Event Details
Entrepreneurial Day Schedule:
3:00pm-3:15pm – New Venture Challenge Course Overview
3:15pm-4:00pm – How to Make a Business Plan Workshop
An insight into the fundamentals of writing an effective business plan for your company such as essential information to include, things to avoid and examples of good business plans.
4:15pm-5:00pm – How to Make a Pitch Workshop
An overview of making a successful pitch including presentation style, content and tools.
5:15pm-6:30pm – Entrepreneur Panel by Career Services featuring Chicago Booth alumni Matthew Durdy '00 (EXP-5), Michael B. Tinker '01 (EXP-6), Andrew Irvine '08 (EXP-13), Gabriel Ratcliffe '06 (EXP-11) and Giles Melsom '98 (EXP-3)
6:30pm - Networking Reception
Speaker Profiles
Matthew Durdy '00 (EXP-5) (Panelist)
Matthew Durdy is a serial entrepreneur specialising in effecting strategic change. He also arranged and led the buy-in by a consortium of investors into Aqix Limited where he is CEO. Aqix Limited is the first and only company to produce artificial human serum and is addressing a $7 billion market opportunity. Previously he was managing director of Biotec Laboratories Limited and director EMEA of Control Risks Group. He invested cash, successfully managed strategic change, and profitably realised his investment into both companies.
Prior to starting his own portfolio of investments in 2000, Durdy was a director responsible for investment due diligence for CDC Plc, a private equity and investment business with an international portfolio valued at over $3.5 billion. He started his career in investment banking in 1988 at Prudential of America and Bank of America Hoare Govett. Over the course of his career he has been involved in and responsible for approximately $3 billion worth of new investment, on the boards of 14 companies across a breadth of sectors, and chairman of two financial investment companies. He has a BA in natural science from Christ Church, Oxford and an MBA from Chicago Booth. He is a chartered director and fellow of the Securities Institute.
Andrew Irvine '08 (EXP-13) (Panelist)
Andrew Irvine is the CEO of TUSK Capital Management Limited (UK), a Managing Partner of TUSK Capital Russia LLC (Moscow) and Chairman of TUSK Holding (Switzerland). He set up TUSK Capital Management after having left Investec Bank (UK), prior to which he worked at AIG and Rand Merchant Bank. He has over 16 years of experience in trading, derivatives structuring and financial engineering having worked at various positions. He is a frequent participant at forums and summits related to finding sustainable solutions to a low carbon economy and a regular commentator on emerging markets. Within Russia, Mr. Irvine is actively involved in taking Russian private companies to a Russian quoted exchange and set up a securities firm there (TUSK Quadro Securities) which is currently ranked #1 by RTS (Russian Stock Exchange) in 2008. Further to this, he is also Chairman of a Hungarian based investment management company (TUSK Greenfield Capital) that provides seed and innovative early stage venture capital for clean technology firms.
Mr. Irvine has a BCom Degree (Honors) in Finance from University of Witwatersrand (South Africa). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a regular member of the UK Society of Investment Professionals (UKSIP). He also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Gabriel Ratcliffe '06 (EXP-11) (Panelist)
Gabriel Ratcliffe has spent 15 years running and advising businesses on growth. After starting in consulting, he left to run and grow an internet company bought by the Leo Burnett Group.
Since then his experience includes launching internet operations for Boots, Kelloggs, Nintendo and Morgan Stanley, as well as developing new businesses for RBS Group and the Open University and the international growth strategy for the owners of the Firetrap, Full Circle & Sonetti fashion labels.
He is currently an advisor to a European private equity firm specialising in small-to-mid market acquisitions and runs two of his own companies.
Michael Tinker '01 (EXP-6) (Panelist)
Michael Tinker has over seventeen years of management and professional experience focused in the technology and telecoms sectors. He has had the opportunity to live and work in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Most recently, Michael has been working with a number of privately held companies on strategic acquisitions. Recent permanent roles have included Managing Director of WebTV Europe, a digital music service which he sold to 2Ergo, a listed telecoms provider, and Corporate Development Director for Eposs Group, a transaction processing company with over £350m in turnover.
Prior to working independently, Michael spent seven years in management consulting with Andersen’s business consulting group in both Chicago and London. Michael began his career as a commercial and litigation lawyer in Chicago.
Michael has a Bachelor of Science in Finance, his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and an M.B.A from Chicago Booth. He is currently working on a part time BsC in Viticulture and Vinification.
Giles Melsom '98 (EXP-3) (Panelist)
Giles Melsom spent over 10 years in corporate business. A main part of this was with Stryker Corporation (Medical Devices). Next to sales and marketing he was responsible for the complete turnaround management of the European Medical Division where the local in-house production facilities were exchanged for outsourced manufacturing taking into account re-employment of employees.
After leaving Stryker he set up a company in Medical Devices focusing on the development and sales of a new line of orthopedic hip implants. During this period he also set up a joint venture with a former East German company for Medical packaging, and he acquired an External Fixation development company. Over the subsequent years he successfully sold the hip implant business, as well as the medical packaging company and retained the external fixation company.
He then set up the largest dental practice in the Netherlands with employed full time and part time dentists running a 24hr dental service in a large town in the Netherlands.
After selling his shares in the dental practice he moved to the automotive industry and set up two companies, a franchise organization in SMART Repair and a company focused on V-twin Custom Motorcycles. This company designed and now manufactures a full range of custom motorcycles in line with the strict EU regulations. These motorcycles are now marketed through a select number of dealers throughout Europe.
Currently he also engaged as a consultant for a US based Medical Company and is responsible for setting up their North European organization.