Kent's in the 'Dragon's Den'

As part of the MBA program - for the summer months of July and Aug - Kent and his classmates are required to do a either a "Strategic Consulting Project" in a group of 4 people or take 2 elective courses. Kent chose to go the SCP (aka internship) route to gain more experience for the CV (aka resume). He ended up coming out pretty well with a great group and a meaningful project that will look great on the resume and lend him experience in the private equity world (what he wants to do). There's even a bit of celebrity flair! Another upside - he gets to work at a fancy office in Mayfair. The downside - 1.5 hour commute on the train/tube each way.

So he's finishing up the 4th week out of 8 on this project, and it's going very well. The private equity firm is called Hamilton Bradshaw. The company was built by a successful entrepreneur named James Caan. He's a celebrity in the business world here in Europe, due to his self-built wealth and starring in a reality TV show on BBC called Dragon's Den. In the show, entrepreneurs pitch for investment in the Den from the Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity. Here's a quick bio of JC:

James Caan is CEO of private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw and
has been building and selling businesses since 1985. Having founded the
Alexander Mann Group in 1985 and co-founded executive head-hunting firm Humana
International with his partner Doug Bugie, 2001 Caan was awarded the BT
Enterprise of the Year award and the PricewaterhouseCoopers Entrepreneur of the
Year 2003.
Setting up London-based Hamilton Bradshaw in 2004, the private
equity company specialises in buyouts, venture capital, turnarounds and real
estate investments and development opportunities in both the UK and
Europe. In October 2007, Caan joined the panel in the fifth series of BBC
Two’s Dragons’ Den and filmed series six transmitted this Autumn soon to be
followed by with a 1 hour special ‘Outside of The Den’ following up on Den
Investments as well as exploring both his business and personal journey.
September 2008 saw James publish his Autobiography The Real Deal - an incredible
story of his remarkable life. From his childhood as a Pakistani immigrant to the
phenomenal success of his first company, this book traces James’s journey to
both financial and personal maturity. Published by Virgin it deals with his fear
at realising his goals too early, and offers a frank account of what success at
30 really means.
A married father of two daughters, Caan has homes in London,
the South of France and Pakistan.

Another bio: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/dragons/jamescaan.shtml

In three short weeks, Kent and his three teammates have already impressed the company and most of all the CEO. They were tasked with a project to map out and redesign the internal processes in the company, and have had a lot of interaction with JC. Here they are in his office:

And at their desks at HB:
I'm proud of my budding CEO - look out for another update when they finish up the project!

-Karen