News

Hedge fund clones

Narayan Naik, Professor of Finance and Director of the Hedge Fund Centre, talks about the increasing popularity of synthetic hedge funds

Listen now | View all podcasts

In a new podcast Narayan Naik discusses whether investing in synthetic funds is a genuine alternative to the traditional hedge funds.

Synthetic hedge funds analyse the performance of traditional hedge funds and attempt to replicate that performance without a hedge fund manager, with associated lower fees.

Narayan likens the cloned funds to a plane with an autopilot function - investors should decide if the value added by having a ‘pilot' is worth more than the fees charged. The cloned fund also has the advantage of being less subject to human behavioural biases, and also offers more transparency and daily liquidity.

Narayan also discusses the factors that will influence demand for synthetic funds, and the steps involved in replicating a hedge fund strategy, and explains that synthetic hedge funds may perform better than traditional funds in the economic downturn.

Listen to the podcast.

Created: Wednesday 07 January 2009

 

Management Innovation Lab

Julian Birkinshaw, Co-founder of the Management Innovation Lab discusses why management innovation is a largely unexplored source of competitive advantage

Listen now | view all podcasts

In a new podcast, Julian Birkinshaw, Professor of Strategic and International Management at London Business School and Co-founder of the Management Innovation Lab (MLab) talks about the potential for management innovation to drive long term success for companies.

The MLab was founded by Julian Birkinshaw and Gary Hamel following research into sources of competitive advantage. Julian comments, "The most sustainable advantages we found in companies were due to innovations in work practices, rather than innovation in products."

The MLab, Julian goes on to explain, works with companies to "experiment and innovate with them around their management practices."

Julian also discusses the importance of management innovation: "To get to the root your company's challenges you need to get to the root of how you work, only by understanding this can you work out how to change in the long term". For companies who are already performing well, management innovation can help them "move from best practice, to next practice."

Listen to the podcast to hear more of Julian's thoughts on management innovation, or find out more about the MLab.

Created: Friday 02 January 2009

 

New leadership structure

London Business School appoints Robin Buchanan as President and Professor Sir Andrew Likierman as Dean

London Business School is pleased to announce that Robin Buchanan, the current Dean, has become President of the School.  This is a new role, created on Buchanan's recommendation and endorsed by Governing Body, which focuses on the School's development and external relations.

Professor Sir Andrew Likierman has become the School's new Dean in succession to Buchanan.  He is the eighth Dean in the School's 44 year history. Likierman, also Professor of Management Practice in Accounting at the School, brings to the role his extensive experience in the academic world and both the public and private sectors.

Likierman said of his appointment: "I am extremely honoured to have been offered the role of Dean. London Business School enjoys an enviable reputation for academic excellence and continues to attract many of the world's best talents - both to its faculty and staff and to its degree and executive education programmes. The School's Vision is to be the pre-eminent global business school, and my priority will be to build on the work of Robin and my other predecessors to ensure that Vision continues to be realised".

The Chairman of London Business School's Governing Body, Sir John Ritblat commented: "We are delighted that Andrew has agreed to take up the role of Dean. His distinguished record in the academic sphere and his wide-ranging experience in the public and private sectors mean that he is ideally placed to continue to take the School forward. I know that he is looking forward to building on our efforts to recruit the best faculty and staff and to deliver the finest degree and executive education programmes.

"We are grateful to Robin for all that he has done during his time as Dean.  He has helped us make a substantial number of improvements to the School.  Under his leadership the School's programme and research rankings have continued to do well, our global reach has been expanded especially in the Middle East and East Asia, and we have made important progress in removing our space constraints.  Our priority is to continue to build our world class faculty and endowment and we are confident that the School has every chance of achieving its goals."

Outgoing Dean, Robin Buchanan said: "I am proud of what we have all achieved at London Business School during my time as Dean. Our outstanding faculty and staff supported by our Governors and other friends of the School continue to make great progress. I look forward to working with Andrew in this new role and to continuing to move the School forward."

Created: Monday 22 December 2008

 

London Business School excels in influential research rating

Research Assessment Exercise results rate London Business School a 'world-leader' in faculty research

London Business School has excelled in the UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) results, published today. The RAE is conducted jointly by the higher education councils for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The purpose of the assessment is to produce a quality profile for the research activity of all participating UK universities. All the research submitted to the RAE is rated 4* (world-leading), 3* (internationally excellent), 2* (internationally recognised), 1* (nationally recognised) or 0 (sub-standard).

55% of the School's research received the top 4* "world-leading" rating. This was the highest percentage achieved by any university in the UK in the business and management sector. Our three closest competitors were a full 20% behind us in this top classification, with Cambridge University, Imperial College and Cardiff University each achieving a 35% 4* rating.

Our quality profile highlights across-the-board excellence in our research activities. As well as achieving the highest 4* (world-leading) rating, 30% of our research was rated internationally excellent, 10% was internationally recognised and 5% was nationally recognised. London Business School submitted research from across all our faculty and subject areas for assessment. This result demonstrates the depth and breadth of the quality of our faculty's work.

Dean Robin Buchanan commented on the results, saying: "Developing cutting edge research is a key part of London Business School's purpose. Today's result proves that the exceptional work that our faculty are doing in their myriad fields is being recognised. We always knew that our faculty and our research were world-class. It is gratifying to have this confirmed so categorically by the Research Assessment Exercise."

Aside from the obvious reputational benefits of performing so well, the quality profile compiled by the RAE is used by HEFCE (the Higher Education Funding Council for England) to determine our government grant for research in 2009-10. The decision on grant funding will be taken in March 2009. 

For full details of the report please visit the RAE website.

Created: Thursday 18 December 2008

 

Developing a successful pricing strategy

Marco Bertini, Assistant Professor of Marketing, talks about developing a successful pricing strategy

Listen now | View all podcasts  

In a new podcast, Marco Bertini, Assistant Professor of Marketing, discusses the importance of pricing strategy.

Marco begins the podcast by explaining that pricing strategy is often neglected by managers. "There are three reasons pricing strategy is neglected," he explains, "firstly it is hard to do, secondly managers often believe prices are set by competition and the marketplace, and are not in their hands, and finally there is a lot of pressure to justify pricing decisions."

Marco explains that a successful pricing strategy requires an understanding of both the costs of products, and of the value they generate in the marketplace.

Marco also discusses his research into price partitioning and consumer psychology, which found that when retailers, for example Amazon, partitioned prices by listing product and shipping costs separately, customers may overvalue the price of shipping and be more likely to back out of a transaction.

Listen to the podcast for more of Marco's thoughts on pricing strategy. Find out more about Marco's new two-day programme Pricing for Profit

Created: Tuesday 16 December 2008

 

Why Choose a London Business School MBA?

Sabine Vinck, Associate Dean, MBA and Finance Programmes, discusses the experience of studying for an MBA at London Business School

Listen now | View all podcasts

In a new podcast, Sabine Vinck, Associate Dean, MBA and Finance Programmes, discusses the reasons students choose London Business School.

Sabine explains that studying for a London Business School MBA is a life changing experience; and discusses why London is an ideal city in which to study where students can benefit from proximity to global business and business leaders.

Sabine goes on to describe the benefits students receive from a diverse international community where they study alongside people from different career backgrounds. This means there is no typical MBA student at London Business School.

Finally, Sabine mentions the flexibility of the MBA programme and the support available for partners and families of MBA students. 

Listen to this podcast to hear more about the experience of studying for an MBA at London Business School.

Read more about the MBA programme.

Created: Friday 12 December 2008

 

Academic partnership with the World Economic Forum

London Business School supports Global Leadership Fellows Programme

London Business School has today announced a three-year partnership with the Global Leadership Fellows Programme. Created by the World Economic Forum, the Programme is designed to equip the next generation of leaders with the skills needed to confront global challenges and address the opportunities in an increasingly interconnected world.

London Business School will provide members of its world-class faculty for a mutually agreed number of teaching days, focusing practical and analytical intensive leadership and management training.

Lyn Hoffman, Associate Dean of Sloan & Executive MBA Programmes and Global partners, London Business School said: "We are delighted to be working collaboratively with the World Economic Forum. There is a natural affinity between the purposes of both organisations which makes this a powerful partnership."

London Business School began their collaboration by creating a bespoke module on the current global financial crisis. This was presented to the Fellows in Switzerland by James Dow, Professor of Finance and Chair of Finance Faculty who added: "The opportunity to collaborate with the Forum is an exciting opportunity. Many of the Fellows have PhDs or MBAs, and have a particular interest in international relations and public policy as well as management and business."

Gilbert Probst, Managing Director, Dean of Global Leadership programme for the World Economic Forum added: "Through the Global Leadership Fellows programme the World Economic Forum is developing a group of future leaders who can take their place in a range of global organizations: in industry, government, international organizations, foundations etc, and in the Forum itself. This partnership with the London Business School adds yet another key dimension to this process in what is a unique programme."

World Economic Forum partnership press release

Created: Tuesday 09 December 2008

 

What prevents middle managers from getting to the top?

Richard Jolly, Adjunct Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour, discusses the obstacles facing middle managers who want to progress

Listen now | View all podcasts 

In a new podcast Richard Jolly, Adjunct Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour, discusses the obstacles that middle managers need to overcome to reach senior management.

Professor Jolly begins the podcast by explaining his observation that middle managers are often too good at their jobs to progress to senior management. By making themselves indispensable through hard work and expertise middle managers end up last in the line for promotion.

He goes on to discuss the importance of knowing your priorities and managing your time accordingly, as well as the need for both coaching and mentoring to help middle managers realise their strengths.

The final obstacle for the middle manager, Professor Jolly explains, is to learn to delegate. Once middle managers prove themselves to have effective and strategic management skills, in addition to their technical expertise, the path to senior management will become clear.

Listen to this podcast to hear more of Richard Jolly's advice on management development

Created: Wednesday 03 December 2008

 

Karen Napier to join London Business School

Southbank Centre Director of Development appointed as Associate Dean, Advancement

London Business School has announced the appointment of Karen Napier as Associate Dean, Advancement. Karen is currently Director of Development at Southbank Centre.  In her new role, Karen will report directly to the Dean of London Business School, Robin Buchanan.

Karen will join the School's leadership team and oversee both the alumni relations and development teams. As Associate Dean for Advancement, Karen will have specific responsibility for further enhancing relationships with the School's global network of 28,000 alumni. At the same time, Karen will strengthen the development team and create the appropriate infrastructure to advance the School in the achievement of its goals.

Dean Robin Buchanan said, "We are so pleased that Karen has agreed to join the School. London Business School must work extremely well with its 28,000 alumni. We must also continue to invest in faculty, scholarships and campus if we are to remain one of the world's leading business schools. Karen is ideally suited to lead these critical activities."

Commenting on her new role, Karen said, "I'm delighted to be joining London Business School at this important time and very much look forward to applying my experience from the arts to a business school context."

Karen joined Southbank Centre in 1999 as Head of Development for the Hayward Gallery. In 2003, Karen became Director of Development with responsibility for capital and revenue fundraising across the organisation. In this role, Karen was responsible for the strategy and delivery of fundraising for the Centre's £111 million Transformation Campaign. This project resulted in the spectacular reopening of the refurbished Royal Festival Hall in 2007.

A former dancer, Karen has previously worked for English National Opera and Rambert Dance Company.

Karen Napier press release

Created: Tuesday 02 December 2008

 

London Media Summit 2008

Leading figures from film, music, print and TV discuss the future of 'old media'

The future of 'old media' was discussed at the London Media Summit on November 24th at London Business School. Leading figures from the world of film, music, print and television gathered to discuss the impending doom predicted by many in the industry, which at times turned into a fiery debate.

Channel 4's Jon Snow controlled the proceedings, with keynotes provided by Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, Bill Roedy, Chairman of MTV, and Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian.

Robin Carswell, Summit Chair, said "This event has demonstrated that traditional media companies, now more than ever, need an injection of fresh leadership talent if they are to survive the challenges of the future".

The need for the music industry to embrace change and new business models was outlined, while film studios appeared in a strong light, but the future of their funding came under intense scrutiny. In the TV panel the consensus was that channel broadcasters needed to change to be content producers, but the way to achieve this profitably was far from clear. A relatively gloomy picture was painted for print, with the death of local press predicted to occur within the next 6-24months.

"The bleak future that some predict for "old" media must be seen as a great opportunity for those with the passion and conviction to take risks. The changes to be made have never been bigger, or more necessary." said Nick Sallon, Co-President of the London Business School Media Club.

Created: Thursday 27 November 2008