The conference is cosponsored by the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®) and the MBA Roundtable.
This program has concluded. If you have any questions, please send an email to programs@gmac.com.
When and Where
Wednesday January 31-Saturday February 3, 2007
Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club
501 Fifth Avenue, NE
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 USA
Phone: 1-727-894-1000
Fax: 1-727-822-2785
Toll-free: 1-888-303-4430
Closest Airports
Tampa Airport (TPA) - (22 miles)
St. Petersburg Airport (PIE) - (12 miles)
Who Should Attend?
The conference is designed exclusively for academic and administrative MBA program directors. Attendance is limited to two participants per school that uses the GMAT® exam.
Overview
Thinking Outside of the Box is a business term used so often that to say it is almost thinking within the box. However, beyond-the-four-walls type of thinking is exactly what is happening in both individual business schools and across the industry, as graduate management education continues to break new ground through displays of impressive creativity and dynamism.
From curricular innovation to restructuring the design and delivery of an MBA, the ability to innovate one’s program has become a mandate to stay competitive in the industry. The 2007 MBA Leadership Conference will help you focus on how you can elevate your MBA Program to the next level through creativity, inspiration, and innovation.
Program Timing
The 2007 program will begin with an optional workshop for new program directors at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 31. The Welcome Reception for all attendees will follow at 7:00 p.m. The program will conclude by noon on Saturday, February 3, 2007.
Please view our 2007 Agenda-at-a Glance for more information.
General Sessions
- CREATE: LOOK AT MORE STUFF. THINK ABOUT IT HARDER.
Andy Stefanovich, Founder and Director, Play.
If Play, a consulting firm which empowers clients to use innovation and creativity to develop their products and people, used titles, Andy Stefanovich would be CEO.
This leader of thinking about what’s next will open the 2007 Leadership Conference by speaking with our audience about the principles of creative thinking. However, Andy firmly believes that just talking about creativity is not enough – to learn to be better, one must put ideas into practice.
Andy will therefore walk our audience (literally!) through an interactive workshop aimed at better developing the five-step process to more creative thinking.
- INNOVATE: LOOK AT YOUR PROGRAM. THINK ABOUT IT HARDER.
Harry Davis, Professor of Creative Management, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, and
Nancy Snyder, Corporate Vice President, Leadership and Strategic Competency Creation, Whirlpool.
When one hears the name Whirlpool, it most likely conjures images of washing machines and other household appliances. However, the next generation of MBA students will likely think "innovation" when Whirlpool’s name is raised.
By weaving ideas of innovation throughout the organization with customized executive education, Whirlpool has become an example of how a company can reinvent itself to boost morale, environment, culture, and the bottom line.
Drawing from the Whirlpool case, the audience will walk through 3 levels of innovation using the performing arts to create a mental model for individual creativity, team innovation and embedding innovation as a core competency.
Joel Podolny, Dean, Yale School of Management
Yale School of Management Dean, Joel Podolny will be interviewed by Harry Davis and Nancy Snyder to demonstrate how one MBA Program is exercising its innovative IQ. Having announced their new curriculum in Spring of 2006 and implemented it by the following Fall, Dean Podolny is spearheading one of the most buzzed-about curriculum reforms in the MBA landscape these days. This interview-style session will allow you a glimpse into Yale' new curriculum—the rationale and intentions, the structure and content, the inspiration and the process—and perhaps provide you with a new perspective on your own academic offerings.
- EDUCATE: LOOK AT THE MBA. THINK ABOUT IT HARDER
Blair Sheppard, CEO, Duke Corporate Education.
With one eye on the recent and current state of graduate management education, and the other on the future of business, how will business schools need to think about their own futures in terms of delivery and design of the MBA? Blair Sheppard's career has been built around this very question, leading to the creation of two innovative management education programs at Duke's Fuqua School of Business.
From his current role as CEO of Duke Corporate Education, Blair will assess the current state of business education and offer insight as to some of the challenges of educating future business leaders.
This closing session will ask you to think critically about the future of b-schools, from addressing questions ranging from whether we are getting the right people into the right MBA programs with the right education to looking ahead to the value of, and market for, the MBA degree.
Concurrent Sessions
The MBA Leadership Conference features smaller sessions where program directors, faculty and outside experts share their knowledge and/or best practices. Sessions for the 2007 program include:
- Assurance of Learning
- Career Management for Part-Time Students
- Critical Thinking for MBA Students
- Curricula Innovations in Full-Time Programs
- Experiential Learning in Part-Time Programs
- Incident Crisis Management
- The Market for MBAs among Military Personnel
- The Millennials are Here
- Professional Code of Conduct for Students
- Resource Allocation
- Social Entrepreneurship in MBA Programs
- Student Satisfaction in Part-Time Programs
- Teaching Leadership
- Invest in You: Personal Enrichment Activities
For a complete listing of all sessions and descriptions, please click here.
MBA Research Series Sessions
The MBA Research Series features three short research presentations by GMAC Management Education Research Institute (MERInstitute) Faculty Fellows and Grant Awardees. Authors will present their conclusions and you will engage in conversation about the implications, conclusions, and ramifications of the research.
Registration Fee
The registration fee is US$2,100. This fee includes four nights of accommodations (Wednesday, January 31, through Saturday, February 3, 2007, with check-out on Sunday) at the conference hotel, all scheduled meals and all program materials. (There is no fee reduction for a stay of less than four nights.)
A limited number of hotel rooms are available on Tuesday, January 30, at a rate of US$261 per night, payable upon hotel check-out. This additional night may be booked during the online conference registration process.
Registration
The program has filled and the waitlist is closed. If you have any questions, please send an email to programs@gmac.com.
Companion Package
If you would like an adult companion to accompany you to Wednesday evening's reception and Thursday's dinner, the cost of the package is US$95. This can be completed during the online registration process.
Dress and Weather
Dress for the conference is business casual.
Average temperatures in February in St. Petersburg range from a low of 50°F (12°C) to highs of 70°F (21°C). As the hotel meeting rooms may be chilly we recommend you dress in layers. Closer to the conference, St. Petersburg weather reports for February may be found here.
Planning Your Travel
Each attendee is responsible for making his/her own travel arrangements. GMAC will make your hotel reservation based on information you provide in the registration process.
For hotel directions, parking, amenities, activities, business office, and daily internet charges please click here.
Estimated taxi fares from Tampa Airport to the hotel is US$48 (one way) and the travel time is approximately 30 minutes. Estimated taxi fares from St. Petersburg Airport to the hotel is US$24 (one way) and the travel time is approximately 20 minutes.
For other ground transportation options please click here for more details.
For information on local attractions and landmarks please click here for details.
Cancellation and Substitution Policies
In the event that you must cancel your participation in this program, please download and complete the official GMAC cancellation and substitution form and send it to us at the mailing address or fax number listed on the form.
If you must cancel your registration but wish to send another program director (or someone with an equivalent role) from your school in your place, you may use the cancellation and substitution form to register that person.
The cancellation and substitution policies and penalties are listed on the form.
Further Information
If you have any questions about the 2007 MBA Leadership Conference, please send an email to programs@gmac.com.
LOOK AT STUFF and THINK ABOUT IT HARDER are service marks of Play.