Site Visit to Nielsen

MRIA Club students at Nielsen's NYC Office

Last Thursday, members of the Rutgers Marketing Research Insights & Analytics Club traveled to the  Nielsen corporate headquarters in NYC for a site visit. Nielsen is a global information and measurement company that specializes in helping their clients understand consumer behavior.  Nielsen has two principal reporting segments, Watch & Buy, and students were able to learn about the way Nielsen conducts Audience Measurement in the Watch segment. Brian Apter, VP Digital Client Solutions, spoke with students in the "Nielsen Den" to demonstrate, on a number of multimedia platforms, how Nielsen technology measures what consumers watch. Students were able to see first hand how Nielsen's People meter can keep track of exactly what multiple members of a household are watching on a daily basis. After showcasing how the technology works, students were able to speak with Mr.Apter about a number of topics such as how Nielsen is adapting to increased platforms for viewing content, the business behind TV advertisements and differences between Network and Cable television. The afternoon ended with lunch and networking with members of HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Leaders in Action), an employee resource group.

Demonstration of Nielsen's People Meter

Hanging out in the Nielsen Den

The visit was both fun and informative...thank you Nielsen for hosting such a great event!

Summer Internship Series: Crystal, Priya and Vinatie

The summer is coming to an end and so are our internships! Therefore, this will be the last installment of the Summer Internships Series. Thank you to everyone who contributed, I hope you all enjoyed learning about what the Rutgers MBA Class of 2016 was up to this summer! For our last update, we've got Crystal Orr, Priya Shivkumar and Vinatie Pasricha talking about their experiences this summer. 

Crystal, a Marketing student, is working for HP in New Jersey...

"Hello everyone!! I am currently a MBA Global Marketing & Communications Intern at Hewlett Packard, working in the Financial Services (HPFS) business unit right here in New Jersey. I actually started in March and my internship is for a year, so I’ll still be here part time once the semester begins.

It’s an exciting time right now at HP as the company is going through a separation and will be split into two organizations in November. I am definitely here at a good time because I am getting the firsthand experience of going through a large transition at a top 20 company and involved in the process of implementing and communicating a new brand strategy (names, logos and messaging) to employees, customers and partners.

Currently, I work on various projects focusing on global internal communications and sales and colleague engagement. Some of my daily tasks include designing and creating content for our intranet pages, Yammer account (internal social media), and internal reference materials to support the sales team including separation information. I am also learning everyday about IT consumption and the financial aspect of technology for businesses and enterprises.  

I’ve had diverse and interesting experiences here thus far, ranging from volunteering for the Take your Kids to Work Day activities to donating blood for the first time to attending a Brooklyn Nets game.  One of my first major projects was actually coordinating the second annual HPFS mini golf tournament for philanthropy day with proceeds going to Room to Read. This was a fun experience as I love to plan events and got the opportunity to meet a lot of colleagues in the office.

Since, I will not have an official summer break prior to starting school again, I’m headed to New Orleans next week for a few days of fun! See you all soon!"

Priya, concentrating in Finance, writes from Madison, NJ...

"This summer I am interning with Quest Diagnostics in their Corporate Finance function. Within Finance, I am with the Revenue Recognition and Analytics team, which has a mix of both - Accounting and Finance. My team and other corporate functions are largely based out of Giralda farms in Madison, NJ, which is a beautiful location! My project over the summer was to develop analytical tools to evaluate the cash collected against the accounts receivables recorded for each of Quest's business units. 

Through the summer, various lunch and learns were organized for the interns where we got a chance to meet Executive Directors and VP's from different parts of finance. The CFO attend our final presentations earlier this week and it was really good to get so much face time with him over the summer. Glad to be done with my presentation even though my internship runs for 2 more weeks!  Over the summer, I also went on a lab tour (Quest's main lab is @Teterboro) and had a lunch and learn session with an ex-FBI guy who is now the head of Corporate security at Quest. Interesting experiences! 

There is a girl in my team who is an excellent baker and makes amazing stuff for birthday's and other events ..so all of us wait for someone's birthday to come up so that we get some home baked goodies! Everyone is really nice here and its been a wonderful summer. Look forward to wrapping up my project soon but will miss working once school starts! 

PS: And yes, there is a huge Rutgers contingent here at Quest." 

Vinatie, who is specializing in Marketing and Marketing Research Insights & Analytics, checks in from Iselin, NJ...

"This summer, I am interning at Ansell, the personal protective equipment company that makes gloves, condoms and clothing. The company is organized into four global business units – Industrial, Medical, Single Use and Sexual Wellness. I am working for the Single Use Global Business Unit as the Global Branding and Strategic Marcom Intern with the Global Marketing team. What makes this business unit exciting, is the fact that it was created just a year back as a result of an organizational restructure and the integration of Ansell with the recently acquired BarrierSafe Solutions International, Inc.

The object of my projects for the summer is to assist the team in product integration, portfolio optimization and create tools to elevate the expertise of the sales team. For my first project, I am assisting in the development of competitive positioning statements for all disposable gloves based on a newly created segmentation matrix. This will help them drive clearer differentiation and better integrate Ansell single-use products with BarrierSafe products. My second project is to develop a demo kit, which will allow our sales representatives to demonstrate how Ansell gloves perform better compared to competitor gloves. For this, I have been working closely with the R&D team and creative agency to design tests to demonstrate attributes such as ergonomics, enhanced grip, chemical resistance and puncture resistance.

It’s hard to believe that the internship is already coming to an end with just 2 weeks left! I have really enjoyed working with my team. The culture is extremely collaborative and transparent, which makes everyone in the organization very approachable.

For those who have been following the blog, you have already heard from Susan about the lunch & learns organized by HR. These weekly sessions have been a great way for us to meet senior executives and learn about the company and the business. Some of the exciting ones were with the CEO, CFO, President of the Single Use GBU and Head of Sales for NA. Last week, Ansell organized a day cruise around Staten Island for all employees. It was a refreshing change, a great way to experience the true company culture and network with everyone!"

Thanks to all for reading each week! And good luck to the Class of 2017, who will be starting Orientation this upcoming Monday. Can't believe we went through all that a year ago, time has flown by. I look forward to seeing everyone in less than a month! Enjoy the rest of your internships and rock those final presentations! 

Summer Internship Series: Susan, Laavanya and Jaclyn

And we're back! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! I know a lot of people have reached or passed the halfway point, I can't believe it! This week we've got Susan Smith, Laavanya Shriram and Jaclyn Kirna talking about their internships...

Susan, concentrating in Finance and Supply Chain Management, writes from Iselin, NJ...

"Greetings from the distant land of Iselin, NJ, where I am interning in global financial planning and analysis at Ansell. Ansell makes personal protective equipment, such as gloves, suits, and condoms. They are a truly global company with operations in each of four regions: North America (NA), Latin America & Caribbean (LAC), Asia Pacific (APAC), and Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA).

So far, I have worked on some small tasks – collecting information on the manufacturing sector in different countries and on general economic conditions globally in order to predict and analyze the effect of global conditions on sales and creating bridge graphs for a presentation. I am also working to model sales forecasts and analyze growth with the complicating factor of acquisitions and the seasonal nature of the business. Remember Dr. Lei’s seasonal forecasting models? Well, I have been putting them to use! Most recently I have been collecting information on recent sales growth of competitors and distributors in order to see if the movement in manufacturing affects them in similar ways. 

It has been nice to meet interns from other schools, although there is a big Rutgers contingent. Go RU. Another plus is the lunch and learns that HR has set up for us. We met the Chief Human Resource Officer who gave us an overview of the company. We also met a brand manager and learned about a new product, both how it was developed and how a market is being created for it. The Director of IT gave us a view of how the IT department interacts with and supports the rest of the business. We will also be lunching and learning with a NA head of sales as well as the CEO."

Laavanya is concentrating in Supply Chain Management and Strategy and is working in Northvale, NJ...

"This summer, I am working for RAB Lighting, based out of Northvale, NJ. In little over a month, I have had 2 dinner parties, 7-9 cakes, and above all hands-on experience in various aspects of supply chain - procurement, inventory management, demand planning, new product development and logistics.

RAB is a third generation family owned U.S. company and the fastest growing company in New Jersey too. The company manufacturers and distributes commercial LED lighting. A year ago, the company began forming it's Supply Chain department and has been a growing team since. As a Supply Chain Intern, I am mainly focussing on demand forecasting & inventory management. I feel really lucky to have found this position as I am able to rotate in each team within the SC department, helping enhance/apply all that I have learnt via RBS. Also, the coolest thing, as the entire company located in one building, I literally walk through each process or department and see how they function. 

Be it working in excel to report KPI trends or applying OB concepts enabling change management during Lean events, I find learning is everywhere and summer is too short to fully absorb it. I hope to gather as much as I can here and hopefully define my career path. This is also my first experience working for a small company (well when compared to MNC's I earlier worked for) with strong culture. Today I can vouch that there is a thing named work culture fit. Though my colleagues are diverse and unique, because we all have similar ideologies it makes working together fun and easy. I feel much more confident in voicing my opinions or ideas. The entire company has a family kind of vibe, anyone can walk into any space (yep even CEO's office) without feeling awkward and have an open conversation about anything. 

On a personal front, thanks to a 30 mile commute, I finally bought a car and have been making the most of it. Our classmate, Meghana Talasila, also on the same team as me, is in the same boat. So we hangout a lot and cherish our Rutgers roots. We have been exploring some hidden hiking gems in the Tristate area. Anyone interested?"

Jaclyn is a Finance and Strategy student spending her summer working in NYC…

"This summer, I am interning in Commercial Finance at Pfizer Inc.’s World Headquarters located in midtown Manhattan.  During the 10-week internship, I am working on two teams: Global Commercial Operations and Accounts Receivable – Working Capital Initiatives. On Pfizer’s GCO team, I have been collaborating with leadership team members and Op. Plan leads to help prepare Pfizer’s 2016 Operating Plan and build a compensation model for GCO spend.  I am also assisting GCO leadership team members with reevaluating their monthly reporting, forecasting, and budgeting processes based on regional needs.  On the Accounts Receivable team, I assist with DSO (days sales outstanding) trending, reporting, and analysis and I help the team prepare and validate AR reporting packages.  During my time on both teams, I am working to improve the efficiency of Pfizer’s reporting processes.

I just finished week 6 of my internship and it’s hard to believe how fast it is flying by!  Pfizer’s internship program has given me a lot of exposure to senior executives through the various lunch & learns planned for the MBA summer associates.  This past Tuesday, we had a summer speaker session with Chairman of the Board & CEO, Ian Read.  He shared his career path as well as his perspective on transformational leadership and it was exciting that the interns had the opportunity to ask him questions at the end of the session. At Pfizer, the MBA interns also work on a live case study throughout the summer.  My team is comprised of 2 finance interns and a procurement intern.  In early August, we will be presenting our recommendation to our managers and senior executives in the company. Earlier this summer, Pfizer colleagues volunteered at Camp Sebago (a camp located outside of NYC for inner city children).  I spent the day cleaning up the campsite with colleagues from different Pfizer locations and it was fun to watch a dance routine that the children performed for us that afternoon.  We lucked out with good weather and the lake up there was beautiful!

It’s hard to believe that just a year ago, I was teaching 22 super energetic third graders.  It’s been a challenging yet exciting career change into the corporate world, but I’m really enjoying the experience.  The best part is that I’m working with people who love what they do and I’m learning something new every day!

After the internship, I have plans to travel to Houston, Texas for a wedding and then to Austin, Texas to visit some friends (and any of the Dell folks who will still be down there!).  As a Jersey native who loves the beach, the summer wouldn’t be complete without spending some time at the Jersey Shore!"

Thanks for checking in and keep reading each week! 

Kurt Salmon Consulting Lunch & Learn

A great discussion around the future of Mobile Payments 

Kurt Salmon is a global management consulting firm of 1,400 consultants across 13 countries and four continents.  Yesterday, RBS students enjoyed lunch and an interactive discussion on the landscape of Mobile, e-Commerce, and Consumer Finance/Banking with two members of Kurt Salmon's leadership and financial consulting teams.   Thank you RAMS for organizing such an informative and fun event.