Columbia Business School Alumni

Between June 4 and 17, more than 44 alumni clubs around the world hosted events as part of the third annual Worldwide Alumni Club Event, a celebration of Columbia Business School’s global alumni network. The events ranged from panel discussions and career workshops to intimate dinners and happy hours, with some chapters organizing receptions at the homes of alumni.

Being a member of this 38,000-strong global network affords countless opportunities to learn something — or someone — new. What have you learned recently through the Columbia network?

“I met a number of new people, including alumni who are new to Shanghai, and also Rebekkah Brown from the External Relations Office, who gave us an update on the School’s plans to move to a new campus in Manhattanville. I also met a lot of “fresh new blood” – lots of first-years doing internships back in Shanghai and new grads coming to Shanghai!"

—Wenning Xing ’04 of the Alumni Club of Shanghai, which hosted a dinner with guest speaker Rebekkah Brown, executive director of development

"Senior Vice Dean Mayer drew on his own research and explained that mortgage rates are dictated by the buying and selling of mortgage-backed securities: as demand for mortgage-backed securities increases due to the Fed’s purchases, mortgage rates should decline. Without this type of government intervention, mortgage rates could rise. Mayer estimated that for every 100 basis point increase in mortgage rates, a 10 to 15 percent increase in the cost to purchase a home could result. Consequently, home prices would fall. Academic studies show that falling house prices are the single strongest contributor to growth in foreclosures."

—Nicholas Panos ’08 (EMBA) of the Alumni Club of Washington, D.C., which hosted a panel discussion with Senior Vice Dean Chris Mayer on “Housing, Credit Markets and the Economy”

“I learned about the state of research on the private equity industry. Professor Laura Resnikoff gave a very nice overview of the research done in the field by Columbia Business School faculty members and others. We were sitting around the table with several alumni from private equity and the research very much resonated with them but also gave them some interesting new insights. It proved again the use and the practical implication of research done at Columbia."

—Niels Bos ’01 of the Alumni Club of Benelux, which hosted a dinner with the theme of “Restructuring Private Equity” featuring guest speaker Laura Resnikoff ’76, associate professor and director of the School’s Private Equity Program

“At this event, I learned that not one, not two, but three classmates had started businesses – two in hospitality and the other in renewable energy. Another alum had successfully transitioned to a job with the federal government and would be moving to D.C., and another alum had recently landed a position at a private equity firm investing in alternative energy. Columbia taught me that opportunities are endless, and my fellow alums remind me of this every day."

—Rebecca Mincy ’07, participant in an event organized by the Alumni Club of New York, which hosted a networking reception and presentation by Professor Robert Bontempo on “Raising the Stakes: How Technical and Interpersonal Skills Pay Off” 
 

View the winning photos from the third annual Worldwide Alumni Club Event Photo Contest.