His job is as diverse as the ecosystems he visits. One day he may be negotiating with the president of a corporation, and the next he is sitting on a dirt floor talking with villagers about the importance of saving tigers.He spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about his passion for nature, why companies should care about preserving natural resources, and the value of story-telling.
Seth Goldman: Brewing Organic Tea with a Mission-based Business Model
In 1998, social entrepreneur Seth Goldman founded Honest Tea, the nation's best-selling and fastest-growing organic bottled tea company, with a business professor from the Yale School of Management. Honest Tea sources from organic and fair trade tea estates, and has partnered with community development groups ranging from the Crow Reservation in Montana to organizations in South Africa and Guatemala. Goldman talked with Knowlege@Wharton about carving out space in the competitive beverage market, helping consumers embrace organics and how tea became the catalyst for following his life's passion.
YouthAIDS' Kate Roberts: Using Marketing Skills and Media to Keep Young People Alive
Kate Roberts is the founder and director of YouthAIDS and Five & Alive, two marketing programs implemented by Population Services International (PSI), where she is a vice president. Founded in 2001, YouthAIDS is a global education and prevention initiative that uses pop culture, music, theater, movies and sports to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. The program reaches 600 million young people in more than 60 countries with life-saving products and services. In 2002, YouthAIDS partnered with MTV to produce the "Staying Alive" concert, a $3 million event broadcast worldwide and featured on all major news channels. Roberts spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about cause-related marketing, the Indian film industry and an event in Africa that changed her life, among other topics.
Coca-Cola's John Brock: Sustainability Is No Longer 'Niche'
John Brock has come a long way since his first jobs working in his uncle's dime store and, later, at a paper mill in Moss Point, Miss. Today, he is chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, the world's largest marketer, producer and distributor of Coca-Cola products. Brock has more than 25 years of experience in the beverage sales industry. In 2003, he was named CEO of Interbrew, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. In 2006, he joined Coca-Cola Enterprises where he was appointed chairman in April 2008. Brock talked with Knowledge@Wharton about Coke's philosophy on selling soda in schools, helping the environment and recruiting teens to become devoted customers.
Room to Read's John Wood: Bringing the Power of Education to Children around the World
After a trek in the Himalayas brought him face-to-face with extreme poverty and illiteracy, John Wood left his position as a director of business development at Microsoft to found Room to Read, an award-winning international education organization. Under his leadership, more than 1.7 million children in the developing world now have access to enhanced educational opportunities. Room to Read to date has opened 725 schools and 7,000 bilingual libraries, and funded more than 7,000 scholarships for girls. Wood talked with Knowledge@Wharton about the launch of Room to Read, the book he wrote called Leaving Microsoft to Change the World and his personal definition of success.
GP Investments' Octavio Lopes: 'The Whole World Is Deleveraging'
Octavio Lopes, senior partner of private equity firm GP Investments, is in the middle of raising what might be the largest private equity fund ever for Latin America. In a podcast recorded in Sao Paulo, Lopes discusses the prospects for investing in Brazil and Latin America, where he thinks commodity prices are headed, and how the discovery of oil in places like Brazil, Colombia and Mexico will affect the local and regional economy.
Mundivox's Alberto Duran: 'My Biggest Problem Is Creating Middle Management'
Alberto Duran, founder and CEO of Mundivox Communications of Brazil, has seen the world of telecommunications from various perspectives. He worked in the telecom sector for J.P. Morgan in New York, and Bain & Company and Monitor Company in Boston and London. He specialized in the development of strategies for major industry players worldwide, including privatizations and M&A in North America, Europe and Asia. In 1999, Duran founded Mundivox Communications in Brazil. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, he talks about the troubled environment in the wake of the slowdown and the key issues in managing a company that is growing at an astonishing 100% a year.
Gávea Investimentos' Arminio Fraga: 'We Are Still in Crisis Mode'
Arminio Fraga was president of the Central Bank of Brazil from 1999 to 2002. He has sometimes been called the Alan Greenspan of Latin America, though that comparison may not sit well these days as Greenspan comes in for his share of the blame for the global financial crisis. In 2001, Fraga founded the Rio de Janeiro-based Gávea Investimentos, an independent asset management company. It operates principally in the areas of hedge funds, wealth management and illiquid investment strategies. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, Fraga draws upon his wide experience and understanding to talk about the financial crisis, its causes and future concerns.
Cyrela Brazil Realty's Elie Horn: 'My Strategy Now Is to Stay Quiet'
These are volatile times for Brazilian real estate, which mirrors the situation in most countries. But according to Elie Horn, chairman and CEO of Cyrela Brazil Realty, Brazil's largest developer of residential properties, Brazil doesn't have the deep-rooted problems of the U.S. market. It's just a matter of lying low for some time until confidence returns, he suggests in an interview with Knowledge@Wharton.
Braskem's Bernardo Gradin: 'Our Goal Is to Become One of the 10 Most Valued Petrochemicals Companies'
Brazil's petrochemicals industry has been going through active consolidation, a phase that is almost at an end. That process, however, has seen the creation and growth of Braskem, a giant of a firm that is the largest petrochemicals producer not just in Brazil but in all of Latin America. Bernardo Gradin, who has been part of Braskem since the company's formation in 2002, took over in July as its CEO. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton conducted at the company's Sao Paulo headquarters, Gradin discussed Braskem's goal of becoming one of the world's top 10 petrochemical companies as measured by shareholder value.
Banco Itaú BBA's Candido Bracher: 'The Party Will Not Be as Fancy as Before'
Economic crises around the globe have often hit Brazilian banks hard, with capital flight hammering the country's currency, the real. But Brazil's financial institutions seem better positioned to weather the current worldwide credit crunch, although lending there is just as frozen as it is elsewhere, according to Candido Bracher, president and chief executive officer of the São Paulo-based Banco Itaú BBA, one of the country's largest private banks. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, Bracher discusses how the international market turmoil has affected Brazil and how this differs from the financial crises of the 1990s. He also speaks about what a commodity-price "hangover" could mean for the country's economy.
Bailout or Bankruptcy: What Will It Take to Get the U.S. Auto Industry Back on Track?
A government plan to rescue the U.S. automobile industry with $14 billion in emergency loans to General Motors and Chrysler was approved by the House of Representatives late on December 10, but the proposal continued to face stiff opposition from Senate Republicans. While the lifeline loans would give the Detroit automakers some breathing room, legislators and auto executives remain under enormous pressure to come up with a plan to resolve the industry's deep structural and management problems. Wharton faculty and other experts discuss the merits of the bailout proposal and what the potential alternative -- bankruptcy -- could mean.
The Son Also Rises: Donald Trump, Jr., on Real Estate Opportunities in Emerging Markets
Back in the heady days of the real estate boom, property prices in New York City soared along with those in the rest of the U.S. When the subprime mortgage crisis hit and prices collapsed, the city's market held out longer than others -- for two reasons. First, it is a major financial center with strong demand; and second, the weak dollar made it possible for international buyers and investors to find deals at discounts as high as 40%. Where will the New York market be in 2009? Where are the most attractive deals to be found in emerging markets? In a podcast recorded at the Knowledge@Wharton Real Estate Forum on Emerging Markets on December 2, Donald Trump, Jr., executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization, speaks about those questions and more. He also discusses how he views his unique contribution to expanding the Trump brand overseas, building on the foundation laid by his famous father.
Do the SEC's New Rating Agency Rules Have Any Bite?
When the Securities and Exchange Commission approved tighter regulations for credit rating agencies on December 3, the new rules were applauded by the agencies -- whose positive reviews of subprime securitizations contributed to the credit crisis. But reform advocates were disappointed. The changes fell far short of remedies initially proposed by the SEC in June and endorsed by the Financial Economists Roundtable, a group of top economists that includes several Wharton professors. By omitting two critical elements of the June proposal, the SEC pulled the teeth that would have made regulations effective, according to the FER.
The Mall Pall: Have America's Biggest Shopping Centers Lost Their Allure?
While shopping malls once epitomized America's consumer society, new Wharton research suggests that these days, shoppers find the mall environment predictable and uninspiring, plus it's hard to park and there aren't enough restaurants. The research, conducted by Wharton's Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative and The Verde Group, offers mall developers some suggestions on how they can respond to consumer complaints -- without spending a lot of money.
For Modern Urban Growth, Don't Forget the Ballpark and River Walk
Can urban amenities -- like ballparks, aquariums and river walks -- help stabilize U.S. cities and improve their economic outlooks? A new paper by Wharton real estate professor Albert Saiz and a colleague quantifies the importance of leisure amenities but also provides evidence that spending public dollars on leisure and cultural activities may offer more long-range benefit than traditional economic development focused on job creation. "For the last 50 years, we have been trying to bring businesses to cities," says Saiz, "but maybe it makes more sense to get people in there -- and the businesses will follow."
The Financial Crisis Reaches a New Arena: Professional Sports
For decades, sports have existed in a protective bubble. Even in recessions, fans could be counted on to keep buying tickets to games and keep beefing up the huge television audiences that draw top dollar from advertisers. But the current recession seems to be bursting the bubble. Says Wharton professor Eric Bradlow: "Advertising revenue is down. Corporate boxes and corporate sponsorships are going to be down. There's no question the [financial crisis] is going to affect the economics of the sports industry."
To Be a Successful Entrepreneur in Africa, 'Wake up Every Day Ready for Change'
After centuries of colonialism and despite bloody civil wars and turmoil in some of its nations, Africa has the potential to be counted among the emerging markets poised to offer outsized returns for foreign investment, according to investors and entrepreneurs at Wharton's recent Africa Business Forum. Still, they caution, transitional or ill-defined regulatory frameworks pose significant downside risk to doing business there. Their suggestion: Look beyond the news reports.
CEOs and Market Woes: Is Poor Corporate Governance to Blame?
Many shareholder advocates see the financial collapse and resulting economic woes as stunning proof of their long-held claim that too often the wrong people are in charge of top corporations -- and that attacking this problem demands an overhaul in corporate-governance regulations. But not everyone sees governance as the culprit, and some warn that a kneejerk attack on established corporate practices could backfire.
The Fairness Issue: How to Cope with the Flood of Foreclosures
Is the cavalry coming to rescue troubled homeowners? Despite soaring foreclosure rates, President Bush and other Republicans have not made this a top priority. But this could soon change: President-elect Barak Obama and fellow Democrats say reducing foreclosures is crucial to attacking the financial crisis. As one expert notes: "The financial sector weaknesses all originate in the housing market. If we don't solve the housing problem, then the weaknesses in the financial sector are going to continue to multiply."
