Class dispenses business tips – CU-Denver MBA candidates study the brewery’s inner workings

A lot of college students think they know beer, but some know more than others.

Thirty University of Colorado at Denver students met Wednesday with Leo Kiely, Coors Brewing Co. chief executive, at company headquarters in Golden to present their thoughts on how Coors can merge similar businesses from different cultures.

By Leia Baez
Denver Post Staff Writer

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~2245066,00.html

The students were part of an unusual CU-Denver Business School 11-month MBA Program. In the program, they worked closely with Coors to learn how one of Colorado’s largest employers operates.

Kiely called the students impressive and said they had a good grasp for the business.

Throughout the year, Coors execs met with the students to discuss the company’s marketing, finance, human resources and information technology.

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"I’m especially grateful for what Coors has done for us," said Ajeyo Banerjee, director of the program at CU-Denver. "You have businesses that say they get involved with higher education, but Coors really does. Not very many corporations are this open with their business."

The program, which Banerjee said is unlike any other MBA program in the country, started in August. The students will graduate July 16.

"This experience truly demonstrates to students what business is about," Banerjee said. "The students felt they were included in the decision-making process, and that’s unique."

Chris Spencer, an MBA student and a resident of Golden, said the experience to work on such a collaborative project with Coors will boost his career after graduation.

"This experience is definitely going to give the students a leg up," Spencer said. "The biggest learning experience was you hear one person’s perspective then you go to another country and hear another person’s perspective," he said, noting the students’ three-day trip to visit the Coors brewery in the United Kingdom.

"It’s not marketing on its own, it’s not IT on it’s own, it’s not finance on its own. It’s how they fit together. Knowing what we know about Coors and being able to stay within this company was huge," he said.

Other MBA programs also work with Fortune 500 companies, but it’s rare that students collaborate with only one company for such an extended period of time.

Virginia Guthrie, Coors’ chief information officer and a CU-Denver Business School advisory board member, said the idea for the Coors project was initiated about a year ago.

"It just seemed like a huge opportunity for Coors to spend time with future business leaders," Guthrie said. "It really exceeded our expectations. We were able to touch some future business leaders and have some smart people think about our business."

Staff writer Leia Baez can be reached at 303-820-1088 or at [email protected] .