Company Visit Summaries

• With Neokami, we had a Skype conference call with Ozel Christo discussing the challenges of artificial intelligence in a European market. We also learned about his innovative mindset that decided to jump into an industry he saw was growing and wished to learn more about.
• At the BMW plant, we toured with two company employees and were able to experience in person sights of how the entire process of their operations is conducted. We learned that as technology has become more advanced, the number of employees has decreased while the rate of production has increased. We also learned of their next project of following the market in electric cars.
• At BioM Biotech, we learned about how their company is something of an accelerator that brings together those who have innovative ideas to help the Bavarian community and partnering them with government funded grants to see it through.
• During the Innsbruck Tourism Board presentation, we learned their marketing strategies of connecting with the city and using emotions to trigger tourists to visit Innsbruck with their different types of outdoor activities as main selling point.
• Swarovski Crystal showed us the example of what a family owned company looks like and their mission statement of sustainability in their charities and production practices. We also learned of their patented technique that lets them stand out among the rest.
• Riedel Glasswork showed us their dedicated practice of how they continue with producing handblown glasses to their customers, displaying how an outdated technique provides better quality in providing the best wine tasting experience for their customers.
• At Redoro Olive Oil, we learned about their partnership process with private farmers to ensure prestige product while also creating a better relationship with their farmers. This taught us about personal relationships created within a family business, something very important in the Italian culture.
• At the Cantina Valpantena Winery, we learned about the history of wine over the years that they find important to know about to help with respecting tradition to produce a delicate wine. We experienced their cellar where their tanks and barrels are kept with their varied wines from different years.
• At the World Trade Organization, we learned about how the organization was created in order to be a mediator for foreign nations to bring forth issues and come up with solutions. We also learned how they conduct their voting patterns and it must always be in complete agreement.
• We took a tour of Cailler Chocolate Plant that showed us their partnering strategies in making sure that their product remains both consistent and of high quality.
• At our Keolis Transportation presentation, we met with many executives that discussed with us their future goals of working towards autonomous transportation projects. We also learned how their mission is to create more ways for more time for life, implementing creating smoother transportation for the world to prevent life wasted in traffic.
• At the Hard Rock Café, we me with the locations assistant general manager Liam who showed us the history of the company and how they were built off of an accident when it came to their memorabilia. We learned how even though they are such a big company, they thrive with their respect to communities and the world not to mass produce locations and to make sure that customers remain happy with authentic experiences teaching us about guest satisfaction in the business world.
• Our discussion with John White was very insightful to get the opinion of someone from Great Britain explaining the appreciation that the UK has for the United States for their involvement in World War 2. We learned of the impact that our contribution had toward the results of the war from a different perspective.
• The discussion we had with Andrew Czaplewski was a great recap for all of us to narrow down and discuss the cross-cultural differences that we had all experienced on our trip. It was interesting to learn of the different experiences that my classmates had that I did not and vice versa.
• Our visit at Lloyd’s of London taught us how the company itself it is just a building which I found fascinating. We learned about how it stands just to be a large market for underwriters and brokers to come together for clients to create premiums and claims.