Team Introductions

So many of you may know why I'm in Oulu, but for those of you who don't let me explain. I am working with 3 of my classmates from the Haas School of Business for the city of Oulu. We are performing a strategic analysis of the city and developing recommendations on how the city can better improve its positioning as an international high tech city. We arrived in Oulu on Sunday May 20th to a beautiful little city of 130,000 people. Though the city sounds small, we are discovering that the technologies being developed far exceeded our expectations.


Yes, this is right outside the hotel!


We are staying at the lovely Hotel Lasoretti located on one of the 188,000 lakes in Finland. We are about a 15 minute walk from the city center and another 5 minutes from the client site. Thus far we have been extremely lucky with the weather, as I did not properly pack for the Finnish weather.


A view from the back-side of the hotel. My room is on the top floor about five windows from the right.

Now that you know where I am staying let me introduce you to the rest of my team, aka 'Team Oulu.'





























Myah, Mike & Nao pose for the camera! Nao working at his computer while Mike
catches a cat nap.


Myah, the team entrepreneur is a native of Virginia. After her ungrad at Tufts, Myah worked at AOL and in city government for three years before making the trek out west to Berkeley. I'm not sure where we would be without her knowledge and insight. Her love for technology and digital media has led her to DMEC at Haas, though you can also find her honing her Wii tennis skills.

Mike, is a Chicago native, completed his undergrad at Northwestern before venturing out onto the corporate jungle, aka the life of a consultant. Though based in Chicago, he spent much of his in Europe living out of a suitcase; perhaps this was one of the reasons he took the plunge and came to business school. This summer you can find Mike in Pleasanton working at Safeway, after he returns from a four week study program in Paris...I think he's the smart one out of the bunch.

Our Japanese connection, Nao is a Tokyo native. Nao has extensive experience in the technology sector and his knowledge and experience is huge asset to the team. Nao keeps us all on our toes with his witty comments and thoughtful insight. Nao plans to travel for part of the summer and then spend the month of August in NYC. If anyone knows of a place to sublet in NYC let him know... :)


Last but not least, there is me...but if you are reading this blog, then you know who I am, so no need to write anything else.


Kicking back and relaxing after a hard week of work. What's better than sitting outside enjoying the sunshine and a beer in great company.

Well that's it for now...until next time! JT