Alumni Interview Series
Cheng-Soon Lau, Class of 1988, Managing Director, INVESCO Real Estate Asia
Amir Mansour, '09 - Class Agent
Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: GSB News
A: Yes, I think so. I think the students at the GSB ought to look further down the road and to realize that the road they embark on postgraduation may not be the end-all. I doubt many of them have the idea that they are going to end up in investment banking or consulting all their lives. I'm sure many of them understand that it's just a steppingstone. Maybe banking or consulting could be something that they end up loving and wanting to do all their lives, but for many of them I think they do understand, hopefully, that it could lead to a lot more.
Q: What opportunities do you see for GSB graduates in Asia and where can we really add value in these emerging economies?
A: I think the opportunities are tremendous in Asia, primarily because there is a lot of growth out here. Even in these difficult or uncertain times, growth in many of the economies here is still going to be positive. Hence I think the opportunities for GSB graduates are going to be large over the immediate future as well as the long term. Clearly, financial services continues to grow out here and more importantly general industry is very healthy. I think there are a lot of opportunities for those who are either inclined towards working in general industry or being in the services industry that supports general industry. The sophistication of the markets has increased greatly, but there is still a lot of improvement that will occur over the long term. If you just look at capital markets in Japan there is a lot more sophistication in that market versus the rest of Asia. There will be some catch-up in the rest of the Asian markets that will create opportunities for graduates of the GSB who are equipped to provide more sophisticated products and services. That's where a lot of value-added is going to come.
Q: One thing you hear about MBAs is that perhaps the MBA skillset is not the best to have in an emerging markets 'Wild-West' business environment.
A: I think that's rather a general statement because it all depends on the character of the person who owns the MBA. There are clearly street-smart MBAs and book-smart MBAs. I think that street-smart MBAs in Asia typically succeed; maybe they would have succeeded even without an MBA. Clearly being street-smart and un- derstanding what works and what doesn't work in this part of the world is important, as it's similar to the US or to Europe. The MBA equips you with some basic knowledge and framework to approach business problems, but at the end of the day it is the individual which counts and their level of savvy and business sense. That applies whether or not you are in Asia or somewhere in the US.
Q: What opportunities do you see for GSB graduates in Asia and where can we really add value in these emerging economies?
A: I think the opportunities are tremendous in Asia, primarily because there is a lot of growth out here. Even in these difficult or uncertain times, growth in many of the economies here is still going to be positive. Hence I think the opportunities for GSB graduates are going to be large over the immediate future as well as the long term. Clearly, financial services continues to grow out here and more importantly general industry is very healthy. I think there are a lot of opportunities for those who are either inclined towards working in general industry or being in the services industry that supports general industry. The sophistication of the markets has increased greatly, but there is still a lot of improvement that will occur over the long term. If you just look at capital markets in Japan there is a lot more sophistication in that market versus the rest of Asia. There will be some catch-up in the rest of the Asian markets that will create opportunities for graduates of the GSB who are equipped to provide more sophisticated products and services. That's where a lot of value-added is going to come.
Q: One thing you hear about MBAs is that perhaps the MBA skillset is not the best to have in an emerging markets 'Wild-West' business environment.
A: I think that's rather a general statement because it all depends on the character of the person who owns the MBA. There are clearly street-smart MBAs and book-smart MBAs. I think that street-smart MBAs in Asia typically succeed; maybe they would have succeeded even without an MBA. Clearly being street-smart and un- derstanding what works and what doesn't work in this part of the world is important, as it's similar to the US or to Europe. The MBA equips you with some basic knowledge and framework to approach business problems, but at the end of the day it is the individual which counts and their level of savvy and business sense. That applies whether or not you are in Asia or somewhere in the US.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Willie
posted 5/13/08 @ 4:40 PM CST
I just came back from Hongkong and Shanghai, talked with several people there. Although I feel the same way as Mr. Lau here that there are many opportunites there in Asia, yet it takes time and good opportunity to get to a position you want to me. (Continued…)
Amir
Amir
posted 5/13/08 @ 7:30 PM CST
Hi Willie, thanks for your comment. I presume that access to the top jobs, relative to the US, is to a slightly greater degree based on informal networking in these Asian business hubs. (Continued…)
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