Can financial innovation serve the underbanked?
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Warren Hall, Room 207
Today, millions of Americans lack access to basic banking services and credit. Nine million US households do not have a bank account and are forced to rely on check cashing services, payday lending, and other expensive alternate forms of banking and access to capital. The Student Leadership and Ethics Board will host a panel to discuss how financial innovation can serve these underbanked populations. Professor Stephan Meier will lead a discussion with members of the corporate, government, and startup communities.
The discussion will explore recent innovations across sectors to serve underbanked populations, such as check cashing caps and alternative banking startups, and analyze persistent banking gaps and potential solutions.
This event is organized by the Student Leadership and Ethics Board.
Short Selling Financial Fraud
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Columbia University
Jim Chanos, founder and managing partner of Kynikos Associates LP, will speak about short selling financial fraud at a small dinner with students. Discussion will be moderated by Professor Bruce Kogut.
Jim Chanos is the founder and managing partner of Kynikos Associates LP, the world's largest exclusive short selling investment firm. Mr. Chanos opened Kynikos Associates LP in 1985 to implement investment strategies he had uncovered while beginning his Wall Street career as a financial analyst with Paine Webber, Gilford Securities, and Deutsche Bank. Throughout his investment career, Mr. Chanos has identified and sold short the shares of numerous well-known corporate financial disasters; among them, Baldwin-United, Commodore International, Coleco, Integrated Resources, Boston Chicken, Sunbeam, Conseco, and Tyco International. His celebrated short-sale of Enron shares was dubbed by Barronâ??s as "the market call of the decade, if not the past fifty years." The media has noted his prescience in alerting finance ministers and others about the global financial crisis well before if occurred. His views on the lessons from the crisis, capital markets regulation, and investment strategies, among other topics, are regularly covered by news organizations worldwide.
Mr. Chanos is chairman of the Coalition of Private Investment Companies, whose members are diverse in their size and investment strategies. The members' clients include pension funds, asset managers, foundation, other institutional investors, and qualified wealthy individuals. In that role, Mr. Chanos has testified before Congress and provided comments to regulations proposed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom.
At the Yale University School of Management, Mr. Chanos is a Visiting Lecturer in Finance, teaching a class on the history of financial fraud.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr. Chanos lives in New York City, and has four children. He is President of the Board of Trustees of The Browning School, and serves as a Trustee at The Nightingale-Bamford School and The New-York Historical Society. Mr. Chanos received his BA in economics and political science in 1980 from Yale University.
This event is part of the Paul M. Montrone Seminar Series on Ethics.
The Silfen Leadership Series Presents Sallie Krawcheck ’92
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
This event is part of the Silfen Leadership Series.
Can faith in finance be restored?
Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 11:35 a.m. – 12:25 p.m
Larry Zicklin, Clinical Professor of Business Ethics at Stern School at NYU, will discuss ethics and the future Wall Street following Greg Smith's critical article about life at Goldman Sachs. Moderated by Professor Bruce Kogut, Columbia Business School. Registration is required.
Biography
Larry Zicklin is a Clinical Professor of Business Ethics at Stern School at NYU and teaches in both the MBA and Trium programs. He is also a senior lecturer in Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School of Business and a member of the Duke Corporate Research Learning Network.
Larry spent 24 years as Managing Partner at Neuberger Berman before he retired in 1999. He then became Non-Executive Chairman where he remained until 2003.
Larry Zicklin's teaching reflects the belief that good ethics are good business in the long run and he teaches his classes with the idea of helping students prosper in their careers while avoiding the mistakes that are so frequently in the headlines.
Outside his academic life, Professor Zicklin is Chairman of the Audit Committee of Neuberger Berman, He is also a past President and former Chairman of UJA/Federation of New York and is the current Chairman of the Baruch College Fund. Larry is currently a director at BZL Biologics (a research company studying antibody based therapeutics) and is Chairman of the Rand Center for Corporate Ethics, Law and Governance.
A Conversation with Ursula Burns
Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Uris Hall, Room 301
Ursula Burns, chairman and CEO of Xerox, will share the lessons she has learned on her path to leadership in a Fortune 500 company. Discussion moderated by Professor Modupe Akinola.
This event is co-sponsored by the Bernstein Student Leadership and Ethics Board, the Black Business Students Association, Columbia Women in Business, and the General Management Association.
The Fall of MF Global: Inside America's Eighth Largest Bankruptcy
Monday, February 27, 2012 at 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Uris Hall, Hepburn Lounge
James Koutoulas, founder and CEO of Typhon Capital Management and co-founder of the Commodities Customer Coalition, has been called "The boy wonder of the MF Global nightmare," by Fortune Magazine. Representing more than 8,000 former MF Global clients, Mr. Koutoulas will share his first-hand account of the bankruptcy case and opine on what happened just before the firm failed. Discussion moderated by Professor Michael Keehner.
Biography
James Koutoulas is co-founder of the Commodity Customer Coalition (CCC), which is fighting for the quick return of customer funds currently frozen, missing, or stolen as a result of the MF Global bankruptcy, the 8th largest bankruptcy in US history. Following James' testimony in Congress in December, the CCC won the return of 72 percent of client funds. The bankruptcy case has raised questions about leadership and governance issues at MF Global, not least of which is why customer funds in segregated accounts were comingled with firm assets. The firm's CEO John Corzine continues to deny culpability. JP Morgan appears to have several conflicts of interest. The results of the bankruptcy case will have implications for the broader financial services industry including regulators, customers, and management teams.
James has been interviewed on CNBC and Bloomberg as well as written about in The New York Times, Fortune, Business Insider, Forbes, Crain's, and The New York Post. James is one of Futures Mag's Top 25 People and Events of 2011.
James is also founder and CEO of Typhon Capital Management, a NFA-registered Commodity Trading Advisor and Commodity Pool Operator. Typhon manages several CTA strategies, each isolated to a single asset class so that investors may select specific niche exposures that best suit their portfolios. James earned his law degree from Northwestern Law where he specialized in securities law. He also has a degree in Finance from the University of Florida, where he was a National Merit Scholar and AP National Scholar.
This event is organized by the Student Leadership and Ethics Board.
Our Black Year: A Tale of Buying Black in America's Racially Divided Economy
Monday, February 27, 2012 at 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Uris Hall, Room 301
Maggie Anderson, CEO and cofounder of The Empowerment Experiment Foundation, discussed her book, Our Black Year, a chronicle of her family's yearlong experience of buying exclusively from black-owned businesses.
Biography
As CEO and cofounder of The Empowerment Experiment Foundation, Maggie Anderson has become the leader of a self-help economics movement that supports quality black businesses and urges consumers, especially other middle and upper class African Americans, to proactively and publicly support them. She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and CBS Morning News, among many other national television and radio shows. She received her BA from Emory University and her JD and MBA from the University of Chicago. She lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with her husband, John, and their two daughters.
This event is co-sponsored by the Bernstein Student Leadership and Ethics Board and the Black Business Students Association.
Research Symposium: Business and Politics: Which Drives Which?
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Italian Academy, Columbia University
KPMG Peat Marwick / Stanley R. Klion Forum with Sir Ronald Cohen
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 6:00 – 7:15 p.m. discussion,
7:15 – 8:00 p.m. reception
Warren Hall, Feldberg Space
Sir Ronald Cohen — who has been described as both "the father of British venture capital" and "the father of social investment" — will speak about his leadership experience during his more than 40-year career in venture capital and impact investing. Moderated by Professor Bruce Kogut, director of the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics.
Biography
Sir Ronald Cohen is chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures, which invests in social entrepreneurial ventures. He is a director of Social Finance UK and Social Finance USA and chaired the SocialInvestment Task Force (2000 – 2010) and the Commission on Unclaimed Assets (2005 – 2007). He is currently advising the UK Government on the establishment of The Big Society Bank.
He is a co-founder and chairman of Apax Partners. Founded in 1972, Apax Partners is now one of the world's leading private equity investment groups. He was also a founder, director, and chairman of the British Venture Capital Association as well as founder and director of the European Venture Capital Association and founder and former vice chairman of EASDAQ and former director of NASDAQ Europe.
Sir Ronald Cohen is a graduate of Oxford University, where he was president of the Oxford Union, and is an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. A graduate from Harvard Business School, he is a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers and the Board of Dean's Advisers at Harvard Business School, a vice chairman of Ben Gurion University and a member of the University of Oxford Investment Committee. He is also a Trustee of the British Museum.
In 2007, Sir Ronald published The Second Bounce of the Ball — Turning Risk into Opportunity.
This event is part of the KPMG Peat Marwick / Stanley R. Klion Forum.
Strategic Leadership and Transformational Change: Insights from General George Casey, The 36th Chief of Staff of the US Army
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Warren Hall, Feldberg Space
General George Casey, US Army, Retired, will share insights into strategic leadership from his more than 40 years of experience in the US Army. Discussion will be moderated by Professor Todd Jick. A Q&A session will follow his presentation. Light refreshments will be served following the event.
Biography
General George W. Casey, Jr. is one of the most accomplished soldiers in US history and an authority on strategic leadership.
As the 36th Chief of Staff of the US Army from April 2007 to 2011, General Casey led what is arguably the world's largest and most complex organization — 1.1 million people strong, with a $200+ billion annual budget — during one of the most extraordinary periods in military and global political history. He is widely credited with restoring balance to the war-weary US Army, modernizing and leading the transformation necessary to defend our nation in the 21st Century, and ensuring the current force deployed in the war on terror was the best this country has ever fielded.
Prior to this, from July 2004 to February 2007, he commanded the Multi-National Force — Iraq, a coalition of more than 30 countries. General Casey guided the Iraq mission through its toughest days. He led cultural change in the US Armed Forces and built the Iraqi security institutions to set the conditions for our long-term success. On the homefront, General Casey has been a stalwart advocate for military families, expanding programs for the wounded, addressing the tough issues of substance abuse and suicide, reducing the stigma of combat stress and trauma, and providing long term support for survivors of the fallen.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1970. Throughout his career, he served in operational assignments in Germany, Italy, Egypt, Bosnia, Iraq, and the United States. He has extensive command experience.
General Casey holds a Masters Degree in International Relations from Denver University and has served as a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States.
He is committed to ensuring the contributions of the men and women of our Armed Forces are not forgotten. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Ride2Recovery, an organization that uses cycling as a means of assisting the recovery of our wounded servicemen and women; a member of the Board of Directors of ThanksUSA, a organization that provides scholarships to the children and spouses of our servicemen and women; and he is the Chairman of the Military Advisory Board of Viridis Learning, an educational software company that is working to increase employment opportunities for our Veterans.
This event is presented by the Military in Business Association and the Student Leadership and Ethics Board.
Lessons on Ethical Leadership in Business: Marilyn Fedak, Vice Chair Emeritus for Investment Services at AllianceBernstein
Monday, February 6, 2012, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Uris Hall Room 331
The lecture will be followed by a Paul M. Montrone Seminar Series dinner event, hosted by Student Leadership & Ethics Board.
Ms. Fedak will discuss important lessons on ethical leadership that she has learned throughout her exemplary career. She will also share her thoughts on Mr. Bernstein, the values he put in place when he founded his investment management firm, and how those values are carried through today.
Register online for the lecture.
To be considered for the dinner, please apply here no later than January 27.
Marilyn Fedak is the vice chair emeritus for Investment Services at AllianceBernstein. Although she retired from the firm in December 2010, she is the chairman of the board for AllianceBernstein's Alternative Investment Strategy and a member of the board of the firm's UK subsidiary.
A 39-year veteran of the investment business, Ms. Fedak joined Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc. (a predecessor company of AllianceBernstein), in 1984 as a senior portfolio manager. She was Chief Investment Officer for US Large-Cap Value Equities from 1993 to 2009. In 2003, she also became the business head of Bernstein Global Value Equities. In early 2009, she was named Vice Chair of Investment Services.
In addition to her investment responsibilities, Ms. Fedak created and headed the firm's Talent Development Team and was President of the Sanford C. Bernstein Mutual Funds. She was a partner at AllianceBernstein and served on Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.'s Board of Directors.
Prior to joining Bernstein, Ms. Fedak was a portfolio manager and research analyst at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company from 1972 to 1983. She earned a BA from Smith College and an MBA from Harvard University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
On the philanthropic front, Ms. Fedak is the founder of the Marilyn G. Fedak Capitalism Project that, in conjunction with the Center for the American University, is working to get colleges, universities, law schools and business schools to expose their students to the moral & philosophical underpinnings of capitalism. Ms. Fedak is also on the board of Commentary magazine, a member of the National Council of the American Enterprise Institute, a trustee of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and a member of the Dean's Council of the Weil Cornell Medical College.
This event is hosted by the Student Leadership and Ethics Board, Investment Management Club, and Columbia Women in Business Association.
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