Christopher Fong MBA 2011
When Christopher Fong evaluated business plans and mentored entrepreneurs in Tanzania for Google.org, he realized the profound value of education. “I was so impressed with these entrepreneurs,” he said. “I thought, if I had more business education, just imagine how much more I could help them.” The Berkeley-Columbia EMBA Program offered the right education at the right time for him: an excellent general management foundation; a cohort of technology and innovation experts in his fellow students; a global focus; and a powerful breadth of curricular and extra-curricular options. “The program truly combines the best of both worlds for me—combining the best of media and advertising in New York and the best of the start-up and technology culture out West. For finance and accounting, Columbia Business School is really second to none. Entrepreneurship and venture capital is amazing at Berkeley.” “It doesn’t get better than learning about globalization, markets and the changing economic landscape from the 2001 Economics Science Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz and value investing guru Bruce Greenwald. There’s so much to take advantage of in this program.” “Having exposure to both UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Columbia Business School is only the start. During our elective classes, we interact with students in Columbia’s other partner programs, as well. We were recently reviewing a case on a company’s operations in Russia, and it was enlightening to hear directly from someone who is working in Russia while he commutes to the EMBA Global program, Columbia Business School’s joint program with London Business School.” “When I now deal with clients, I can engage on a different level of conversation. At a dinner meeting with a Chief Marketing Officer client, we were able to discuss a recent conjoint analysis class and how it could be applied. Since my client was an MBA graduate as well, we were able to have a knowledgeable discussion, something which I wouldn’t have been able to do prior to this program.” “The professors are fantastic and very high-profile. I recently took an international seminar in Entrepreneurial Finance at Hong Kong University, taught by Glenn Hubbard—so I’ll graduate from this program having been taught by the Dean of Columbia Business School, who also served as chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers under George W. Bush. In addition, I’ll graduate having been taught international business by Laura Tyson, who was previously dean of the Haas School of Business and the London Business School, and who served in the same capacity as Glenn Hubbard under the Clinton Administration and currently advises the Obama Administration. She also sits on the boards of Morgan Stanley and AT&T. These and other professors are all approachable and have definitely contributed to my rich educational experience.” “There’s so much opportunity on these two campuses. On the Berkeley side, I’ve been able to take advantage of venture capital activities through the Lester Center, as a Haas Venture Fellow. On the Columbia side, I recently participated in and, with my team, won the regional finals of a Venture Capital Investment Competition. There are also so many great speakers, whether at the Business School, elsewhere on the campuses, or through alumni events.” [+] to top |
Account Executive, Google Inc., New York, New York