Week 3: SCP presentations and Mr. Stelios Haji Ioannou
This week was bit relaxed in terms of classes but still we had two formal coursework to be submitted at the examination school alongwith attending number of SCP presentations by various companies, some of which were quite interesting. The assignment due this week included one for Airbus as to whether Airbus should proceed with its investment in building the A3XX jumbo to cater more number of passengers in long haul flight. As we were doing the calculations for this case, an A380 was landing for the first time at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, courtesy of Mr. Vijay Mallya, the Chairman
of United Breweries and Kingfisher Airline in India. I must say that except for strategic benefits, most of us calculated the NPV of A3XX project to be negative in discounted terms and suggested that A3XX should not be built. Another assignment was to reflect our understanding about the different negotiation exercises that we went through in Module-1 of SDMDE class in week-1. This was another interesting assignment where we had to discuss with our classmates who played the role of opposite party during the negotiations.
In Retailing class, we had the pleasure of listening to Mr. Ian Cheshire, CEO, B&Q UK and Ireland about how the geography and location of any particular retail store can affect the profitability of the store.
Also we had Mr. Stelios Haji Ioannou, founder of Easy Group, deliver a short speech before taking on questions from the attendees of the session. I was amazed to listen to the story of a man who set up a low-budget no-frill airline at the age of 28, giving due credit for his success to his father's belief in him.
On Thursday evening, I received a desperate call from Sampath, one of my friend to join his team for the pitch to win the SCP project from Dell. One of his team member had to leave for an internship and hence the team of 4 was left one short. I was quite interested in the project earlier on but due to the non-commitment of other people withdrew myself. However, when I got the offer again I did not hesitate a minute in plunging for it even though I had Diamond Trading Company (DTC) and Macquarie project pitches lined up for the next week. The interview and presentation in Bracknell office went well and we were satisfied with our performance, however later we found out that the project was rewarded to the other team. May be the company director was not happy with the reshuffling of resources and decided to go with the first team. Nobody knows the real reason though...
Saturday was all about the Restructuring assignment where we had to evaluate the friendly bid made by CSX to acquire CONRAIL against the hostile bid of Norfolk Railway company. An interesting case dealing with the synergies involved that went beyond increasing the benefits of shareholders.
of United Breweries and Kingfisher Airline in India. I must say that except for strategic benefits, most of us calculated the NPV of A3XX project to be negative in discounted terms and suggested that A3XX should not be built. Another assignment was to reflect our understanding about the different negotiation exercises that we went through in Module-1 of SDMDE class in week-1. This was another interesting assignment where we had to discuss with our classmates who played the role of opposite party during the negotiations.In Retailing class, we had the pleasure of listening to Mr. Ian Cheshire, CEO, B&Q UK and Ireland about how the geography and location of any particular retail store can affect the profitability of the store.
Also we had Mr. Stelios Haji Ioannou, founder of Easy Group, deliver a short speech before taking on questions from the attendees of the session. I was amazed to listen to the story of a man who set up a low-budget no-frill airline at the age of 28, giving due credit for his success to his father's belief in him.On Thursday evening, I received a desperate call from Sampath, one of my friend to join his team for the pitch to win the SCP project from Dell. One of his team member had to leave for an internship and hence the team of 4 was left one short. I was quite interested in the project earlier on but due to the non-commitment of other people withdrew myself. However, when I got the offer again I did not hesitate a minute in plunging for it even though I had Diamond Trading Company (DTC) and Macquarie project pitches lined up for the next week. The interview and presentation in Bracknell office went well and we were satisfied with our performance, however later we found out that the project was rewarded to the other team. May be the company director was not happy with the reshuffling of resources and decided to go with the first team. Nobody knows the real reason though...
Saturday was all about the Restructuring assignment where we had to evaluate the friendly bid made by CSX to acquire CONRAIL against the hostile bid of Norfolk Railway company. An interesting case dealing with the synergies involved that went beyond increasing the benefits of shareholders.
MBAT is for the weekend of week-4 and I wish my fellow students good luck for an awesome performance in all sports in HEC, Paris. This week also has a couple of interviews lined up for different SCP's and job related so need to prepare for them. Wish me luck...
I always use to boast amongst our friends here about my rich neighborhood and probably a Ferrari standing right next to my house can be a small token of proof to all those who didn't believe it. The pictures in this post were all taken from a mobile phone camera, so apologies for not so good quality.
Good Night and Good Luck!!!
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