Rutgers Faculty Member Moving On Up – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
Rutgers Lends Expertise to Newark – Rutgers Business School News
When Newark’s Community Economic Development Corporation lost its chief executive, Mayor Ras Baraka enlisted Lyneir Richardson of the Rutgers Business School to take the reigns. The Rutgers professor the opportunity as an “act of service” and said that he would be thrilled to share his knowledge and ensure that the Newark CEDC continued its vital role in attracting businesses, guiding real estate development and helping to sustain small businesses across the city.
“I’m honored to be of service to the city at this moment of economic energy,” Richardson says. “My temporary role in the city “will bring new relevant examples to my teaching.”
Rutgers University-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor remarks:
“Rutgers is a committed stakeholder in the present and future of our great city—not just in Newark, but of Newark—and we are pleased to be able to assist during this critical transition.”
You can read more about Richardson’s role here.
Lessons from Mario Gabelli, Merger Master – Gabelli Connect
Mario Gabelli, Chairman and CEO of GAMCO Investors, Inc, is a legendary “arb” (better known as a risk arbitrageur). He has utilized the discipline of risk arbitrage to successfully invest in companies undergoing mergers, reorganizations and other corporate events. The Fordham University Gabelli School of Business stresses that there is no better discipline that will teach you everything you need to know about deal-making than arbitrage, noting that it teachers investors financial techniques applicable across the financial industry.
“Those things work on everything you do,” Gabelli says.
“It keeps you up-to-date on every financial technique that’s available.” For students, “this is a great business to be in because you learn a lot, it’s not complicated, and you can do it tonight.”
Kate Willing, writer of the recently-published “Merger Masters: Tales of Arbitrage,” asserts: “risk arbs must also have nerves of steel—the discipline to adhere to a strategy, a willingness to tolerate calculated risk, and an ability to make decisions under conditions of uncertainty.”
You can read more from the Gabelli Connect article here.
2018: Year in Review – Lehigh University
Alongside a myriad of learning experiences, research, and huge celebrations on campus, the Lehigh University College of Business and Economics wrapped up an exciting year. Five noteworthy moments in 2018 featured a one billion dollar fundraising campaign, a distinguished Lehigh alumni commencement speech, an outstanding successful wrestling season, discovery of a new geometric shape by a Lehigh professor, and a five-story residential facility.
Deloitte CEO and Lehigh alum Cathy Engelbert says to graduates: “Do what hasn’t been done,” and shared three life lessons at Lehigh’s 150th commencement.
Kicking off its $1 billion campaign, Lehigh announced a generous $20 million gift from Lehigh Board of Trustees Chair Kevin L. Clayton ’84 ’13P and Lisa A. Clayton ’13P.
A new geometric shape: “Team of researchers discover a new shape present in epithelial cells that minimizes energy and maximizes packing stability during tissue bending. The new research can lead to advancement in tissue engineering.”
You can read more about the year that was at Lehigh here.
Let Introverts be Introverts, Says Stevens Guest Speaker – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
To Be Successful, Organizations Should Let Introverts Be Introverts, Says Stevens Speaker – Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business News
Introverts make up a third to a half of our workforce, and yet the majority of workplaces are built for extroverts—from open floor plans, bustling activity, to meetings dominated by who can be most assertive. These environments are not conducive to introverts, who are most productive when left alone to work and create.
Susan Cain, speaker at the Stevens Institute of Technology’s Excellence Through Diversity Lecture Series, shares how important it is to create that space for different work styles.
“There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all environment. We need to be thinking day by day, team by team, office design by office design, how we can set things up so that there are varying levels of stimulation.”
Cain adds, “There have been a whole bunch of studies that have come out over the years showing that most people believe that introverts make inferior leaders and are passed over for leadership positions. On the other hand, there is another set of studies showing that introverts in leadership positions often deliver out-sized performance returns.”
You can read more about Cain’s lecture series event here.
Faster Internet Fuels Job Growth in Africa – Columbia Business School News
New research from Columbia Business School‘s Jonas Hjort and Uppsala’s Jonas Poulsen finds that the expansion of fast Internet in Africa has created jobs, increased employment rates, and greatly benefited populations with lower levels of education.
Professor Hjort writes, “These findings shed light on how modern information and communications technology can affect employment rates, structural change, job inequality, and firm growth in the poorest region of the world.”
“Our results imply that faster Internet allows firms to create (or retain) a lot of positions that otherwise would not be tenable in Africa,” adding that “access to information and communication can help give people with lower education a more secure foothold on the economic ladder, and improve living standards.”
You can read more about the growth here.
Impact Investing is About to Become More Mainstream Than Ever – Gabelli Connect
Last month, 350 guests gathered for Fordham’s inaugural Impact Investment Convening to discuss investing for social and environmental good.
Blended finance projects are already cited by the United States, Canada, Netherlands, and the Nordic countries as “proof that private capital could answer the problems that, historically, government couldn’t.” Investors are successfully driving interest in socially responsible investing and there is great potential to reach untapped markets.
The Convening was organized by Peter Lupoff, MBA ’86, Gabelli executive-in-residence and Center for Research in Contemporary Finance fellow. Lupoff explains, “What’s more is that the greatest transition in wealth is about to occur, from boomers to millennials. They care about how their money is spent, socially and environmentally, so it makes good sense for the traditional markets to embrace this – the capital will demand it.”
Keynote speaker Danielle Kayembe, CEO and founder of GreyFire Impact, points out, “The gender divide in consumer products and industry at large reflects a huge untapped area. Some estimates say women drive up to 85 percent of consumer spending in the United States, and, globally, women control some $36 trillion in total wealth.”
You can read more about impact investing here.
A Stevens’ Therapy Startup for Trauma Victims, and More – New York City News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
Mobile Treatment Tools Can Change Way People Recover from Trauma – Stevens Institute of Technology SOB News
The Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business recently profiled Mira Therapeutics, a new homegrown startup that uses tech to “help patients manage their symptoms, and give therapists powerful new treatment tools.”
Co-founded by Stevens students CJ Internicola, Seth Kirschner, Gregory Mercado, Nicholas Gattuso, and Annika Roll, the startup’s interactive Mira mobile app “guides patients through crises like flashbacks, anxiety attacks, and dissociation using clinically-established grounding techniques.
Specially designed for veterans, sexual assault survivors, police officers, medical providers, and many other people living with trauma, Mira also records progress by “automatically tracking symptoms and suggesting daily journal prompts.”
Internicola writes, “There are thousands of mobile apps on the market that improve mental health. We are creating technology that addresses problems unique to people living with PTSD. Mira is positioned to become a holistic improvement in the way people recover and grow from trauma.”
“We want to create technology that improves everyday life, translates into better therapy sessions, and ultimately, ameliorates suffering.”
You can find out more about the therapy startup here.
Democratizing Finance and the Unexpected Future of Fintech – Gabelli Connect
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman recently visited the Gabelli School of Business to share his insights about fintech at an event co-sponsored by the Gabelli Center for Global Security Analysis titled “Democratizing Finance: Expanding Access Through Fintech.”
Schulman told the audience, “We have a mission, which is democratizing financial services. It’s very inclusive [and it’s] about all citizens having access to the digital economy…probably the most important value for us is inclusion and diversity. Because if we have a mission that includes all citizens, we need to represent that as a company.”
Center for Financial Services Innovation president and CEO Jennifer Tescher used the event as an opportunity to talk about diversity in fintech—or lack thereof.
“I would say that, why don’t we have more women anywhere? I think it’s a particular challenge in the world of engineering, which cuts across any tech. Why don’t we have more women in financial services, forget about fintech. I think it’s a huge problem.”
You can find out more about the recent event here.
Summit Explores Future of Selling in a Digital World – Rutgers Business School News
As part of a summit that focused on “the future of selling in the digital world,” the Rutgers Business School recently hosted two panels comprised of a diverse array of sales executives:
Panel #1
- Phil Cohn, Senior Vice President of U.S. Sales for Samsung
- Jeff Clachko, Senior Vice President for NBC Sports Ad Sales
- Gary Carleton, President of Sales-Healthcare for UPS
- Tolga Akcura, Co-Founder of eBrandValue
- Joel Silverman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Synchronoss Technologies
Panel #2
- Rita Fawcett, Vice President of Cardiovascular Sales for Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Frank Palumbo, Senior Vice of Cisco’s Global Date Center Sale
- Rahsan-Rashan Lindsay, Executive Vice President, TV One
- Jim Sterbenz, Senior Vice President of U.S. Sales at Campbell Soup
The first panel “delved into the role of analytics, metrics and customer relationship management for sales professionals” while the second panel focused on the “challenges and opportunities in sales as a result of technology.”
The keynote speaker was Cocoa Exchange President John Wycoff who extolled the virtues of the growing gig economy, which forecasts to have 7.7 million workers by 2020 due in large part to the growth of digital sales tools.
You can find out more about the recent event here.
Marketing Magic, The Business of TV, and More – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
Magic and the Modern Business World – Gabelli Connect
Gabelli School of Business Clinical Associate Professor Timothy Malefyt uses capital-M ‘Magic’ (think David Blaine, Siegfried & Roy, Penn & Teller) to explain how “magical practices can be found in contemporary capitalist societies.”
In his new book, Magical Capitalism: Enchantment, Spells, and Occult Practices in Contemporary Economies, Malefyt explains, “Magic offers a way to make a connection and effect change through willful beliefs and ritual practices.”
He elaborates:
“[In advertising] you don’t know if the customer will like this ad so similarly to how magicians rely upon magical rites, advertisers often use “formulas” to feel comfortable in their presentation to a client, such as habits surrounding the time they present or the way everyone is sitting at the table.”
You can read more about Malefy’s work here.
Binghamton University Student Approaches TV Production with Business Mindset – Binghamton SOM Blog
The Binghamton SOM Blog recently profiled business administration student Zach Homler, who has made significant early strides toward a promising career behind the scenes of film and television.
Following an internship on the Fusion and truTV variety talk show The Chris Gethard Show in which he “helped prepare celebrity guests such as Jason Sudeikis, Seth Meyers, Nick Kroll and Ellie Kemper,” he landed back-to-back PA (production assistant) gigs on Netflix and Amazon Prime shows.
Homler compares his experience to a case competition. “You have this project or this problem to solve, and you do some work, weigh your options, then present your recommendations to the decision makers.”
Homler hopes to pursue a career in either in entertainment law or talent management.
“This is me getting my foot in the door. I’m able to get that ground-up perspective of what goes into these productions, and I think putting in that work and understanding the day-to-day process is only going to help me on the business side of things. And so far, it’s been a lot of fun.”
You can read more from the recent interview here.
Fred Schaufeld Talks about Luck, Opportunity and Lehigh – Lehigh College of Business and Economics News
As part of its Distinguished Finance Speaker Series, the Lehigh College of Business and Economics recently hosted Fredrick D. Schaufeld (’81 ’15P ’17P), whose presentation Managing Luck: Lessons from Lehigh and Life When Not Everything Goes Quite as Planned contained many hard-won lessons from his career as Co-Founder and Managing Director of venture capital private equity firm SWaN & Legend Venture Partners.
Schaufeld offered three major takeaways for the audience:
- Failure does not equal death. “Wherever you are in your career, you’re building a portfolio of ideas, relationships, networking and skill sets. When you fail, you might go back a little, but you can build on that and keep going forward.”
- Your time is worth more than your money. “If you’re miserable, do it a different way or do something else.”
- Don’t wait for wisdom to find you. “You’re wealthy now, whether you realize it or not. I learned that at a relatively young age, with no money in my pocket.”
Schaufeld explains, “[SWaN & Legend] invest in special human beings who lead companies with social impact. Ethics mean a lot to us. We focus on companies people are passionate about,” such as KIND Healthy Snacks, Gwynnie Bee, Airbnb, Sugar23, the Washington Nationals, Washington Capitals, and the Professional Fighters League.
You can read more about the recent event here.
Financing Strategies For “Nice” People, and More – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
When It Comes To Their Finances, Nice Guys Fall Short – Columbia Business School News
According to new research co-authored by Columbia Business School‘s Sandra Matz, “people who describe themselves as ‘agreeable’ are strongly connected to a bleak financial future—including lower savings, higher debt, and a higher likelihood of becoming financially insolvent.”
Matz elaborates, “This research proves that being nice may win friends but it can cost a lot of money. This is especially true for those who start off with less money, as they have no financial safety net to compensate for their personal habits. Unfortunately, having a nice and warm personality—in the arena of business and finances—can often have real financial costs.”
According to the article, “Agreeable individuals perceive money to be less important than their more disagreeable counterparts, and consequently have, on average, worse financial health—which is measured by savings, debt, and default behaviors.”
“Nice Guys Finish Last: When and Why Agreeableness Is Associated With Economic Hardship” was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
You can read more about Matz’s research here.
Opportunities Abound in Distressed Debt Investing – Gabelli Connect
The Fordham University Gabelli School of Business recently hosted a talk at its McNally Amphitheatre on the subject of “distressed debt investing,” a multi-trillion dollar industry in which “investors hunt for opportunities where they can purchase debt [with the hope] that the gambit will pay off eventually.”
Attendees were privy to first-hand accounts of distressed debt investments and legal advice from a variety of experts. Baupost Group partner Fred Fogel highlights the “importance of both curiosity and perseverance.” Paul Weiss Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization Co-Chair Alan Kornberg “encouraged those just starting out to get a feel for the process by sitting in on bankruptcy hearings.”
Former Wachtell Lipton Bankruptcy Department Head Chaim Fortgang emphasizes the creation and maintenance of “good working relationships.”
You can read more about the talk here.
Look to Entrepreneurs For What’s Next in Healthcare – Johnson Business Feed
The Johnson Business Feed interviewed visiting faculty member Elspeth Murray about the increasing demand for innovation in the healthcare industry, from the use of smartphones to the expansion of ambulatory care.
“Consumer behavior has changed, and that will begin to push on the healthcare system. At a certain point, healthcare practitioners are either going to lose patients or be forced to adopt new ways of treating and accommodating patients.”
She advises students returning to school to focus beyond their specialty and remain “open to taking risks and re-framing your view of the industry, and to be aware of what is happening outside of your bailiwick. Take a good look around at what’s happening and go for it.”
Murray’s 2002 book, Fast Forward: Organizational Change in 100 Days, which she co-authored with Peter R. Richardson, explores how “entrepreneurial thinking gives you the creative ideas and the juice and design thinking helps you see the problems to be solved in the right way.”
Check out the rest of the Murray interview here.
Information System Leaders, and More – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
Teaching Creativity, Strategy to Tomorrow’s Information Systems Leaders – Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business Blog
The Stevens Institute of Technology SOB spotlighted assistant professor of Information Systems Dr. Aron Lindberg, whose Digital Innovation course is a cornerstone of the master’s program in Information Systems.
Dr. Lindberg writes, “Digital products and processes are central to what businesses do today. And information systems professionals need to participate in the process of creating those products and services, and continuously pushing the envelope in search of innovation.”
He adds, “With all the data available today, you need the scientific method to ensure you’re doing your analysis in ways that are reliable and valid. Otherwise, you are not going to make good business decisions.”
Information Systems Master’s Program Director Dr. Paul Rohmeyer lauded Dr. Lindberg’s course, which “blends technical, management, strategy and entrepreneurship components, and presents them in an environment much like where they’ll work once they graduate.”
You can read the full article here.
NYU Stern Congratulates Paul Romer on Winning the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics – NYU Stern
NYU Stern’s Paul Romer was recently awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics “for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.”
Romer has conducted “applied research on the many ways that policymakers in the developing world can use the growth of cities to create economic opportunity and pursue social reform” as part of the NYU Stern Urbanization Project, which he also founded.
Romer also directs the Marron Institute of Urban Management, which “deepens the fundamental understanding of cities by working with civic innovators to improve urban management.”
You can read the full release from NYU here.
Talking with … Albert Greco – Gabelli Connect
Gabelli School of Business‘ “Talking with …” feature recently spotlighted professor of marketing Albert Greco who is currently researching a business history book about the post-1980 U.S. trade book business and has a business history book proposal under review about the marketing and financing of World War II in the U.S.
Greco discussed what interests him most about teaching consumer behavior, which he has analyzed in some shape or form since 1985.
“Consumer behavior looks at great questions and issues related to who, what, when, where, how, and why consumers decide to buy, or not buy, products and services. This means analyzing issues related to age, gender, style, prestige, the channels of distribution, etc.”
Greco also talked about issues related to university presses, which he described as “critical to the intellectual life of universities and academics, but many of them are small to medium-sized undercapitalized presses, and they need to address costly back-office operations and scale issues.”
You can read more from the interview here.
