Archives
February 2007
Director's Message: Johnson School Community on the Road!
January 2007 was a fantastic demonstration of how our Johnson School community maximizes opportunities to build relationships among all its members. Programming was coordinated by alumni, students, and faculty, all aimed at connecting our constituents and offering value-added programming. [more]
Business of Executive Compensation
BR Ventures Business Idea Competition
Associate Dean Richard Shafer Departs
Promoting Sustainability within Corporations
Save the Date for Reunion 2007
Corrections to Annual Report
Featured Alumni
Johnson School in the News
Events
Business of Executive Compensation
More than 60 graduates and friends of Cornell Law School, the Johnson School, and the university met on January 18, 2007, in New York City for a lively panel discussion: "The Business of Executive Compensation: Are CEOs paid too much?" The event was sponsored by the Johnson School, the Johnson School Club of New York, the Law School at Cornell University, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, which hosted the event at its Midtown offices.
The panel featured Johnson School Assistant Professor of Finance Yaniv Grinstein , who talked about his seminal research tracking increases in executive compensation, and how growth in pay takes a bite out of profits. Rising compensation does not appear to be linked to company performance—about 90 percent of growth in pay is not explained by changes in company profits, Grinstein said.
The discussion was particularly timely, in light of new SEC regulations requiring more transparency in how companies report executive compensation packages. "Investors need to know what's going on, and accounting will never provide the full picture," said Neri Bukspan, managing director, Standard & Poor's Credit Market Services.
The panel was rounded out by Lisa L. Hunter, '77, president, Newport Consulting Group, Inc., a firm specializing in developing comprehensive compensation programs and enhancing organizational effectiveness, and David Mason, JD '88. Mason, a partner in Debevoise & Plimpton, is a member of the firm's executive-compensation and employee-benefits group, as well as its private-equity group, moderated the panel.
BR Ventures Business Idea Competition
BR Ventures invites Cornell-affiliated individuals and current students and faculty at other universities to take their first step toward turning an idea into a viable business, through its seventh annual Business Idea Competition. Judges from BR Ventures and the venture capital community select the top-three ideas, each of which earns a cash prize and consideration for investment by BR Ventures and business incubation by BRV's sister organization, BR Incubator. The team behind the top idea takes home $10,000.
Entries close on March 4, 2007. Complete information on the competition is available on the BR Ventures Web site.
Associate Dean Richard Shafer Departs
After eight years of service to the Johnson School, Dick Shafer is stepping down as Associate Dean for Corporate Relations. He leaves to take up the next phase of his career as a partner with Waltham, Mass.-based TruePoint Partners , a consulting firm that focuses on building high-performance teams and enterprises. Shafer has agreed to remain with the Johnson School on a part-time basis as business director for the Business of Science and Technology Initiative (BSTI).
"Dick has done an outstanding job in this role, and has been a significant force in many key areas in the school," said Johnson School Dean Robert Swieringa, in his announcement.
Dean Swieringa appointed Randy Allen as Acting Associate Dean for Corporate Relations through December 31, 2007. Allen, a 22-year veteran of Deloitte Consulting, has been a senior lecturer of strategy and consultant-in-residence at the Johnson School since 2002. She is the main architect of the school's successful Consulting Focus addition to the MBA curriculum.
Promoting Sustainability within Corporations
Actively participating in cross-functional teams is one of the most effective means to inject sustainable approaches into a company's thinking and practices, agreed panelists at a career event held at Sage Hall Feb. 1 and 2. The forum was sponsored by Net Impact and the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise .
Some of the nation's most active companies in the sustainability arena came to campus for the event, including Accenture, Dow Chemical, Ford, GE Energy, McDonald's, and SC Johnson, and several company representatives and Johnson School alumni served as speakers for the event's panel discussions. Charles Hamilton, MBA '04, of Novomer, LLC, contributed to the discussion of competencies required from MBAs in emerging energy and technology markets, and John Fay, MBA '04, talked about building a sustainable world through government, NGO, and private-sector opportunities.
"An idea isn't enough," said Roger Vardan of Strata-Gems, who is also an Executive-in-Residence at the Johnson School's Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise. "Many times, good ideas die; your VP doesn't have time to create a project for you. You have to create it."
Save the date for Reunion 2007
June 7-10, 2007
Calling all Johnson School alumni from the classes of 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002! This year's program will include a mix of social events, educational programs, tours, and plenty of fun for all, ?including kids! Highlights include a welcome reception at the home of Associate Dean Joe Thomas, presentations by alumni and faculty, golf tournament, annual barbecue, and the acclaimed Faculty Follies. Mark you calendars now so you don't miss this exciting opportunity to catch up with classmates and friends!
Ready to make your plans? The Johnson School has set up room blocks at several local hotels for your convenience If you are interested in staying at a hotel, simply call the hotel directly to make your reservation. If you would like to stay on campus, the Johnson School will have spaces available in Cascadilla Hall right in the heart of Collegetown! Reservations for on-campus housing will begin in April. Please check the Reunion web site for the latest information on travel and housing arrangements. For all other questions, please contact alumni@johnson.cornell.edu. We look forward to seeing you in June!
Corrections to Annual Report
The Office of Development and Alumni Affairs sincerely thanks our fiscal year 2006 donors appearing in the recently published Annual Report 2005-06 . The success of the Johnson School is in large part due to the contributions from alumni and friends. We would like to correct some errors that occurred in the report and give proper recognition to the following people:
Class of 1975
William F. Gibson
Tower Club
Amy Dubin George, MBA '84
Andrew S. George, MBA '84
Quadrangle Club
Robert G. Carman '69, MBA '70
Sarah J. Hammann, MBA '86
Achenyo Idachaba, MBA '98
Laurie Berkson Wishner, MBA '76
A note about the Johnson School Dean's Society listing: The Dean's Society listing on page 15 included the names of those with a current active pledge to our Dean's Society fund. Those whose pledges have been fulfilled do not appear on the list.
Featured alumni
Tanya Kiskanyan, MBA '96, was recently promoted to managing director in the securities division of Bank of America. [more]
Pierre Devaux, MBA '02 from the Accelerated MBA program (formerly the Twelve-Month Option), recently became President of the Johnson School Club of the Bay Area. [more]
Barbara Sullivan, MBA '00, is the Special Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer of the Boston Public Schools.[more]
Johnson School in the News
Empire of the Quants
Empire of the Quants - February 2007
Charles Lee, one of the original faculty members involved in the Cayuga MBA Fund who is now working as Barclays Global Investors' global director of equity research, is mentioned in this article on BGI. The outstanding growth of the Cayuga MBA Fund, from $600,000 to $11 million in just five years, is also highlighted
Serving Millionaires
BusinessWeek - January 22, 2007
Angela DiFabio (MBA '08), a counselor for Camp $tart-Up, along with two campers is pictured in this slide show that also includes the company Independent Means, the founding company for the camp.
Open Secrets
The New Yorker - January 8, 2007
In 1998, Johnson School students did a report for the advanced financial statement analysis class on Enron and found the stock to be over-valued. The students' report predated the fall of Enron by three years and is highlighted in this article on the Enron collapse.
See more news hits that feature our faculty, alumni, and students.
Events
View the online alumni events calendar to check out the latest offerings in your area. It's a great way to keep in touch!
