Hi folks, A few questions about general management rotational programs: 1) Are there any backgrounds that tend to feed into GM programs? I got the sense from speaking with some current Fuqua students that really anyone can transition into GM, it's more about showing that you can learn easily. Is that what y'all have seen/heard? 2) It seems that most of them are in the manufacturing space (e.g. GE, John Deere). Is there a reason why? Is it just because it's easier to learn the skills associated with those programs in that type of industry? Thanks for your insight ac.

LOL, I just realized that zh posted P&G in his post and PG&E in the link... haha. Yes, PG&E does recruit at Haas and does have a rotation program based in SF.

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kryzak

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08 Dec 2008, 21:46

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riverripper

Note to those who dont know the difference. PG&E is pacific gas and electric, its a major utility (I do believe they recruit at Haas though Kry). P&G is a major CPG.

HUGE difference people. One generates and sells electricity...the other makes and sells swiffers.

LOL, I just realized that zh posted P&G in his post and PG&E in the link... haha.

Quote:

P&G has a rotation program based in SF. Apparently they are pretty selective and take people from Chicago, Haas, Wharton, Tuck, and Kellogg
https://www.pgecorp.com/aboutus/careers/ ... p_program/

Yes, PG&E does recruit at Haas and does have a rotation program based in SF.

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08 Dec 2008, 21:48

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If you're looking healthcare, I would think Abbott and Medtronic both really only have things in "big" cities. I say big in quotes because I don't what your cutoff point is. I would consider Minneapolis big for purposes of this conversation. There's a lot of stuff in Santa Rosa, which is not big, but I wouldn't mind spending 18 months there. I feel like the rest of the Medtronic sites are located near big cities, I don't know where their LDP places people (I assume Minneapolis and somewhere else).

unhedged

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08 Dec 2008, 22:35

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riverripper

There are enough that you can find them if you want. I am pretty focused on energy and know of GM opportunities at big name companies in LA, SF, Chicago, DC, Atlanta, and tons in Texas.

Hey RR,

Off-topic, but out of curiosity, what piqued your interest in Energy? Are some special programs/initiatives at Kellogg for people with interest in energy? Is it a part of SEEK, or something more traditional? I am interested in the same industry and just trying to figure out whats out there.

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09 Dec 2008, 08:40

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What's the environment look like for Part-Time MBA's trying to land an offer for a GM Rotational program? I may have the opportunity to get an employer sponsorship without a work commitment post-MBA, so I'm looking at Chicago GSB(Booth)/Northwestern or UCLA.

I'm currently working in Aerospace (Program Management), and I've found that both Lockheed and Northrop Grumman have LDP's. If I can get my MBA for free AND land a sweet job post-MBA, that would be a great deal.

Any thoughts? (Riverripper - Have any of your PT buddies done this?)

lsuguy7

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09 Dec 2008, 09:25

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Quote:

Honestly, you probably aren’t going to find many programs with extremely strong energy curriculums, there just aren’t tons of students that go into it. Yes there is a lot of interest but not much follow through. Most of the top schools send >1 to maybe 3% of their class to energy and those are often heavily weighted in the big oil area.

I'm not sure this is completely correct, as I don't believe it has as much to do with top schools as it does with the industry. First I don't believe that most energy companies truly value an MBA (I work for one of the biggest in the world). Second unless you are doing energy consulting no one around here really cares where you got your MBA from. To that point if you want to look at schools to get you into the energy industry it is very simple - Energy Companies recruit regionally!

I can tell you that based out of Houston almost all the people I work with went to UT - Texas A&M - University of Houston - Rice - LSU. I know the mix at our other major locations in the US are different. I also think these schools do a very good job of catering to Energy companies (who provide them with ridiculous amounts of money to help shape curriculum). So while these aren't really top name schools, most offer industry classes and great job placements.

agold

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09 Dec 2008, 09:35

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lsuguy7

Quote:

I think there are many industries/regions and companies where local MBAs are valued equally to M7 programs. Almost anything in Texas is a great example. Lazard (one of the most prestigous investment banks out there) recruits from Texas and Rice for their Houston office. Almost all of the big banks and consulting firms will recruit from Texas/Rice as well.

rhyme

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09 Dec 2008, 11:58

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FYI, locations for Abbott's MDP program:

Pharmaceutical: Abbott International (AI)- Abbott Park, Illinois and global affiliate locations* Pharmaceutical Products Division (PPD)- Abbott Park, Illinois*
Nutrition:
Abbott Nutrition (AN)- Columbus, Ohio
Abbott Nutrition International (ANI)- Vernon Hills, Illinois and global affiliate locations
Medical Devices:
Abbott Spine (AS)- Austin, Texas
Abbott Vascular (AV)- Redwood City & Santa Clara, California Abbott
Diabetes Care (ADC)- Alameda, California Abbott Animal Health (AAH)- Gurnee, Illinois Diagnostics:
Abbott Diagnostics Division (ADD)- Abbott Park, Illinois*
Abbott Molecular Diagnostics (AMD)- Des Plaines, Illinois
Abbott Point of Care (APOC)- East Windsor, New Jersey * Corporate Headquarters

wallspotter

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09 Dec 2008, 15:22

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I'd second everything River said.

Very few companies will be located right in the big cities. The ones that are tend to be CPG's, Financial Products or software (ie Unilever, Diageo, Amex, etc). This is somewhat less true if you are looking in Europe.

A lot of the companies with programs will have different rotational program silos - ie finance, marketing and GM. Corp finance rotationals and marketing will have a much better chance of being in a better location. GM rotationals can be all over the place - geographic flexibility is a must. As the goal of GM rotational is to get you on a fast track to real P/L responsibility, and you have to get dirty to do so.

Also - not all rotational programs are equal. You really need to find out what your exit options are, who within the company sponsors it, etc. A little digging and you'll find this out quick. I would also say this is true of strategy positions within companies as well.

Based on your background, some companies will work with you to find positions that don't normally go to fresh mba's. (ie upstream oil divisions would be a stretch without related prior experience, etc, etc).

spideyeclipse27

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09 Dec 2008, 15:49

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How hard is it to get into strategy positions in a technology company from a top 10 school without a consulting background?

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09 Dec 2008, 16:01

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zhl226

I ran across some inside to share, Intl hired 15 employess for thier ALP program:
UC Berkley, Haas 3
UCLA, Anderson 1
Univ. of Mich, Ross 2
Chicago 1
Stanford 1
MIT, Sloan 2
Univ of Penn, Wharton 3
Northwestern, Kellogg 2

I believe a few of the rotation opportunities were in China/Malaysia/Vietnam. Most Intl expats to Asian countries get their own drivers, cause they don't want you to drive in Asia.

+1 Thanks for the insight.

gutie859

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09 Dec 2008, 18:49

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BASF has a great program as well, very selective though and typically reserved only for ppl with chemistry/chemical engineer experience. feeders usually tepper, stern wharton or rutgers

refurb

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09 Dec 2008, 19:16

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gutie859

BASF has a great program as well, very selective though and typically reserved only for ppl with chemistry/chemical engineer experience. feeders usually tepper, stern wharton or rutgers

Interesting!! Quite selective (especially the bilingualism):

Quote:

The program is comprised of three domestic six-month assignments, and one international assignment in your field of expertise.

Program requirements are as follows:

* MBA degree with a concentration in Finance, Marketing or Supply Chain/Logistics required
* Undergraduate technical degree preferred (e.g. Chemistry, Engineering, etc.)
* International perspective required, international experience preferred
* Mobile-minded <------- lots of travel?
* Bi-lingual required, German fluency preferred
* Excellent communication skills
* Outstanding work ethic
* Demonstrated academic achievement
* 3-5 years of work experience prior to your MBA

Link

RF

kryzak

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09 Dec 2008, 22:18

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riverripper

Kryzak...LOTS? come on lets be honest. Even at energy "powerhouses" like McCombs energy is still a small percentage of students. Take out the big oil gigs and I bet almost every school is in the single digits for people going into energy. However, you have to look at how many people want to go into that field? Its self selecting and it is doing well relatively speaking these days, so there are lots of opportunities.

Now now river, there's no need to disparage another school when you don't know it well enough.

I can name at least 10 people off the top of my head (out of only the 120 or so people I know out of my class of 240) who are going into clean tech and energy, NOT oil related. Everywhere I go people seem to want to go into energy here at Haas. BERC will be establishing a separate "chapter" at Haas this year because of so many business school students interested in the energy industry (again, not oil related ones).

gutie859

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Updated on: 11 Dec 2008, 10:08

Originally posted by gutie859 on 09 Dec 2008, 22:24.
Last edited by gutie859 on 11 Dec 2008, 10:08, edited 1 time in total.

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Paradosso

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10 Dec 2008, 03:04

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Kudos, kry, amazing research.

riverripper

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10 Dec 2008, 06:51

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Kry there is a difference between people "interested" and people dedicated to making it their career. There are tons of people in our energy club, but a lot of them end up in consulting and finance. While someone in Goldmans energy group do work in energy, I don't view it the same way. I wasn't saying anything negative about Haas at all, just pointing out that true corporate energy jobs are a very small part of a school's placement. Berkely may have a great percentage (never said they didnt), but its still going to be small.

You guys probably do have strong placement compared to most schools since the bay area is pretty active with energy these days...Plus you have a great engineering program, which I think helps since those feed far more students into energy fields than any MBA program does.

unhedged

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10 Dec 2008, 10:28

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wow kryzak, that was some mighty fine research. Haas is lucky to have you repping the school so well.

River, thanks for the insight to Kellogg. That was a great write-up!. I get your point about being interested in Energy and actually doing it, I was just thinking of it from the point of having those initiatives will at least stimulate you intellectually/academically, which IMO could be helpful. Though I don't disagree that those aren't essential to breaking into the field.

Of the schools I've researched, it seems that Ross(/Erb), Haas, Texas seem to have most energy focus.

maverick2011

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10 Dec 2008, 13:24

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kidro2001

Of the schools I've researched, it seems that Ross(/Erb), Haas, Texas seem to have most energy focus.

FYI, Duke has an "Energy and Environment" concentration.

unhedged

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10 Dec 2008, 14:11

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maverick2011

kidro2001

Of the schools I've researched, it seems that Ross(/Erb), Haas, Texas seem to have most energy focus.

FYI, Duke has an "Energy and Environment" concentration.

Thanks for the heads-up

I was at a Duke info-session a week ago, and a couple people about sustainability at Duke, and they replied that they didn't have any concentrations as such. I'm surprised that the Adcom didn't mention this at all in response.

lsuguy7

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10 Dec 2008, 14:52

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In the past 3 years Chevron has hired people from the following schools into their MBA program.

Michigan
Berkeley
University of Rochester
University North Carolina
Cornell University
Emory University
University of Chicago
Darden
University of Texas
Northwestern University
Duke University
Rice University
INSEAD
Wharton

A little suprising not to see HBS, Stanford (it's a california based company!), NYU, CBS, MIT, etc. There are a lot of big names left out, I don't know if it's because they don't accept a lot of people or because of lack of interest. Anyway for a financial development program I expected to see more big finance schools on that list.