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Business Plan Competition for Women Entrepreneurs Nets Simmons

School Of Management Graduate and Student Prizes

BOSTON (November 9, 2010) — An MBA student set to launch the first Palestinian
television channel in Israel and a recent MBA graduate creating a company that will
offer risk modeling software to investors in the life sciences industry, each won a cash
prize and in-kind services at the fourth annual Silverman Business Plan Competition
recently held at the Simmons School of Management in Boston.

It is the first time two winners have tied for first place in the distinguished business
competition, which is organized through the Simmons School of Management – the
only AACSB-accredited business school in the nation designed specifically for
women. In September, the School of Management’s entrepreneurship program was
ranked for the third consecutive year among the top 25 in the country by
Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.

With the planned creation of Palestinian Television or PTV, MBA student Areen
Shahbari will lead what is expected to be the top provider of media and entertainment
for Palestinians in Israel and consumers of Palestinian culture locally and globally.
PTV plans to target women viewers, and by extension, their families, reaching an
estimated 1.7 million Palestinian and Israeli households to start.

A Fulbright Fellow and a Palestinian Israeli citizen, Shahbari is an international

broadcast media professional with four years experience working in production,
editing, and TV anchoring. Shahbari, the first Palestinian employee for Keshet
Broadcasting – the most highly viewed television channel in Israel – has committed
herself to improving the health and happiness of the Palestinian population in Israel
and to peaceful relations between Jews and Palestinians in Israel.

Katinka Stenius, founder of Modio Ventures and a 2009 graduate of the Simmons
School of Management, plans to provide a cost-effective tool for managers and
investors to help improve the mitigation of potential risks associated with the life
sciences field. Modio Ventures will deliver its services through online software that is
licensed monthly, or through a project-based short-term consultant service.

The judges said they chose Shahbari and Stenius because of their moving and
compelling presentations about their ventures, as well as their ambitious and robust
business designs.

“Our annual business plan competition presents a valuable opportunity for our
graduates and students to draw on the extended School of Management network,
including faculty and business leaders, to assist them as they launch sustainable,
scalable ventures with impact,” said Dr. Teresa Nelson, Elizabeth J. McCandless
Chair in Entrepreneurship and director of the entrepreneurship program at the
Simmons School of Management.
The Silverman Business Plan Competition began at Simmons College in 2006, to
support women in launching and leading entrepreneurial ventures. It is named in
recognition of a major gift from Lois Silverman, founder of CRA Managed Care (now
Concentra Managed Care), and founding chair of The Commonwealth Institute.

As part of the competitive process, participants are paired with faculty advisors who
assist them with various aspects of new business creation, such as financial statement
development and market outreach. Participants also gain access to established
entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, bankers, and attorneys.

The Simmons School of Management is the only business school in the nation that is
accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
and designed specifically to educate women for power and principled leadership. The
program is featured in 2011 edition of The Princeton Review’s “The Best 300
Business Schools” guidebook and ranked the No. 1 MBA program in the U.S. with
the “greatest opportunity for women.”