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Company Executive Testimonials UCLA Anderson Global Access Program. Finland

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Company Executive Testimonials

UCLA Anderson Global Access Program

Y

Finland

2009

BC Platforms (www.bcplatforms.com)

I was incredibly happy with the market research, says Anita Eliasson, COO of BC Platforms, which develops data management solutions for research data. “The students were able to find a new tool for our efforts and found that the match with customers in the United States is nearly perfect.

Beneq (www.beneq.com)

Interested in market expansion in the U.S., CEO Sampo Ahonen says, “The GAP team looked at 16 market opportunities and 1 we didn’t know about that had a huge potential for us. We thought that we had been looking at all of the existing opportunities.”

Confidex (www.confidex.net)

VP Jarkko Miettinen says, “My experiences with GAP both with this company and another made me come back for my third time this year. It brings great value for your money. GAP provided us with a concrete business plan for the United States market that we will fully utilize.” Confidex specialized in RFID tag technology. Bill Compitello, Director of Sales & Business Development, says, “The students provided a positive and fresh outlook from outside of the industry.

Flexibilis (www.flexibilis.com)

The most important part of the GAP project was the market analysis,” comments Niilo Neilimo, VP of Operations, “which was very cost-effective and which we have already sent to venture capitalists.” Flexibilis is a leading Field Programmable Gate Array service provider and specializes in designing digital signal processing and telecommunications device platforms.

Ixonos (www.ixonos.com)

Like many fast growing companies, Ixonos, which develops mobile products, has many varied opportunities that can be overwhelming. “One of the benefits for us,” says Vice President Timo Kaisla, “was that the GAP project narrowed our potential possibilities, which was very good; we also got access to industry players.”

Jidea (www.jcad.fi)

“The GAP program gave us honest answers about product capabilities,” says CEO Antti Leikas. Jidea develops and sells CAD software for the building and construction industry. Liisa

Nurkkala, Sales Manager, adds, “I am quite pleased with the group’s work. All of my questions were answered.

Miratel (www.miratel.fi)

I had one of the best teams…all five people came together with different point of views to form a fun and humorous group,” says Janne Kostamo, Managing Director at Miratel, which designs

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and installs nurse call systems. Kalle Punto, Sales Director, adds, “They had many good questions for us that made us think, even about the Finnish market.”

Mobidiag (www.mobidiag.com)

I am very satisfied and proud of my team,” comments CEO Jaakko Pellosniermi about the plan for U.S. market entry for his company, which was back in GAP for a second time. His view was substantiated by the panelists at the final presentation, which he describes: “The panelists said that the GAP plan had exceptional high value for us.”

Modulight (www.modulight.com)

President and CEO Petteri Uusimaa describes the value of the GAP project, which was to expand the company’s laser products in U.S. “It was very good to get a second opinion,” he says, “on how we see the market. During the team’s market study they interviewed experts and gave us a valuable independent evaluation.”

Regea (www.regea.fi)

GAP gave us a chance, outside of our institute, to research both of our product lines,” says Quality Manager and Vice Director Tiia Tallinen of Regea, which engages in cell and tissue engineering. “The students were able to discover that one product, and not the other, should be commercialized, which we will do.

Remote Analysis (www.remoteanalysis.net)

The experience with the students was very professional,” says Timo Hakkarainen, Marketing Director. The company specializes in remote medical analysis. Hakkarainen continues, “The students helped us find which of our products are viable in the United States and helped us in our goal to expand not just in the United States but in other global markets as well.

SR-Instruments (www.sr-instruments.com)

When asked how the GAP project will affect SR-Instruments, which manufactures optical quality assurance systems, Managing Director Mikael Kurth says that “the recommendations will be put into place soon.” He goes on to say, “For a small company like us, it’s not possible to have the resources to do this type of a project, which identified the markets for our global strategy.”

Syrinx Bioanalytics (www.syrinxbioanalytics.com)

Dr. Sari Liitti, CEO, says, “Our experience with GAP was very healthy. It was a chance to get students to look inside of the company from the outside.” Syrinx focuses on the bioanalysis and immunogenicity testing of biological drugs, vaccines, biomarkers and small molecules. VP Ilari Vainio adds, “It was fantastic to know the students on a personal level. They were ambitious and we were able to reach the same level of altitude with them.

Vilant Systems (www.vilant.com)

After CEO Antti Virkkunen was not happy with the results from undergraduate student projects at another university, he spoke with fellow entrepreneurs who recommended the Fully

Employed MBA GAP. “You shouldn’t think of them as students,” he says. “They were seasoned and self-motivated; they understood our problem and they were fast to find answers.”

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  Audico Systems (www.audico.fi)

Audico Systems' Managing Director Harri Leiva was impressed with the on-going

communication with the students. "We had discussions every two weeks with an agenda for every call," he says. "This project opened our eyes on what we should do." The company designs and manufactures sound reproduction, conference and voice alarm systems.

Blancco (www.blancco.com)

"There is little to lose and a lot to gain," comments Markku Willgren, VP Sales & Business Development NA, about participation in the GAP program. He continues, "The program gives companies an opportunity to get a formal and independent second opinion to either validate or disqualify business assumptions." Blancco is an international data security company

specializing in data destruction and computer reuse management solutions.

Clothing+ (www.clothingplus.fi)

Heikki Jaakkola, R&D Manager at Clothing+, which provides R&D and manufacturing services of e-textiles, didn't wait until the conclusion of the project to begin implementation. "We've already taken action on the recommendations," he says. "They told us to enter a specific industry and we did."

Fastrax Ltd. (www.fastrax.fi)

Fastrax Ltd., which develops Global Navigation Satellite System receivers, development tools for GPS receivers and a software development kit for GPS applications, wanted to "establish a business plan for one of the business units to address the US market," according to Kim Kaisti, VP Business Development. "The students are very motivated," says Director of Sales &

Marketing Fredrik Borgstrom. "The way they are guided from the school is impressive."

Footbalance (www.footbalance.com)

"We found a partner because of this project," says Footbalance Partner Antti Pihlakoski, who is "very happy and very pleased" with the results. Footbalance develops insoles to support the foot and will implement the plan's recommendations by expanding to 22 stores over the next six months. "I made new friends," he says about the students, whom he describes as "nice and very clever.”

Mylab Corporation (www.mylab.fi)

Mylab Corporation, a high technology enterprise that offers healthcare management information services, currently has an 80 percent market share in Finland. According to CEO Esa Soini, the goal of the GAP project was to evaluate international options. "We are already taking the recommendations into consideration in our international strategy," he says. "The students put their whole heart into the study," says Shuwei Fu, China Operation Director. "We formed relationships that will last longer than this experience.”

Novamass Ltd. (www.novamass.net)

Jouko Uusitalo, CEO and Founder of Novamass Ltd., describes his reaction at the conclusion of the project. "When I got the plan and read it, I was thrilled with the quality and the

recommendations." Novamass Ltd, a contract research organization, plans to enter the U.S. market.

ProWellness (www.prowellness.com)

"As a result of the project, ProWellness, which provides solutions for the management, monitoring and preventive care of chronic diseases, decided to change course.” Managing Director Markku Riipinen explains: "Originally, our project was to investigate the possibility for

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market entry into the U.S. However, the students recommended that we concentrate in Europe." Vice President Petteri Lahtela adds, "The thorough market analysis and very good

recommendations by UCLA team provided definitely helped ProWellness management and Board of Directors doing the strategic decisions."

Rapal (www.rapal.fi)

"This is the second time we've participated in the program, and we got very good information both times," says Tuomas Kaarlehto, CEO and Partner. He adds, "The faculty advisor was able to bring a wider perspective on our business." Rapal provides tools and services for building owners and users.

Tamware (www.tamware.fi)

"The business plan was more than we expected," says Financial Director Tommi Latva of Tamware, which designs and manufactures pneumatic, electric and manual door systems for public transportation vehicles. He continues, "We found out a lot of information about our competitors and customers and we received good recommendations on how to enter the U.S. market."

Tracker Security (www.trackersecurity.com)

"We had weekly contact with the students during the project," says Janne Maijala, CEO of Tracker Security, which develops, sells and manufactures telemetry devices. "The end result consisted of a lot of useful market information based on the thorough research done by our team of students”.

2007

Cesim (www.cesim.com)

Thinking about entering the US market for some time, Cesim, which provides educational business simulation games, decided to participate in the GAP program to evaluate that option. “The primary research was the number one value for us,” says Veijo Kyosti, Managing Director.

Cidercone (www.cidercone.com)

Cidercone, which provides wireless and web-based solutions wasted no time in adopting the GAP team’s suggestions. “We’ve already implemented partnership negotiations,” says CEO Tuomas Kohila. “The result of our GAP project was a very good document.”

Confidex (www.confidex.fi)

These are bright, young people who worked 2,000 hours on this project,” effuses Timo

Lindstrom, CEO of Confidex, which manufactures RFID tags. The business plan developed by the GAP team for entry into the US market was “very valuable.” Describing the GAP program, Mr. Lindstrom says, “This program is well planned, well developed and easy to attend.”

Idesco (www.idesco.fi)

What would have taken us one to two years to research,” says CEO Jari Valtonen, “took the GAP team only six months.” RFID manufacturer Idesco was interested in the feasibility of entering the US market. “The results were a ‘No go’ and we received a very clear picture of why we should not enter the United States at this time.”

ITMill (www.itmill.com)

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which offers products and services that support web user interfaces. “They worked hard and they were always available. The team put a huge amount of effort into our discussions.”

Mobisoft (www.mobisoft.fi)

Mobisoft participated in the GAP program to crack the North American market with their

software solutions that automate passenger dispatching and scheduling. “We could have never done this ourselves,” discloses Managing Director Heikki Karintaus, “because we are so deep inside the company, it’s hard to see the big picture.” For Mobisoft, one of the benefits of the GAP project was the research. “The students talked to our competitors,” continues Mr. Karintaus. “The market research was perfect.”

Satel (www.satel.com)

It was great to have an outside view of the company,” says Managing Director Tuomas Pitkanen. Satel, which provides low band, long range radio modems, wanted to expand within the US market. “The GAP students created a lot of discussion and raised new ideas.”

Sofia Digital Ltd. (www.sofiadigital.com)

We received a solid business plan that the company can act on,” says Hannu Anttila, Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Sofia Digital, which creates and delivers digital TV content and interactive services on set-top box and mobile phones. “We were surprised to see how much primary research they did – it was very useful.

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