The Cass MBA Perspective: Women in business

While it’s true that challenges still exist for women in business, there have never been more opportunities for women to enjoy a successful career. Recognising this fact, Cass is celebrating International Women’s Day with a Women in Business seminar Journey to the Top on 8 March.

At the event, the next generation of talented and ambitious women will be encouraged to make use of the opportunities available to them, including the tried and tested route to business success – an MBA.  

In the recent 2012 Financial Times rankings, the Cass Full-time MBA programme was listed as having the highest percentage of woman on any full-time MBA in the world

and this is partly down to Cass’s ethos of collaboration rather than excessive competitiveness. Cass is a dynamic place to learn – you feel that as soon as you walk in. We attract ambitious and forward thinking women and our teaching is in tune with our position as the intellectual hub of the City – practical, current and industry leading.

In terms of female recruitment, Cass practices what it preaches with the Full-Time MBA Course Director (Sionade Robinson) and MBA Programme Director (Erica Hensens) in post, along with many other female academics and professional staff members like myself.

The Women in Business seminar, part of the ongoing Leadership series, will be held at Cass on 8 March. Join us for an inspiring evening to celebrate the success of today’s Business Leaders, and encourage the next generation of talented and ambitious women to make use of the opportunities available to them.

For more information and to register for the Leadership series, click here. 

Viola Polakowska
Full-time MBA Advisor

The Cass MBA Perspective: Entrepreneurship

It might seem counterintuitive to start a new business when the economy is struggling. However, a recession can actually be the ideal time for launching a company. In fact, many well-known and successful organisations were born during an economic slump. Companies born in a recession include Microsoft, FedEx, GE and Hewlett Packard to name but a few.

At Cass we recognise the importance of investing in start-up companies and supporting entrepreneurs in their quest to grow their enterprises into the most successful ventures. The Cass community are eligible for support from the Peter Cullum centre for entrepreneurship and our MBA students have the option to study new venture creation. 

The Peter Cullum Centre for entrepreneurship is at the forefront of entrepreneurship and grew from the vision of Peter Cullum, a high profile Cass alumnus and the founder of Towergate Insurance. The Centre, created in 2009, is one of the largest of its kind in the world and brings together the skills, experiences, and networks of successful entrepreneurs, financiers, and business leaders. The Cass Entrepreneurship Fund is a £10 million venture fund providing start-up and early stage capital to the most promising and ambitious companies across the Cass Business School community. In doing so, it helps Cass entrepreneurs to bring innovative new products and services to market, and helps accelerate business growth.

As part of our MBA programmes, students have the option to undertake the New Venture Creation elective. This provides students with knowledge and understanding of the entrepreneurial and innovation agenda, the need for innovation and all aspects of the new venture creation process including feasibility testing, marketing financial forecasting and securing finance. At the end of this they will be able to produce a comprehensive business plan covering the first three years of the commercialisation of their business idea.

In this issue, we hear from a range of entrepreneurs about their experiences of starting their own businesses, and how Cass has equipped them with the skills to succeed. Susan Cooper, founder of Accutrainee discusses how the centre for entrepreneurship and her Executive MBA have supported her in establishing her business offering law firms an innovative solution to efficient resource management of their trainee solicitor needs. James Clark, from the Cass entrepreneurship network discusses the network at Cass and the benefits they provide to entrepreneurs in the early stages of their business development.

I do hope you have been inspired to join us for our MBA Leadership series, focusing on entrepreneurship on Thursday 26 January. 6:30 – 9:00pm at Cass Business School. The evening will be a wonderful opportunity to discover more about what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur, and how to turn your idea into a reality with an MBA from Cass Business School.

Congratulations to Peter Cullum, who has recently been awarded a CBE in the Queen's New Year's honours list.

Happy New Year and wishing you a very successful 2012.

Roy Batchelor

Associate Dean of Cass Business School