RSM Outlook Winter 2008

Q&A with Carien van der Laan (Lesa Sawahata)

Her CV is impressive: an early career as a corporate attorney, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and subsequent management positions for such companies as McKinsey, KPN and Versatel. It’s clear that Carien van der Laan has succeeded in what might be termed ‘a man’s world’, giving her substantial insight into the frustrations and opportunities of being a woman in business. In 2004 Van der Laan and her partner Bercan Günel founded Woman Capital, an agency that pairs experienced female executives with top-level management positions.

Greening: climate change (Lesa Sawahata)

Professor Gail Whiteman has said she doesn’t want to be the ‘poster child’ for sustainability at RSM. Sadly It’s too late. Gail is perhaps the most visible, and one of the most voluble, faculty members on issues related to the environment.

Strategies for turbulent times

A key question for managers facing such an unpredictable business and economic environment is how to strategise for the future? To help find the answer we sought the expertise and opinion of leaders from both business and academia. Senior executives from four world-class organisations give their perspectives as do Professor George Yip, dean of RSM and an authority on global strategy, and Professor Henk Volberda, RSM’s strategic management and business policy expert.

Reverse logistics: staying in the loop (Ben Schiller)

In years gone by, what happened to products once they had been finished with by customers was of little concern to manufacturers. Increasingly, however, driven by environmental concerns and good business sense, industry is exploring the potential benefits offered by reverse logistics and the concept of closed loop supply chains.