Cambridge Judge Business School was delighted to welcome the British Ambassador to Brazil, Alan Charlton, on 16 May 2013. During the visit, Ambassador Charlton shared his views on what the Financial Times recently called “the world’s most exciting nation”, the prospects it offers, the challenges it faces, and the opportunities it holds for the University of Cambridge.

The visit provided the Cambridge community with a valuable insight into Ambassador Charlton’s views at a time when Brazil has emerged as a global leader in business, culture and science.

Cambridge Judge Business School has established a number of relationships with Brazillian organisations over the last couple of years and has welcomed executives on to the MBA, Master of Finance and Executive Education open programmes. The School is also engaging with a number of organisations who are looking for the benefits our tailor-made custom programmes can provide.

As Head of Mission in Brazil since 2008, Ambassador Charlton leads three posts – Brasilia, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro – in addition to the network of Honorary Consuls. He was educated at Cambridge (Gonville and Caius, 1971), Leicester and Manchester universities and has a degree in modern languages and linguistics and a postgraduate certificate of education. He was appointed Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1996, and Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 2007.

Find out more

If you are interested in hearing more about the event, please email Afua Osei, Business Development Director, Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education.

Billionaire Daniel Loeb’s bid to break up Sony Corp. (6758) will need to overcome a history of failed efforts by activist investors in Japan … Even so, Sony’s international image and reputation for being open to foreign ideas, including having a non-Japanese CEO until recently, mean Loeb has a chance to make an impact, said John Buchanan, who co-authored a study of 49 shareholder initiatives between 2000 and 2008 at the Centre for Business Research at Cambridge University…”

Read the full article [businessweek.com]

Dr Pedro Saffi, University Lecturer in Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, took the prestigious American Finance Association’s annual meeting through the findings of ongoing studies into the role of institutional investors in influencing firm-level corporate governance through proxy voting.

Working with colleagues from Georgetown University, Dr Saffi says their revised approach using new methodology has allowed them to sketch a more accurate picture around the role of institutional investors and the proxy-voting process.

In an interview for the Cambridge Judge Business School website, Dr Saffi repeated his call for increased transparency allowing the investors to know exactly what their votes will be used for.

He says that in the wake of the financial crisis many regulatory changes have been introduced in America that are designed to improve financial markets including the way proxy-voting takes place.

“By making the whole process more transparent and giving information to investors they can make better decisions that should keep managers on top.

“In the UK, shareholder decisions on pay are actually binding in terms of what management can do. In the past couple of years we have seen an increase in shareholder activism in the sense that when companies were not doing so well and their profits were going down, shareholders turned down big bonuses and payments to managers. At the end of the day it’s good for society and shareholders in general because they should only be paid for good performance.”

Find out more

Visit Dr Pedro Saffi’s faculty webpage

Dr Pedro Saffi, University Lecturer in Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, took the prestigious American Finance Association’s annual meeting through the findings of ongoing studies into the role of institutional investors in influencing firm-level corporate governance through proxy voting.

Working with colleagues from Georgetown University, Dr Saffi says their revised approach using new methodology has allowed them to sketch a more accurate picture around the role of institutional investors and the proxy-voting process.

In an interview for the Cambridge Judge Business School website, Dr Saffi repeated his call for increased transparency allowing the investors to know exactly what their votes will be used for.

He says that in the wake of the financial crisis many regulatory changes have been introduced in America that are designed to improve financial markets including the way proxy-voting takes place.

“By making the whole process more transparent and giving information to investors they can make better decisions that should keep managers on top.

“In the UK, shareholder decisions on pay are actually binding in terms of what management can do. In the past couple of years we have seen an increase in shareholder activism in the sense that when companies were not doing so well and their profits were going down, shareholders turned down big bonuses and payments to managers. At the end of the day it’s good for society and shareholders in general because they should only be paid for good performance.”

Find out more

Watch the video on YouTube
Visit Dr Pedro Saffi’s faculty webpage

Terence Tse is an associate professor at the London campus of ESCP Europe , where he teaches corporate finance … He obtained his doctoral degree from Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK …”

Read the full article [ft.com]

Commercial Bank has announced the launch of the 2013 Future Leaders Programme in partnership with the University of Cambridge (UK) … Delivered in partnership with Cambridge Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge, the 18-month scheme will have seven modules conducted by professors from the business school and delivered at Commercial Bank Academy, a dedicated training centre in the heart of Doha…”

Read the full article [gulf-times.com]

Many popular phrases have their roots in sports. For example, the cliché “there is no ‘i’ in team” comes from the idea that a cohesive team of players is more likely to win games than a collection of individual superstars … Neither of these ideas is necessarily true in sports or in business. In a book titled ‘There Is an I in Team’, Cambridge Judge Business School’s Dr Mark de Rond explores a variety of research studies and comes to the conclusion that a focus on interpersonal harmony can actually hurt team performance…”

Read the full article [forbes.com]

Russia is a member of leading world organisations and blocs. Russia’s accession to the WTO was long awaited and seen by many as a step towards further global integration … Dr Christos Pitelis is interviewed…”

Listen now [ruvr.ru]

The event, entitled ‘Cars and the climate: are we geared up for the challenge?’ focused on the contribution to be made by drivers and the car industry in the UK’s efforts to tackle climate change.

Dr Hope spoke alongside Lord Deben, Chair of the Committee on Climate Change; Professor Dame Julia King, author of the King Review of Low-carbon Cars; Doug Parr, Chief Scientist and Policy Director at Greenpeace UK; and Richard Parry-Jones, Chair of the Automotive Council and Chairman of Network Rail.

Find out more

Watch Chris Hope’s contribution
Visit the RAC Foundation website
Read Chris Hope’s blog
Follow Chris Hope on Twitter