MBA Graduate Starts New Weather and Climate Information Business

MBA Graduate Starts New Weather and Climate Information Business

Jan Dutton is wasting no time combining his advanced degrees in business and meteorology.

Dutton, who graduated Saturday, Dec.16, from Penn State with an MBA and a Ph.D. in meteorology, plans to start his own business. Weather Venture Ltd. will provide weather and climate information to help businesses reduce their weather-related risks.

"Climate information and solving risk-related problems are new and emerging and we hope to play in that market," he said. "We are taking a different approach. Knowing the weather forecast is only so useable, while being able to incorporate it into management decision variables is what actually matters. We want to promote the concept of incorporating weather and climate information into corporate decisions rather than simply providing the information.

"Starting my own business is really daunting, but it is an opportunity I don't think I can turn down. No matter how nervous I am about it, I have to deal with it in the end. If it doesn't work out, I'll be able to apply myself and what I learned elsewhere. On the other hand, I don't plan on it not working out. One of my greatest fears is the fear of failure and that's a pretty strong motivator."

Dutton, who grew up in State College, has a weather-related background. His father, John A. Dutton, is professor of meteorology and dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State. But, at Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, he majored in physics and science and technology studies. After graduating, he enrolled in Penn State's master's degree program in meteorology.

When he finished his degree in 1996, he spent time deciding whether to pursue a Ph.D. or an MBA and made the decision to do both concurrently at Penn State. In 1997, he took time off from his doctoral studies and entered the MBA program.

"My overall goal was to combine meteorology and business," he said, "but I wasn't sure how that was going to happen. Now I have the opportunity with Weather Venture Ltd. Climate forecasting is a new science. Climate forecasting and the weather derivative market need to be integrated. We hope to diversify the products we sell. Being small, we should be able to change directions if necessary.

"The company won't be part of the dot com craze, although it will have a heavy Web component in terms of information delivery. I hope to bring on some people to help with coding and selling. I plan to hire people, including my father, who are smarter than me."

Rocki-Lee Dewitt, associate dean for the MBA program in Penn State's Smeal College, said Dutton did an excellent job of balancing his work in both the MBA and Ph.D. programs.

"He felt the two degrees were necessary since he wanted to understand business opportunities associated with science, specifically weather and climate," she said. "In the MBA program, he also was involved in student leadership activities, working with us to help recruit other students into the program."

Dutton's entry into the business world will begin in State College, but that may change soon as his wife, Amy, a fourth-year medical student in Penn State's College of Medicine at the Hershey Medical Center, currently is interviewing for a residency position in pediatrics.

"The company will go where she goes," he said.

The couple, who was married in July 1996, met on a blind date while students at Colby. Amy worked for three years as lab technician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She also worked in Penn State's Department of Veterinary Science Department before beginning medical school.

"It's been somewhat difficult," Amy said. "Before I started medical school, we made a promise to see each other every weekend. In the past three-and-a-half years, we've done that. For the most part, Jan has been making the weekly trip to Hershey since his schedule has been more forgiving. It's no fun to be two hours from your spouse, but it has been worth it in terms of advancing our careers."

Amy, who will graduate in May, said she couldn't remember when she didn't want to be a doctor.

"For me being a doctor, specifically a pediatrician, is something I wanted to do since I was a child. Jan is doing something he wants to do, and it wouldn't be fair to ask either one of us to give it up.

"People who go to medical school have an understanding of what they're getting into. It's a very grueling four years and you are geared up for a long road ahead. With Jan's graduation, we have gotten over the first big bump in the road."