November 12, 2007. Shanghai campus - The online version of the CNN's weekly interview program "The Boardroom," which was filmed November 2 at CEIBS, was uploaded to CNN.com today. A shorter version of the program was broadcast on November 10 and 11 on CNN International and will air a final time at 17:15 tonight, Shanghai time. (Click here to view the program.)
Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz was the featured guest, interviewed by CNN anchor Andrew Stevens, in the CEIBS Auditorium. A full house of nearly 300 students, professors and corporate guests made up the audience, posing questions to Mr. Schultz throughout the 90-minute taping.
CNN filmed its inaugural edition of The Boardroom Master Class at CEIBS on November 2
This edition of the show inaugurates The Boardroom Master Class, representing the first time the show was filmed on the campus of a top-ranked business school. Part of a three-part series, The Boardroom Master Class will next be filmed at the London Business School and finally at a school in New York City.
In order to prepare for the taping, CEIBS MBA students participated in a school-wide Business Pitch Competition judged by MBA Co-Dean and Program Director Lydia Price and CEIBS Marketing Professor Rama Velamuri as well as CNN executives. Winning students Rachel Zhang (MBA06) and Brit Simon (exchange for MBA06) produced 90-second video presentations which aired during The Boardroom. Mr. Schultz then offered comments on the business plans and answered the students' requests for suggestions and advice.
Guest interviewee Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, offered his business expertise in a Q&A with CEIBS students.
Throughout the show, Mr. Schultz shared professional and personal insights as he told the story of Starbuck's phenomenal growth into one of the world's most successful brands and serving 50 million customers per week in 43 countries worldwide. Describing himself as a "poor kid growing up in Brooklyn, New York," he explained that he discovered coffee culture during a trip to Italy in 1982. He returned to Seattle eager to expand Starbucks operations from selling coffee beans to opening coffee houses. Initial clashes with the then Starbucks management lead him to eventually leave the company, only to buy it several years later. From then on, the Starbucks story has been a tale of steady growth worldwide. Today, Starbucks operates 14,000 stores around the globe.
CEIBS Executive President Pedro Nueno greeted Mr. Schultz before the filming
Asked for business advice from CEIBS students, Mr. Schultz offered both practical and philosophical advice. He urged students to raise more money than they expect to need, to work with "like minded" people who share your values, and to hire people who are smarter than yourself and work with "unbridled enthusiasm and passion." Most importantly, he said: "Don't let anyone tell you your dreams can't come true. Dream big dreams and after you dream big dreams, dream even bigger dreams."
CEIBS Business Pitch Competition winner Brit Simon poses with Mr. Schultz after the show.
Business Pitch Competition winner Rachel Zhang smiles with CNN anchor Andrew Stevens (right) and CNN Producer Andrew Demaria [left]
Watch the CEIBS homepage for airing times on November 10 and 11 for The Boardroom Master Class. For a full detailing article on Howard Schultz business advice, see the Winter 2007 edition of CEIBS Alumni Magazine, The LINK.
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