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Welcome to the Babson Latin America Business Club!

Our club is for all Babson MBA students who have an interest in doing business and developing relationships in Latin America. The club encourages an understanding of the Latin culture and promotes networking activities. We're also hosting the first ever "Latin America Entrepreneurship Forum" at Babson College on April 26th, 2009.

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    Apr
    29

    laef-logo

    On behalf of Babson College and the Latin America Forum Committee, we thank you for participating and making the first Latin America Entrepreneurship Forum a great success.


    A very special thank-you to the speakers, moderators and panelists for expressing their helpful perspectives and contributing to this regional forum. The views expressed were insightful, the debates productive, and we know we have all learned valuable knowledge about entrepreneurial opportunities in Latin America.


    We want also to congratulate again our Rocket Pitch winners and wish them the best of luck in implementing their ventures. The winners were:


    1. Yo Reciclo – Hector Elizondo
    2. PayFacile – Marc Saint Clair
    3. New Venture Development – Luis Soto


    Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, without whom we would be unable to create this event:


    • The William .F. Glavin Center for Global Management
    • The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
    • Babson Career Center for Development
    • The Student Government Association
    • The Graduate Student Council
    • Pneus Levorin
    • Office of Campus Life


    We hope next generations will maintain this initiative in the years to come. We really hope you have enjoyed the event and we look forward to seeing you in other events organized by Babson College.



    Best Regards,


    The Latin American Entrepreneurship Forum Committee

    Apr
    17

    Want to Win a Kindle?

    You have to be present at the Networking Cocktail to be eligible to win.

    Apr
    10

    As a fundamental part of the Latin America Entrepreneurship Forum at Babson next April 24, we’ll feature a Rocket Pitch Competition focused solely on Latin America opportunities.

    The competition is open to all graduate and undergraduate students and prize money goes up to $1,000 for the first place.

    Read all about it here

    Mar
    31
    Grupo Santander

    Grupo Santander

    Babson College and Grupo Santander have a commited relationship of collaboration since 2007 that seeks to “foster entrepreneurial spirit amongst universities”. The financial giant and Babson have several initiatives together, but perhaps the most interesting from the Latin American point of view is the following:

    Banco Santander’s contribution is also used to fund some or Babson College’s research. In particular, the GEM report on entrepreneurial culture and attitudes in Latin America, the most recent issue of which was published in Chile.

    We’ll follow closely the relationship between this important bank and our school. An official press release can be found here.

    Mar
    26

    The countdown has officially started! In exactly one month, we’ll proudly host the 1st Latin America Entrepreneurship Forum at Babson College. Our leadership has done an excellent job assembling an incredible lineup of speakers and panelists, ranging from seasoned entrepreneurs to successful business leaders in all industries in Latin America.

    Please visit our website to learn more about these participants, which include the Founder and CEO of the Inter-American Economic Council, the Chairman and CEO of Sovereign Bank and the Founder and President of Totto (Colombia).

    These are only a few ways you can help us attract people to the Forum:

    • Add the signature of the Forum to your email signature (view the bottom of this email)
    • Put the event and a link on your statuses (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc)
    • Join the event on LinkedIn
    • Join the event on Facebook
    • Register for the event!
    • Tell everybody and help spread the word!
    Feb
    10

    WHEN:  Thursday February 19th  6:30-8:00

    WHERE:  Needham/Wellesley Room 

    Please join us for a panel discussion of business leaders on the value and challenges of fostering diversity in the business.  Babson’s Chief Diversity Officer, Elizabeth Thornton, will be moderating the panel.  Panelists will relay their personal experiences of the panelists as minorities in leadership positions.  In addition, the panelists will discuss why diversity is important in their industry: industries represented in include Consulting, Real Estate, Not-for-Profit and Education.  More information on the panelists can be found below.

    This is a unique opportunity for different school clubs representing minorities in business to come together to share experiences and learn from each other.  

    The event is co-hosted by OPEN for Business, Babson Association of Women MBAs (BAWMBA), Babson Latin American Business Club, South Asian Business Association and Black MBA Student Association.

    Elizabeth Thornton, Babson’s Chief Diversity Officer will be moderating the event.  Here is some information about Elizabeth: 
    http://www.cfwbr.org/assets/1023_elizabethrthornton2008.pdf
    http://www3.babson.edu/Newsroom/Releases/thorntonmwib.cfm

    Panelists:

    Lavanya Shekar Chopra, Associate Director, Strategy and Financial Analysis
    Procter & Gamble – The Gillette Company

    Lavanya leads Strategy and Financial analysis for the ~$7Billion Gillette and Venus businesses. She leads an elite team of senior managers responsible for creating and driving business strategy for sustained growth and profitability.  With close to 14 years of managerial experience, Lavanya has lived and worked in many different countries (India, the Philippines, Singapore and the US).  The vast and diverse experiences, has led her to believe in the true value of diversity – to build and drive organizational results. She sits on the Board of P&Gs Finance Asian American Network and the Board of P&Gs Asia Pacific American network of Greater Boston. Lavanya also coaches a number of Women Managers both within and outside the Company.  

    Elena J. Raffensperger de von Fedak, AVP Sr Director of International Taxation
    Liberty Mutual Insurance

    Elena is a CPA with ten years of high-level supervisory and executive functions in two of the big five accounting firms and considerable experience with multinational clients including many fortune 500 companies. She is currently responsible for proactively developing company-wide tax strategies. Elena’s experience includes both compliance and advisory tax work for multinational Corporations and Individuals, especially in the areas of service, manufacture, energy, hi-tech and insurance companies.

    Manny Correia, Chief Administrative Officer
    CFS Consulting Services LLC

    With over 25 years of experience as a senior executive, consultant and coach, Manny drives exceptional performance by creating and fostering an inclusive culture that inspires individuals to fulfill their potential and contribute to superior business outcomes. With a particular passion for diversity and inclusion, Manny has held leadership roles on numerous non-profit boards.

    Jim Plocica, Vice President – Assistant Treasurer
    Bright Horizons Family Solutions

    Jim Plocica is Vice President – Assistant Treasurer at Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC where he is responsible for treasury and banking operations, long-term planning, and investor communications.  Jim was part of a core team that took the company private in 2008 in a $1.4 billion leveraged buyout with Bain Capital Partners, a private equity fund sponsor.  Jim is a founding member of the Bright Horizons Diversity Council and also co-chairs the GLBT affinity group. 

    Amanda Strong, Director, Asset Management 
    Colony Realty Partners, LLC  

    Amanda is responsible for overseeing a portfolio of office, industrial, and multi-family assets in Atlanta, Georgia.  Ms. Strong also has twelve years of experience in Retail Real Estate with leasing and research experience from Marshalls, Inc., and Staples, Inc. and is a founding member of the African American Real Estate Professionals of New England.

    Colleen Richards Powell, Deputy Director
    Commonwealth Compact
    Colleen Richards Powell is the Director for Commonweath Compact -  an initiative to make to make Greater Boston a desired destination for people of color, immigrants, and women, in the belief that their contributions will be vital to the region’s social and economic future. The CC is committed to increase recruitment, hiring, management, and governance practices of people of color and women throughout our organizations, especially in management, senior management, and board governance positions.

    Jan
    30

    I found some interesting videos about Babson College that I would like to share with the team.

    Enjoy and feel proud of being part of this dream.

    Babson College video #1

    http://www.babson.edu/internal/james/video_editing/babson_flash/looping.html

    Thought and Action at Babson College

    http://www.babson.edu/video/thoughtAndAction/thoughtAndAction.html

    Campaign video

    http://www.babson.edu/video/campaign/video.html

    Jan
    27

    NYT Article on Babson

    Posted In: Babson General by Bernardo Sosa

     

     

    Today I stumbled upon this article about Babson in the New York Times. It’s more about the e-Tower undergrad community at Babson, but it speaks to Babson’s incredible entrepreneurship tradition. I’m sure there are many prospective students reading this blog now and this article can be a good way to really get to know Babson’s spirit and entrepreneurial leadership tradition.

    PS: And also, our own Anabelle Desangles (member of the Latin America Business Club) is in one of the pictures on the article…