The Berkeley Asia Business Conference on March 1 will feature a keynote talk by a Cal alumna who has overseen colossal growth at online gaming company Kabam and, in a first for the event, a student business plan pitch competition will award a $2,500 prize.
The theme of the event, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Haas campus, is “Disrupting Asia: How technology is changing business in Asia." The student competition will focus on tech ideas to disrupt business practices and tap unique business and investment opportunities in Asia. First-round submissions are due Monday, Feb. 17, to [email protected]. (More information is available at berkeleyabc.org/2014/panels.html.)
The event also will feature a case study for the first time.
“This year, we are focusing on technology and creating a more interactive event," says Hanny Yang, MBA14, the conference co-chair. "The case study and student pitch competition will not only create deeper discussions but also generate new ideas for our audiences to think about how to use technology to change Asia or the world.”
Berkeley alumna Holly Liu, a 2003 graduate of the iSchool and co-founder and chief of staff of Kabam, will give the keynote talk. As head of people operations, Liu also oversees Kabam’s corporate culture and has helped lead Kabam’s rapid 500 percent growth in staff to 775 employees in three years. Kabam was named the fastest-growing Bay Area Internet media company last year and 17th fastest growing company overall in the U.S. Liu made the Forbes “Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs to Watch” list in 2013 and Fortune’s “10 Most Powerful Women in Gaming” list.
Liu co-founded Kabam with Haas undergrad alumnus Kevin Chou, BS 02. Last fall Kabam signed a $18 million deal with UC Berkeley that includes naming rights to the field at Memorial Stadium.
Dean Richard Lyons will give the opening remarks at the conference, which also will include panel discussions on health care, consumer packaged goods, and finance. The event is the largest student-run Asian business conference on the West Coast, drawing more than 300 students and professionals.
Register for the conference at eventbrite.com/e/berkeley-asia-business-conference-tickets-10382280681. For questions about the conference, email co-chairs Hanny Yang, MBA14, hanny[email protected], or Sean Yokomoto, MBA14, sean[email protected].