Tag: New York

Tuesday, May 17 was an adventure for our Global Masters of Finance (GMF) group. Although it was an early morning, and we were tired from the fascinating trip we went on yesterday and all the excitement of New York City, we were still excited for the new journey ahead of us.

AB InBev

After a very short subway journey we arrived at 34^th street midtown. The building must have a long history, demonstrated by the golden rim of the elevators and the unique plate showing all the current floors of the four elevators.

Our first speaker was Adam Bush, Olin MBA’13. Adam is Senior Director in Anheuser-Busch’s Wholesale Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) department. Before attending Olin’s MBA program, he spent five years in industry. He started his career at Anheuser-Busch as an MBA intern and worked through different positions, such as project manager and director within the company.

He spoke to us about finance in a corporate environment. He shared a lot of details of his work, such as what the wholesale system in AB looks like, the valuation methods they are using, and AB’s core strategy.

It was very interesting to learn more about AB-InBev, especially the recent talks of AB-Inbev and SAB Miller potentially joining forces. Being close to a subject of news headlines was really cool! It was very interesting to learn how the US government has set heavy restrictions on the beer industry and limits the size or volume of distribution that AB can own.

It is also very new to us to know more about the corporate side of M&A, the focus of a beer manufacturing business, and how they operate on a three-tier system. Professor Rich Ryffel also asked some interesting questions, and we learned that pricing effect and marketing effect influences products differently according to their consumption group and their brand definition.

Rob Beck, was honored this year as Distinguished Olin alumnus.
©Photo by Jerry Naunheim Jr.

Citigroup

Then we welcomed Rob Beck, BSBA’86, Chief Operating Officer of the Retail Bank and head of Retail Distribution for Citigroup in the US, to give us a lecture. As an experienced and successful banker, he shared his views of some interesting topics, including the future cooperation between traditional banks and Fintech, risk management within the bank, the Chinese housing market, and the concern about over-regulation.

Bloomberg

Next, our GMF group headed back to the subway  to visit Bloomberg. The Bloomberg building was very appealing. The design was closely related to their culture. The working space was bright and open. Almost every room is transparent, reflecting Bloomerg’s culture—transparency. At the end of the tour, we had a great birds-eye view of New York and also got some nice food and drinks on the 29th floor.

Insider Trading

The last speaker of the day was Nick Verbitsky, who is the director of a documentary film called “To Catch a Trader.” He shared his personal background, how and why he directed his film, his perspective about the financial industry, and answered our questions. We watched the film after his speech. This made us more excited about the trip as we didn’t even know that there are so many career options for us once we earn our masters of finance degree.

It was very fascinating to hear Nick speak. He was very enthusiastic and we felt that he was quite a free spirit in expressing his thoughts. The way in which he felt that the smart finance professionals were cheating through Xbox was very unbelievable. We felt that the reason Nick chose to become a director of financial documentary films is that he is very interested in investigating financial scandals and has a passion for finance. He is the kind of person who wants to learn the truth and find answers. He is also very creative and loves to express his opinions. We really felt that he loves what he is doing and also clever enough to not cause any trouble when making those films on sensitive issues.

We also learned quite a lot from our dear professor Rich Ryffel. As masters of finance students eager to become future professionals, we really should learn about the daily happenings around the world, as finance is a constantly changing industry.

Guest Bloggers: Yue Lu, Yarui (Aria) Gong, WenJuan Wang, Diwen (Steven) Shi (GMF 2016)

This is part of a series of  blogs chronicling the experiences of 41 Global Master of Finance (GMF) dual degree students during their two week long immersion course in New York and Washington, DC. Each blog will be written by a small subset of students during their experience.

During Olin’s annual New York Career Trek, more than 50 BSBA students gained insights from alumni and hiring managers on what it takes to succeed in the Big Apple.

Sponsored by the Weston Career Center, the trek was scheduled over 2 days and included two tracks, finance and marketing.   On the final evening, both tracks participated in an Alumni/Student Roundtable co-hosted by WCC and Olin’s Alumni & Development.  This event is similar to “speed dating” with timed group “table” rotations providing each student the opportunity to connect with an additional 30+ alumni from firms and industries across New York.

Finance track visits included Cain Brothers, Nomura Securities, Morgan Stanley, JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs, Sagent Advisors, Guggenheim, Tyrian Investments and Elliott Management.

Marketing track visits included Google, Bloomingdale’s, Seefood Media, Interbrand, Distillery and Time Warner Media Lab.

More than 50 Wash U students converged on New York City October 15th and 16th to participate in the 2014 New York Career Treks (Finance and Marketing) hosted by the Weston Career Center. These treks provided students with the opportunity to hear from alumni and learn about the qualities needed to be a successful intern and/or full-time candidate.

At the conclusion of the two-day company visit schedule, the entire student group participated in the 2nd annual student-alumni Roundtable event, providing each student the opportunity to gain valuable career experience insights from alumni.  Students heard from alumni on how to navigate a career path and improve personal outreach and networking skills. The Roundtable event is a structured format to invite greater student-alumni connections. The event was held at the Harmonie Club, New York City.

The treks were escorted by Olin staff members, including Dorothy Kittner, assistant dean for corporate relations, Chris Presley, undergraduate academic advisor, and Mark Brostoff, associate dean and director, Weston Career Center.

Olin’s Master of Science in Finance students ventured to the Big Apple for the annual MSF New York Trek. This year, the MSF New York Trek was organized for students in both the Corporate Finance and Investments track and the Quantitative Finance track. 

The goal in organizing the MSF New York Trek was to provide students with exposure to key companies in the finance industry, connect students will alumni working at these companies, and provide an educational experience.

Over the course of two  days, students visited Markit, Argus Research, Goldman Sachs, U.S. Trust- Bank of America, Numerix, and Credit Suisse. Students had the opportunity to meet Wash U alum at some of the companies and made some great connections.

MSF Alumni Panel Session.
Alumni Panelists: Will Karnasiewicz, WTAS Valuation Services; Sam Elias, Deloitte; Ann Dai, Keefe, Bruyette, &Woods/Stifel

Photo credit: Wall St. bull by Scott Beale, Flickr

Students interested in finance and marketing were in New York for the annual Career Trek this month to meet with a variety of alumni and recruiters. The finance track met with representatives of: Goldman Sachs, RBC Capital Markets, HSBC, Oppenheimer, Cain Brothers, JP Morgan, Sagent Advisors, Elliot Management, AB InBev and Google.  The marketing track visited Geometry Global, Bloomingdale’s, Seiden Advertising, Google and National Artists Management Company.

This year, more than 35 students participated on
the finance track and 15 students ventured to N.Y. on the marketing track.

Led by Mark Brostoff, Associate Dean and Director, Weston Career Center and Dorothy Kittner, Assistant Dean for Corporate Relations, along with members of the Undergraduate Program and Alumni/Development Offices, Olin was well represented in New York City from October 15th – 17th.

As part of the 2013 New York Career Trek, a structured event called “Roundtables”(a timed “speed dating model”) was added to allow more interaction between students and alumni. Hosted at the Harmonie Club on Thursday, October 17th, students on the finance track met with alumni from hedge funds, investment banks, capital and asset mangement firms.

On the marketing track, students had the opportunity to learn from alumni from consumer package goods, digital media and entertainment, and leisure and travel industries.  Everyone had a great time with lively conversation, networking, plus a spread of Asian specialties to provide nourishment for the 3.5 hour event.

If you’re in New York City Tuesday, Oct. 29, check out the startup ideas at an IdeaBounce® event sponsored by the Wash U Club of New York and the Skandalaris Center. The following Tuesday, IdeaBounce travels to San Francisco!

IdeaBounce® provides an opportunity for New York alumni to present their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of esteemed judges for feedback. The event will also provide an opportunity for WU alumni, parents and friends to connect and network. All audience members and bounce participants must register to attend the event. Alumni who are selected to “bounce” their ideas will receive a refund of their registration fee.

WHERE:
AppNexus
28 West 23rd Street, 4th Floor
(between 5th and 6th Avenues)
New York City, NY 10010

COST:  $25 per person (includes networking reception with appetizers, beer & wine)

WHEN:
6:00 p.m.        Networking and Registration
6:30 p.m.        IdeaBounce® and Open Mic
7:45 p.m.        Networking

Moderator:
Mitch Gordon, BSBA’79
President
Morpheus Capital & Advisors

Judges:
Andrew S. Pancer, BSBA’92
Chief Operating Officer
Media6Degrees

Michael Spilo, WU Parent
CEO
MS Capital, LLC

Laurence B. Yavner, AB’87
Managing Partner
LBY Partners

Jamie Tiampo, BSBA’98
Founder and President
SeeFood Media LLC

Jeremy Friedman, AB’09
Founder and CEO
Schoology

Registration open for general attendance and idea submissions!

The participants selected from all submissions will be notified on or before October 25, 2013. Presenters are required to indicate their consent to the submission terms and conditions found at alumni.wustl.edu/ideabounceNY.

To submit your idea privately, please click here.

You can also submit your idea by posting it on the Skandalaris IdeaBounce page here.

Questions? Please contact Virginia Kelly at 314-935-5212 or virginia.kelly@wustl.edu.