Archives
June 2006
Director's Message: Dean travels to connect with alumni
Summer greetings! I hope this finds many of you enjoying vacation or recreating. As you know, this is a glorious time of year in Ithaca, and I hope many of you will visit during the next few months.
Some of you recently attended Reunion Weekend. Despite cool weather and rain, many alumni commented on the beauty of Ithaca in summer. It was my first Cornell Reunion and I was blown away by the activities and programs and the enthusiasm of our alumni. It was an incredible experience, and if you've never attended, please consider coming. I think you would enjoy it.
If you don't have plans to visit Ithaca soon, we may have a chance to connect in the near future. Beginning in September, a number of people from the Johnson School will be traveling around the country and globe reaching out to our alumni, our prospective students, and friends. [more]
Johnson School closes NASDAQ
On Friday, July 14, Dean Swieringa will preside over the closing bell ceremony at NASDAQ. More than 50 EMBA and MBA students, alumni and guests will be on hand for the ceremony, which is broadcast on CNBC and Bloomberg. A 30-second Johnson School video will also run on NASDAQ's seven-story-tall video screen in Times Square. To see the event live on July 14 at 3:50 p.m. EST, check out their webcam at www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_about.stm
Pictured from left to right: Roderick Chu, MBA '71, and Jean Rowley, MBA '56, at the dean's reception.
Michael Sharp, MBA '81, Celestea Sharp, MBA '81, Cynthia Massarsky, MBA '81, and Barry Massarsky, MBA '81, enjoy the wine tasting while each celebrating 25th wedding anniversaries.
Interim President Hunter Rawlings, Dick Cecil, MBA '56, and Elizabeth Rawlings at the dean's reception.
Revamped Advisory Council meets
A revamped and reinvigorated Johnson School Advisory Council met at Sage Hall in a series of sessions over three days in April. The new AC is a smaller group?roughly 40 active members?with a mission to provide guidance, financial support and other assistance to promote the objectives and strategic goals of the school.
The AC meets twice a year and currently consists of four committees. Two are standing committees?Executive and Nominating?and two ad hoc?Corporate and Alumni Affairs & Development (AA&D). The Executive Committee works closely with the dean and governs activities of the broader council, while helping identity key strategic issues facing the dean and the school. The Nominating Committee will ensure, among other things, that there is a diverse and dynamic slate of candidates for the AC (terms range from 2 to 4 years depending on role.) The Corporate Committee will actively work toward wider corporate engagement with the school, and offer a corporate perspective on school strategies, initiatives and programs including admissions, placement, and corporate involvement in academic programs.
The AA&D Committee?which broadly supports the areas of alumni engagement, alumni communications, regional alumni clubs, and development?can serve as your connection to the Advisory Council. Committee chair Jeffrey Berg, BS '79, MBA '81, is actively soliciting ideas around organizing and improving alumni affairs activities. He welcomes your input and can be reached at jfb14@cornell.edu.
"The Business of?" series brings leading thinkers together
The Johnson School's popular "The Business Of?" series continues to bring the nation's top experts together to examine leading business issues. On June 22 close to 100 working managers gathered at the Nutley, New Jersey, headquarters of Roche Group, Inc., for "The Business of Pharma." After time for networking, panel presentations were moderated by Carolyn (Choh) Fleming '85, MBA '87. Panelists included Dennis E. Burns, vice president and global head of business development, Pharma Partnering, Roche Pharmaceuticals; William K. Heiden, MBA '87, president and CEO, Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Sundeep Lal, PhD, MBA '98, senior director, External Scientific Affairs, World Wide Licensing and External Research, Merck & Co.; and Thomas S. Loane '67, MBA '68, vice president and CIO, Teva Pharmaceuticals.
The Johnson School created "The Business Of?." series because it believes real impact requires recognition and understanding of important evens and issues affecting the marketplace. The series offers access to the best intellectual capital, thought leadership and expertise on issues of importance to Cornell alumni, students and corporate partners.
Finance professor garners top research award
One of the finance disciplines top honors for scholarly research recently was earned by the Johnson School's Roni Michaely, Rudd Family Professor of Management and professor of finance. The prestigious Jensen Prize for the best research in corporate finance and organizations published the previous year in the Journal of Financial Economics went to Michaely and his co-authors for their paper "Payout Policy in the 21st Century." Winners are elected by vote of subscribers to the journal.
"Payout Policy in the 21st Century" appeared in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Financial Economics. The complete paper is available on the Johnson School's Web site.
Johnson School welcomes first Entrepreneur in Residence
Brad Treat, MBA '02, returned to the Johnson School on July 1 as Entrepreneur in Residence. Treat is founder of SightSpeed, Inc., a leading provider of free and premium Internet video and voice communications services. His residency is sponsored by the Entrepreneurship at Johnson Program and the Cornell Center for Technology Enterprise and Commercialization. During his one-year term, Treat will be an active resource for entrepreneurially minded students, faculty, and staff across Cornell University. He will help them develop business ideas, initiate new ventures, and further existing ventures, with focus on moving from the idea to start-up phase. This will include an emphasis on the commercialization of Cornell intellectual property.
Featured alumni
Irene B. Rosenfeld, PhD '80, has been appointed chief executive officer, effective immediately, of Kraft Foods. Rosenfeld was most recently chairman and chief executive officer of Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo. [more]
Anupendra Sharma, MBA '98, has been appointed investment partner at Siemens Venture Capital in Boston. [more]
John Wirth, MBA '98, currently serves as chief marketing officer and member of the board of Hild Asset, a niche-market consumer finance company headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. [more]
Travel to Israel with JS alumni
At the request of several Johnson School alumni, and in collaboration with the America-Israel Friendship League, a guided trip to Israel will take place in spring 2007. The trip will aim to bring participants in touch with Israel's rich history, famous sites of Christian and general interest, stunning nature, parks and reserves, diverse cultures, hopping nightlife and the loved Israeli white-sand beaches. Additionally and based on the participant mix, meetings will be held with community leaders in the areas of business and law; visits to innovative high-tech companies are planned as well.
The 8-10 day long trip will accommodate up to 20 participants, and is open to Johnson School an Cornell alumni, staff, faculty, and their significant others. The tour is presently being scheduled for some time between late April and early June 2007, with an eye to catching the pleasant Israeli spring. Participation will be on a first-come-first-served basis. For more information please contact Oded Anderman, MBA '04, at oa28@cornell.edu.
Alumni converge on New Jersey links
The Johnson School Club of New York invites alumni from New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, DC, to attend its annual alumni golf tournament, scheduled for Thursday, August 10, 2006, at the White Beeches Country Club in Haworth, New Jersey (just over the George Washington Bridge.) This afternoon of golf features special guest Professor Jerry Haas, and an 18-hole golf scramble, driving range time, lunch, cocktail reception, trophy and prizes. The tournament goes off at 1 p.m., with a shot-gun start.
The cost for this beautiful afternoon on the links is $150 per person. Reserve your spot by registering online. Space is limited to 40, and is expected to sell out. If you have questions, contact David Kelsey, MBA '95, or Rob Gates, MBA '94. Many thanks to Scott Carter, MBA '95, for sponsoring the tournament at the White Beeches Country Club.
View the online alumni events calendar to check out the latest offerings in your area. It's a great way to keep in touch!
