Accelerating Through the Turn

The pace hasn’t slowed here at the Wisconsin School of Business.  The first-year curriculum, which consists of a challenging and engaging core, has given us plenty to study, discuss and apply.  We always have something to prepare for – exams, team projects, individual assignments, presentations - and more is set to come. 

To be honest, it’s been a welcome surprise.  Like most MBAs in the class, I came to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for my MBA because of its specialized curriculum.  Many of us are eager to hit the ground running and the school does a tremendous job immersing students into what they’re most passionate about.  However, I have to admit, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our core classes, such as Marketing and Teams, which incorporate thoughtful discussion and real-world application.  It has also been a great way to connect with non-Real Estate MBAs and share the experience of being a graduate student.  For instance, after an intense week finishing our marketing case report, I celebrated with a group of MBAs over an East meets West meal. 

Clockwise from the left: Mitesh Patel (Real Estate MBA’14), Ekow Bedu-Amissah (Corporate Finance and Investment Banking MBA’14), Ramesh Kanthilal (Real Estate MBA’14), Dan Corry (Strategic Human Resource Management MBA’14) and Michael Mostek (Supply Chain Management MBA’14); de-stressing after our Marketing 700 case report over Leininkugels and a home-cooked Ghanian meal.

Of course, I’m still getting a full portion of real estate.  The James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate and Real Estate Club continue to set up an impressive slate of esteemed speakers, including:

• Bradley Olsen of Atlantic Partners, who gave a detailed overview of the current political, regulatory, financial and real estate environment in Europe.

• Carl Ruedebusch and Kyle Adams (BBA’09) of Ruedebusch Development & Construction and Michael Waidelich with the City of Madison, who presented on the planning, remediation, and funding on Royster-Clark, a multi-year, 27-acre development project.

• Bob McClain of Crow Holdings, who presented the firm’s history, performance and strategy and came to recruit on-campus.

Most recently, Michael Brennan, Executive Director of the Graaskamp Center, conducted a special student Q&A with Gerald Hines, Founder and Chairman of Hines, and John Wood, Managing Director of the Chicago office.  It was an amazing opportunity to listen to one of the most storied entrepreneurs in real estate, learn about the firm’s history, culture and strategy and hear his unique outlook on life and what he portends for the future.  Mr. Hines, with wit and energy, ended the Q&A with the adventurous spirit of a true developer, wishing us all well on our aspirations and that we “don’t go broke” chasing them.

Mitesh Patel comes to Madison from New York, NY, where he focused on raising third-party capital for Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity.  Mitesh would like to use his diverse work experience to pursue a role investing in public and private real estate.