August 2008

The Lester Center Thanks Howard Lester

The Lester Center thanks Williams-Sonoma Chairman and CEO Howard Lester for his generous endowment of $1 million to the Lester Center this summer.  This endowment will be used to continue cultivating and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in management at UC Berkeley.

In 1991, Lester made a significant gift to the Haas School's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which subsequently was named after him.

Lester has been a Haas School board member since 1994, and served as the board's chairman from 2005 to 2007. He received the Haas School's Business Leader of the Year award in 2003 for his outstanding contributions to the school and the retail industry. He spent the first two decades of his career in the software industry and developed Centurex Corp., which became one of the leading suppliers of software systems to America's banks in the 1970s.  While searching for a new venture, Lester discovered Williams-Sonoma, purchased the tiny cookware retail chain, and transformed it into the country's premier specialty retailer of home furnishings. Today, Williams-Sonoma brands include Pottery Barn and West Elm.

The gift will support operations at the center, a broad array of experiential learning, extracurricular activities for students, and academic research and entrepreneurial curriculum development across UC Berkeley.

Fall 2008 is Underway!

The Lester Center Gears Up for the Coming Semester

The Lester Center has a lineup of amazing programs this semester, as well as new curriculum for students including:

• Our 08-09 season of the renowned Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum series, which will include award-winning speakers discussing such exciting topics as:
• Venture Capital
• Common Management Blunders and how to Avoid Them
  
• The launch of the Berkeley Business Plan Competition, the Global Social Venture Competition (celebrating its tenth year!), and the Venture Capital Investement Competition, all of which will continue into the spring 2009 semester.
• The Intel + Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge (finals at the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum in November)
  
• A new course in Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates is part of our new joint Entrepreneurship Initiative with the College of Letters and Science.  Read about this initiative.

August 28, 2008 UC Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum

Join us at the first UC Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum of the 08-09 season with our annual assessment of the venture financing environment.  The program, The Changing Face of Venture Investing, will review last year's venture financing results and compare it to the current and projected activities. A panel of distinguished venture capitalists will discuss trends, including hot sectors and developments in venture valuations and deal terms.  The Panel of speakers will include Steve Bengston, Managing Director Emerging Company Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers; Bill Reichert, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures; and Prashant Shah, Managing Director, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.

Moderator: Sam Angus, Fenwick & West

"Great Entrepreneurs need to stay current on all the options for financing their businesses.  Our annual Venture Capital Forum is a great way to stay up to speed."
-Jerry Engel, Executive Director of the Lester Center

The Forum will take place on Thursday, August 28th, from 6:30 to 8:45 pm, at the Haas School of Business, in the Arthur Andersen Auditorium.  The Forum will be preceeded by a student information session on the Lester Center, which is open to students only.

New reduced Registration Fee! The Forum now costs only $20 per person!

Register now to attend.  Our registration site contains details about parking, fees and student admissions.  Click here for more information on this month's forum.  Click here for more information on the series.

Corporate memberships (2 attendees): $300; member firms receive all of the above for two people chosen by the firm. (call 510-642-4255 to register a Corporate membership)

Executive Learning Program--Registration Open Now!

Open Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship Program

The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is pleased to partner with the Center for Executive Development at the Haas School of Business to bring you programs that prepare you to lead innovation and accelerate business success. Today's leading companies rely on many sources of innovation-internal development as well as partnering with young and emerging companies.  How can you help your company sustain and accelerate its innovation excellence?
 
Open Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship (September 15-19, 2008) provides a framework to create, innovate and manage new business and growth initiatives within your firm or organization. See also Related Articles. 
 
Register now!

Questions? Call Bart Decker at +1 510 642 9167 or 877 UCB EXEC (822 2932), or email bsd@haas.berkeley.edu.

Lester Center Hosts unternehmerTUM program, August 18-22nd

EMBA Program visits UC Berkeley for an Intensive Learning Session

The Lester Center is proud to host the first annual TUM program for the unternehmerTUM EMBAs, an Executive Program in Innovation and Business Creation.   This EMBA program combines the strengths of two top German universities − TUM - the Technische Universität München and HHL - the Leipzig Graduate School of Management − with the entrepreneurial competences of UnternehmerTUM, the centre for entrepreneurship at TUM.  The Program, entitled "Experience Silicon Valley," will be taught by Professors Jerry Engel and David Charron.

David Charron, Associate Director for the Lester Center, describes the TUM program at Haas next week as an "entrepreneurship bootcamp."