Emerging and pioneer markets are beginning to shine in the world of private equity. Among the BRIC  countries, Brazil had a very strong year in 2012, while India and China fell back. However, other areas — from Africa to Latin America and so-called “pioneer markets” – recorded good performances last year. Knowledge@Wharton takes a closer look at how private equity will perform in 2013 in this podcast with Philip Bass, global private equity markets leader at Ernst & Young, and Stephen Sammut, a  lecturer at Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs and senior fellow at Wharton’s health care management department.

 

Download the edited transcript of: Watch for Private Equity Inflows into Pioneer Markets to Grow Further in 2013

 

 

 

Oil and gas companies today want faster returns on their investments and reduced risks. To get there, they are heading to new geographies, and advanced exploration and drilling technologies. Utilities, meanwhile, are layering value-added services onto their offerings and aligning themselves closer to the customers, and natural resources companies, like mine operators, want more engagement with local governments and communities. They all also are responding to challenges around price volatility, regulations, the environment, health and safety measures, and more demanding customers. In this Future of Industry series white paper, Wharton management professor Witold Henisz and Wipro Technologies’ senior vice president, Anand Padmanabhan, explore the opportunities and challenges ahead.

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India’s nine-year-old YES BANK has used technology smartly to avoid getting overshadowed by bigger and older banks. It has pursued flexibility and speed, and avoided large up-front technology investments through outsourcing modular, off-the-shelf technology solutions to pace spending in line with growth. Large doses of creativity also are helping the bank to find novel ways to reach India’s unbanked population and to bypass the limits of its branch network. Amit Sethi, the bank’s chief information officer, shares his strategies with Knowledge@Wharton in this white paper.

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As Jagbir Singh surveys his role to design, build and operate the network for India’s largest mobile phone services provider, he knows that success is based on understanding two areas — the customer experience and his company’s business needs. Singh is chief technology officer (CTO) and director of the Network Services Group (NSG), India & South Asia at Bharti Airtel, the world’s third-largest mobile phone services provider (after China Mobile and Vodafone), with operations in 20 countries. He oversees more than $4 billion in annual spending, based on capital expenditures and operating expenses.

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Toyota’s lean production system revolutionized manufacturing by introducing strategies that slashed wasteful practice to deliver higher quality products more efficiently. While lean has become the norm in the manufacturing space, service providers rightly wonder: ‘How can human interactions be standardized so that waste can be cut back without alienating customers?’ Now, service providers are finding the path. Devesh Raj, a partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has worked with many service providers -- including banks, airlines, hospitals and call centers -- to implement lean strategies. In a recent interview with Knowledge@Wharton, he shared his insights about how lean processes are changing services for the better and steps executives can take to introduce the practices.

Download an edited version of the conversation.

 

What does it take for CFOs to excel today? With the global economy struggling to regain its footing, finance chiefs face very different challenges from the ones they confronted just a few years ago. PwC and faculty at Wharton team up to look at what it means to be a high performing CFO today.

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Top CFOs know they are only as strong as their teams. From treasury to financial planning and analysis, their finance managers have a shared vision of being valued contributors in strategic discussions – adding insight and analysis at critical junctures of decision-making. How can CFOs attract, retain, and motivate finance talent to be much more than number-crunchers? PwC and faculty at Wharton share insight on how top finance organizations can rise to the challenge.

Download a copy of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP -- People Performance: How CFOs Can Build the Bench Strength They Need Today . . . and Tomorrow

Private Equity held its own during 2012 in a volatile year for the world economy. Funding for the industry was up slightly, while the number of actual deals dropped a bit below 2011 levels and exits were down. With merger and acquisition activity down, there were fewer assets available. To gain more insight into how private equity performed last year, Knowledge@Wharton spoke in this podcast with Philip Bass, global private equity markets leader at Ernst & Young, and Pavel G. Savor, a Wharton Finance professor.

Download and edited copy of the transcript:

Ernst & Young: Watch for Private Equity in 2013 to Mirror 2012

 

The health care industry continues to face demands for cost control, while needing to show  improvements in quality of care. Policy makers are taking the lead. The U.S. Accountable Care Act (Obamacare), signed into law in March 2010, identifies these as its core goals. While there seems to be a near equal split between ACA enthusiasts and critics, the “trend towards accountability in healthcare is irreversible,” says to Sangita Singh, a senior vice president and global business head at Wipro Technologies. Health care and life sciences companies must reinvent business strategies to survive and grow, says Patricia Danzon, Wharton professor of health care management.

Download a copy of Accountability in Health Care: Collaboration and Analytics Are Key

 

Large swings in currency valuations can play havoc with financial reports. A company may have performed well in the latest quarter in a local currency. But if that currency lost value against the home currency, the translated performance can quickly move from good to lackluster or even into the red. The whole dynamic can work in reverse, of course, and provide the appearance of strong growth where it does not exist. While many companies do a good job reporting on currency volatility, a sizable number appear still to be grappling with the issue. In this paper, experts from Wharton and PricewaterhouseCoopers offer some suggestions on how to cope.

Download this article: How Should Global Companies Communicate Currency Risk?