MGT3120TAWIL

Moderator:

Jonathan Engel, Associate Dean & Professor at Baruch College

Jonathan Engel conducts research in the historical evolution of U.S. health and social welfare policy.  His books are Doctors and Reformers: Discussion and Debate on Health Policy, 1925-1950 (University of South Carolina Press, 2002);  Poor People’s Medicine: Medicaid and U.S. Charity Care Since 1965, (Duke University Press, 2006); The Epidemic: A History of AIDS, (Smithsonian Books, 2006); and American Therapy: The Rise of Psychotherapy in the United States, (Gotham Books of Penguin/Putnam, 2008).  He is currently writing a history of the U.S. health system since 1970.

Dr. Engel started at the School of Public Affairs in 2008.  Previously he was a professor of healthcare policy and management at Seton Hall University for 13 years, and taught courses in healthcare finance and policy at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and at the School of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts.

Dr. Engel received his B.A. from Harvard in the history of science in 1986, his MBA from the Yale School of Management in 1991, and his Ph.D. in the history of medicine from Yale Graduate School in 1994.  He lives in Millburn, New Jersey, with his wife Rozlyn, an economics professor at West Point, and children Ezra, Ruth, Miriam, and Judah.

Panelists:

Shah Feroze

Mr. Shah Feroze is currently serving as Financial Advisor at MassMutual Financial Group, where he achieved Rising Leader award, Rookie of the Year award and Leadership award for his outstanding performance. He is also serving as Director of Prepaid Legal Services, Inc. He graduated from Dhaka University, Bangladesh with B.A (Honors) in English and later M.S. in Demography and holds CTA from Columbia University. He was actively involved in MassMutual’s $100,000 donation to the victims of recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Mr. Shah is an official advisor of People N Tech, LLC provider of IT consulting, outsourcing and training based in NY, Virginia and Toronto. He is also the Founding Vice President of proposed People N Tech University in Bangladesh.

He is an active fundraiser for Mi3 Holdings Inc, a global IT solutions and innovative emerging multilateral company which created a huge impact in the recent IT convention held in Javits Center, NYC especially introducing the “freebeepay” technology in the global platform of POS system to be launched in July 2011. Mi3 is headquartered in Atlanta with global presence in NY, Dubai, Johannesburg and Dhaka.

He is also the active fundraiser and CFO of PWA, an innovation and global information services company with a focus on inventing new programs and ideas impacting humanity by engaging in endeavors that benefit the greater good and Personal Web Assistant Corporation, a Pioneer in Web 3.0 technology, a growing IT innovative and servicing company headquartered in North Carolina with presence in Washington DC, Silicon Valley, CA and Dhaka.

Mr. Shah also acts as fundraiser for number of non-profit organizations, such as Sheba USA, Inc which is focused on providing Bangladeshi immigrant communities with necessary resources in desperate needs in NYC, EIC (Ecuadorian International Center, Inc.), which was established in 1999 to help, educate, and inspire the Latino immigrant community residing in New York City,

Hope Foundation, head quartered in Orlando, FL helping emergency, supplemental and comprehensive medical needs in Bangladesh, Optimist Bangladesh, helping and sponsoring needy children in Bangladesh from day one with their education, health and permanent settlement in life. He is the Vice President of Bangladesh Civil Society in NY help promoting and establishing a strong platform in developing human resources, culture and literacy.

Paul Cahill

Paul Cahill is a nationally recognized authority in spoken and written communications.  He has taught hundreds of corporate executives and managers to increase the effectiveness of their public and corporate communications.  His techniques improve speech making; sales and marketing presentations; and communications flow to employees, peers and senior management.

In 1984 Paul and his wife Ellen founded CAHILL ASSOCIATES, a communications consulting company providing training to all levels of corporate personnel.  It is the only company in the field where teaching personal communications skills is related directly to developing more effective business relationships and greater productivity.

A former educator, actor and director, Mr. Cahill is well suited to his current task of helping people strengthen their communications abilities.  In workshops and coaching sessions, Cahill is quite often heard to say: “… the effectiveness of a presentation is not measured as much by the performance of the messenger as it is by what the audience remembers a few short hours after the presentation has been given.”

Cahill’s program was described recently by one Senior Vice President as  “…one of the most meaningful workshop experiences I have ever had.  I find myself going back to the tape and the manual each time I have to give a speech.”  A Marketing Director called it “… a great program, not only for presentations, but also for one-on-one communications.  The Cahill Associates workshop is right on target.”

Mr. Cahill holds a BA degree in Speech and Theatre from Adelphi University, an MA and an advanced degree in Communications from Fairfield University.

Cahill Associates clients include Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Cigna Corporation, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, Pfizer, Novartis, XL Capital, American Banker’s Association, Financial Planners Association, TNS Global, The New York Times, Marsh & McLennan, Aames Investment Co., The Thomson Corporation, IBM, PW Coopers, Hyperion, Goldman Sachs and American Express.

Jodi Brockington

As founder of NIARA Consulting, a full service marketing and business development company, Jodi utilized her over fifteen years of experience in the non-profit, corporate, and government sectors to consult for individuals, nonprofits, small businesses and corporations as well as offer career and college coaching for youth and professionals. As the principal of NIARA Consulting, Jodi teamed up with Operation HOPE to design a financial literacy program for youth; created the marketing and branding campaign for Tribal Ties; and worked with Entergy Nuclear Northeast to strengthen advocacy and outreach to diverse communities.

Jodi also recently served as Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility & Philanthropy of NEXUS Brands, a corporation with community reinvestment through strategic partnerships with local non-profits at the core of its business philosophy. In this role, Jodi collaborated with experts in the areas of health, education and diversity in an effort to revitalize under-served communities’ commitment to healthy lifestyles, especially among youth.

Previously, Jodi served as Vice President of Sales Management Administration at the Merrill Lynch Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management, where she managed the Center’s team of consultants, marketing events, and the partnership with Benevon, an organization specializing in sustainable funding for non-profits.

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Jodi was the Director of Alumni Affairs at the National Urban Fellows, Inc., where she was responsible for fundraising, strategic planning, and executing special events. Jodi is a Class of 2000 graduate of the National Urban Fellows. She has held roles as Director of Corporate Relations at the New York Urban League Inc., and was a senior consultant to California State Senator Kevin Murray.

Throughout her professional career, Jodi has demonstrated a strong commitment to educating and empowering young people. She served as the program director for Banking on the Future, is a former New York City Teaching Fellow, and is currently a PENCIL partner at Democracy Prep Charter School.

Jodi has been featured on the cover of The Network Journal, honored as one of the magazine’s 2004 “40 Under Forty,” has been recognized by the National Urban League as an Urban Influencer, is a 2010 Young Gifted & Black Entrepreneur honoree and a 2010-2011 America’s Leader of Change fellow, a program of National Urban Fellows in partnership with Walmart. She was also featured in the online magazine, People You Need to Know (PYNTK), as a woman who excels in business. Additionally, Jodi will be featured in several books this year that showcase her myriad skills and her expertise in networking and branding.

Jodi earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Social Work; from Baruch College in Public Affairs; and from the Hunter College School of Education. She completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA.

Mary – Ellen Rozak

Questions

1. Tell us about yourself (i.e. educational background, professional background..etc.) and what you do?
2. Was there a specific event that inspired you to do what you’re doing today? If so, what was it?
3. Were there any obstacles you had to overcome? If so what are they?
4. What’s the motivation for doing what you do? What keeps you inspired to continue doing what you do despite the hardships?
5. How do you see your “idea” growing within the next 5 years..or in the future in general?
6. What’s one thing you want people to take away from today’s discussion?

Executive Summary

Ethics is very important to us because as we enter the work force, there will be temptations to act in a manner that is unethical. We believe it is important to portray ethics in it’s negative light because we don’t often get a chance to see the ugly side of it. What is ethics? What we have come to realize through speaking with Sam Antar is that ethics is relative to each individual. For example, when one is driving and breaks the speed limit rule, he/she may feel that breaking this law is not unethical. Similarly, someone who scams other individuals has a higher threshold for deeming something unethical.

Sam Antar was the sole speaker in this panel. He was a fellow Baruch Alumnus who excelled at his Accounting studies here. Mr. Antar began the discussion with his background and the history of the scam. Then he talked to the class about the reasons why he did what he did in hopes that the class would get a glimpse into the mind of a crook. One of the motivating factors was his familial loyalty. He emphasized his loyalty numerous times and feels he was loyal to the end. The Antar’s were a tightly knit family and brought up with criminal values. Another contributing factor in his motivation was the fact that he believed he could get away with it. The irony is that Crazy Eddie’s downfall came when the family started to have conflicts from within.

Sam Antar stressed the point that everything he did, was to further his knowledge of how to become a better criminal. The lasting idea that Mr. Antar left us with, is that despite all the people he affected, the only thing he regrets was getting caught. This supports the notion that once a criminal, always a criminal.

Memorable Quotes

“Being a good criminal is like picking up girls, you must be charming” – Sam Antar

“I went to Baruch to learn how to be a better criminal” –Sam Antar

“The reason people like me can scam people like you is because you have ethics and we don’t” –Sam Antar

“If I could do it again, I would make sure not to get caught this time around” –Sam Antar

Executive Summary:

What constitutes a “hot industry?” Does the income per capita have to come out to at least six figures? Is the industry growing very fast? Maybe hot industry employees have the highest career satisfaction. Panel 7 came to the conclusion that a hot industry was a combination of all these descriptions. The panelists present were all part of an industry that was fast growing or allowed the individual to pursue a personal goal that he was very passionate about. A few of these industries include the Information Technology sector and the Green Movement.

A very, if not the most, important lesson that all panelists agreed on was that in order to succeed, one must be passionate about his or her own work. When you are apathetic towards what you do, it is hard to muster the energy to work your best – you want to get out of bed every morning. In addition, to be successful in business, you need to maintain a good balance of life and work – money cannot be your only motivating factor. Ralph Bianculli, a panelist who spoke about Green Tech, elaborated on that point by describing what his work allowed him to do, what he was able to change. By aiding other businesses in transitioning to sustainable infrastructure, he not only helps them save money, he helps save the planet by saving resources. Furthermore, another point that all panelists agreed on what that in order to be successful, one must be able to build and maintain strong relationships. It is impossible for any one person to know everything, so he or she needs to rely on the expertise of someone else to complement his or her own weakness. This is also why teamwork is so important – collaboration allows different individuals to combine all their different skill sets into something that is not simply a sum of parts; it is that and much more.

A hot industry is hot because they have something new to offer. Originality and creativity is what a hot industry demands. Through constant trial and error, people fail and learn, allowing the continuation of innovation and discovery.

Memorable Quotes:

“If money is your only motivation when you wake up in the morning, go back to bed!” “Nothing happens overnight. There are no shortcuts. Only shortcut is hard work.”

–Ralph Bianculli

“To be successful you must be relentless and persistent…”

“Figure out the balance in life because if you don’t, the engine’s gonna run out of steam.” –Joseph Bonelli

“Take the emotion out, sit back and evaluate the situation…” –Adam Furman

“Start small, take your passion, and stay dedicated to your vision.”

“Adversity gives you gifts for business.”

–Michael Caslin

“Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is part of what ultimately turns someone successful.”

“It’s all about relationships– sincere relationships –needed to communicate with others.”

–Jesse Sutton

Nan Chen

Jane Itkina

Thomas Hamill

Arthur Bronfman

Aleksandra Duda

Mohammed Hossain

Summary

Peter Kettle is a Financial Advisor working for Edward Jones which is number 11 on Forbes’ best companies to work for. As mentioned numerous times in the class, Peter stressed the importance of networking, especially in his field of financial advisory. Peter mentioned to us in class about the benefits and downsides to working for a prestigious company such as Edward Jones. For example, it gives you the opportunity to be your own boss with your own office and even a personal assistant to your own. You can take make your own schedule, take your vacation anytime you want and even negotiate when to see your clients. However, the immense freedom of this job also comes with an enormous amount of responsibility. Some of the tasks required in his field perpetual networking to draw in customers having the responsibility to succeed for yourself and all your staff that supports and revolves around you. In addition, just having a great all around personality for which the customers could interact is a must. Overall it seems as if the benefit definitely overlaps the great responsibilities working as a financial advisor for Edward Jones.

As a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley, Mr. Ari Baum has stressed that the strength of his company lies in the fact that the doors are no longer closed and the exchange of information between upper management and employees has improved. Employees at Morgan Stanley are able to communicate with others much more easily in order to address issues. Mr. Baum has also attributed the success of his firm to the notion that quality is more important than quantity. As a financial advisor, it’s not important as to how many clients one brings in but it is crucial to instead, provide clients with the correct information despite one’s own lack of it. Thus, he directs his clients to the appropriate individuals if Mr. Baum himself doesn’t have the experience or knowledge in a particular investment. Morgan Stanley is an employee orientated firm that accommodates to the needs of its employees by providing maternity leave, vacations and various perks that other companies cut to simply decrease their bottom line. This understanding of its employees needs allows Morgan Stanley to be a flexible and successful firm without focusing on cutting costs.

Brendon Molloy, the Northeast Director of Recruiting for KPMG, introduced the class to a reputable accounting firm that focuses on employee satisfaction and provides an atmosphere for its employees to grow. The reasons that he stressed why KPMG is on Forbes list are that it builds leaders by providing one with the opportunity to be in charge of a small team, it puts people in the position for global opportunities by allowing for interaction with its international operations and provides a fun atmosphere in which individuals can relieve stress and give back to the community.  KPMG’s success can be attributed to hiring well rounded individuals, thus Brendon has stressed the importance of partaking in activities that goes beyond the scope of the academic setting because you develop interpersonal and leadership skills necessary to succeed not only in KPMG, but in the service industry in general. The opportunity for growth within KPMG is not scarce as individuals are expected to take on leadership roles after two years of working with the firm, thus giving individuals a chance to make decisions and become accustomed to working within group settings as not only a team player, but also a leader.

Contact Information

Name: Brandon Molloy

Company: KPMG

Position: Senior Recruiter

Phone: 213-447-2600

Email: bmolloy@kpmg.com

Name: Peter Kettle

Company: Edward Jones

Position: Financial Advisor

Phone: 718-522-6254

Email: peter.kettle@edwardjones.com

Name: Ari Baum

Company: Morgan Stanley

Position: Financial Advisor

Phone: 212-903-7748

Email: ari.baum@morganstanley.com

Name: Monica Dean

Company: Baruch College – Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship

Position: Administrative Director

Phone: 646-312-4786

Email: Monica.Dean@baruch.cuny.edu

Memorable Quotes :

“Money comes and money goes but you really have to enjoy what you do”- Ari Baum

“People are everything, without you there is nothing”- Ari Baum

MODERATOR:

Kannan Mohan, Ph.D

Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems

CUNY Baruch College

Kannan.Mohan@baruch.cuny.edu

Kannan Mohan is an Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems at Baruch College, The City University of New York. He received his Ph.D. in CIS from Georgia State University. His research interests include agile development methodologies, managing software product family development, software traceability, knowledge integration, and green IT. His work has appeared in journals such as Communications of the ACM, Decision Support Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, IEEE IT Professional, IEEE Software, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Information & Management, and Communications of the AIS. Kannan teaches courses on green IT, systems analysis and design, and introductory information systems for managers.

SPEAKERS:

Adam Furman

President & CEO of Saibot Technologies

adam@saibottechnologies.com

Adam Furman began his professional career on Wall Street in the 1990’s as a retail broker then moved to the proprietary trading desk. It was there that he developed a desire to utilize the latest technologies for extensive research, technical analysis, risk management and execution strategies to capitalize on short term equity investments.

In 1999, Adam went on to start Saibot Technologies, an internet business consulting firm providing web development solutions and internet marketing services for clients, as well as creating and incubating a portfolio of their own internet companies. Saibot helps businesses utilize technology and the internet as a way to simplify their business processes, operate more efficiently, and maximize revenues.

Through Adam’s extensive knowledge of search engines and online marketing, as well as his wealth of advanced strategies and methodologies, he has developed countless profitable marketing campaigns for his clients, as well as businesses for his own portfolio ranging from cosmetics companies to construction companies.

His approach is as unique as each business, and every project is carefully planned, executed, and tracked in order to provide his clients with the best tools and data available to manage and monitor all aspects of their businesses.

Ralph Bianculli, Jr.

Director of Sales, Paradigm Group

rjbianculli@paradigm-grp.com

Ralph Bianculli began his entrepreneurial career at 16 when he created his private tutoring and landscaping businesses. By 17 he was tutoring seven students per week and working landscaping jobs on the weekends.

Ralph has always taken the initiative to take the path less traveled through the “left lane of life” and become the best he could be through hard work, focus and discipline. At 21 he joined his father’s manufacturing and distribution business which produces eco-friendly disposable products including the “Apt. 5” tree free paper line for the Walgreens/Duane Reade group.

As a passionate environmentalist and business person, Ralph helped created a program that helps large facilities around the country convert to green products at lower costs and measure their environmental footprint.

As the Director of Sales, he leads Paradigm Group’s sales division and over the last year has converted major facilities around the country, including fortune 500 corporations, universities, and hotel groups to sustainable products and practices at cost savings.

Joseph Bonelli

Financial Services Technology Executive

Joseph.l.bonelli@gmail.com

Joseph (Joe) Bonelli, based in greater New York City, is a senior technology executive with over 20 years of financial services experience developing and supporting mission-critical technology solutions and leading the transformation of technology delivery organizations.  He is recognized for strategically and cost effectively driving technology in alignment with business goals and excels at strategic planning, building high performance teams, and implementing continuous improvement programs.  He has extensive experience building and leading global, multi-location teams, leveraging vendor off shoring and establishing major software vendor partnerships.

Joe was Managing Director and Head of Information Services and Liquidity Technology for the Treasury and Trade Services business at Citigroup.   He was responsible for driving the information technology strategy and implementation for the Information Services and Liquidity businesses, globally.  As part of this role he was responsible for the mission critical customer facing electronic banking systems, CitiDirect and CitiBusiness Online, TreasuryVision as well as the primary Connectivity Channels.  These systems operate in over 100 countries in 23 languages with approximately one million users from major corporations, financial institutions, and governments.   In addition, he was responsible for creating new solutions for client on-boarding including electronic bank account management (eBAM), Identity Management, Business Activity Monitoring (BAM), Media and Analytics.   He was responsible for 1,200 FTE and a $150 million budget.

Joe’s prior position within Citigroup included managing several international securities clearance and position keeping systems. He was responsible for driving the decommissioning of several large-scale systems and building out a data warehouse for reporting and analytics.  All of his roles at Citigroup entailed building and leading organizations in multiple geographic locations.  He always sought or was asked to take on highly complex, challenging and, or problematic assignments.

Prior to joining Citigroup, Joe was a Vice President in the Corporate Systems area of JP Morgan.  There he progressed through increasingly responsible technology roles ranging from a programmer/analyst to group manager in functional areas including Credit Risk Management, Legal and Management Accounting, Profit Sharing, Loans, and Incentive Compensation Systems.

He earned a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems Bernard M. Baruch College.

Michael J. Caslin III

Chairman & CEO of URGENT VC

michael.caslin@urgentvc.com

Michael Caslin provides 30 years of proven national and global venture business development experience. He has served numerous for-profit and social enterprise non-profit ventures across numerous industry segments as a C-level leader, Board member and Turnaround / Strategy Advisor.   He has helped organizations scale across regional, national and global markets. In one instance he helped a venture scale from 200 users and to 1.5 million users.  He has helped scale a venture from $200K to $20mm annual revenue.  He has led fund raising initiatives that have secured over $130 million and has been involved in both VC and Private Equity deal flow.

Since 2008, he has served as Chairman/CEO of URGENT VC.  He founded URGENT VC (Urban Regeneration Energy Technology Ventures Corporations) to support the development of Sustainability Focused Ventures. URGENT VC accomplishes this through supporting venture development in the CleanTech & Sustainable Infrastructure – Alternative Asset Investment Class category. URGENT VC has an operating unit – Sustainable Community Consulting – which was selected in 2009 thru an EU wide competition to advise the Dublin Airport Authority on its future Sustainability Plan.  In 2010, URGENT VC was an advisor to the Federally established Blackstone Valley Partnership- a coalition of 24 towns and cities along the Blackstone River spanning Massachusetts and Rhode Island. URGENT VC was also selected by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and USET (the United Southern and Eastern Tribes) a coalition of (40) Native American Tribes as an advisor for Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Reservations.

In the Winter of 2009, seeing a need and niche for a growth stage private equity investment manager in the Sustainable Infrastructure space, he co-founded SCRC- Sustainable Community Resource Capital.  By 2011, SCRC was acquired and harvested.  At  SCRC, he was primarily responsible for investor and portfolio company sourcing and strategic due diligence of Fund investments with a focus on the carbon asset management sector.  Post-investment, Mr. Caslin was responsible for the support of executive management coaching and performance management and served as a member of the Investment Committee and Board.

Since 2004, he has also served as a Professor (with consistently high performance ratings) as a  “Prac-Ademic” (Practitioner & Academic) at the graduate and undergraduate level of Babson College’s Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship and the CUNY Baruch Zicklin School of Management and Field Center for Entrepreneurship (2009- present).  Babson College is ranked #1 in Entrepreneurship by US News & World Report and ranked in the top 10 in Social Entrepreneurship.  CUNY-Baruch College- Zicklin School of Business is America’s most diverse student body-170+ nationalities and the nation’s largest business school-26,000 students and is  ranked #8 in Entrepreneurship.  His courses include Entrepreneurial and Sustainable Venture Development and Case Study Experiences, High Impact Social Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship Management.

In 2009, he was awarded a “World Urbanization Fellowship” by the UK based Norfolk Charitable Trust to observe and assess why cities and communities “thrive or die”.  This experience provided a unique 4 continent, 14 city lens on the pressing issues of increased urbanization trends.  His urbanization, economic and environmental experiences were also developed thru his (12) year tenure as Founding Chair of the nationally recognized Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College where he worked closely with then co-founders Charles Lord, Max Kennedy, Dr. Erik Strauss and Dirk Ziff.

Mike also helped lead the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship from insolvency in 1988 to $20 million annual revenue with a $10 million endowment by 2008. As CEO for 14 years, he helped raise over $125 million in private sector sponsorships and an additional $5 million from the Federal, State and City Sectors. Students reached have grown by 1,000X and revenue by 100X over this 20-year period. NFTE now operates with a global system wide budget of $26 million in 13 countries and 31 states.

In the 1980′s, Mike served as a corporate turnaround adviser to 40 companies in 12 industry sectors in the Boston to Washington, D.C. corridor.

He currently serves as an Advisor to: Columbia University’s Fu School of Engineering Cleantech Incubator, The SJF Institute, as a Cleantech Mentor of the Citi-SJF CleanTech Fund of NYC, NYACRE-NYU-Polytechnic NYSERDA Incubator and The Citi Foundation USA Green Jobs Awards Panel.

He has lectured on Entrepreneurship, Venture Scaling and Sustainability at:  Harvard Business School, Columbia University Uris Business School, Dartmouth Tuck School of Business, Duke University Fuqua School of Business,  MIT Sloan School of Business, Stanford University- Terman School or Engineering and Graduate School of Business and the University of Hong Kong.

He has provided expert testimony to the: United Nations and U.S. Congress.   Organizations he has assisted have been featured in numerous regional, national and global media and policy outlets including: National Public Radio, The Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, CNNfn, Washington Post, Aspen Institute and Davos World Economic Forum.  He has been a panelist for the: UN Economic Commission for the Europe, SJF USA Green Economy Summit, French-American Innovation Forum on Renewable and Green Energy, United Southern and Eastern Tribe Summit on Sustainable Reservations and a participant in the Obama White House Summit on Renewable Energy.

Jesse Sutton

Co-Founder & CEO of Majesco Entertainment

jesutton@majescoentertainment.com

As CEO, Jesse Sutton oversees all aspects of Majesco’s day-to-day operations. As a Majesco co-founder, Jesse brings to our company more than 20 years experience in business management and has been instrumental in developing and overseeing all of Majesco’s key strategic alliances.

Majesco is a publicly held/traded company and an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, focused on developing and publishing a wide range of casual and family oriented titles on leading console and portable systems. Its diverse product portfolio provides Majesco with multiple opportunities to capitalize on the large and growing installed base of digital entertainment platforms and an increasing number of digital entertainment enthusiasts. Over its 22 year history, Majesco has developed strong retail and distribution network relationships that enable it to sell products to U.S. retail chains, including Wal-Mart, GameStop, Best Buy, Target and Toys ‘R Us.

Majesco publishes video games for almost all major current generation interactive entertainment hardware platforms, including Nintendo’s DS, Game Boy Advance, Wii, Sony’s PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft’s Xbox and Xbox 360 and the personal computer, or PC.

Jesse Sutton is also involved with other organizations besides being the CEO, Co-Founder, and Member of the Board for Majesco Entertainment. He is an Advisory Board Member at FortiusOne, which rebranded as GeoIQ. GeoIQ is the name of the leading software platform that includes products built for geospatial data exploration, visualization, and analysis. He is also the Chairman at Reach for the Stars School for Autistic Children.

Jesse Sutton went to Yeshiva University, but in his 2^nd year of college, he found the girl of his dreams and went straight to work in order to get married.

In the past, he was an EMT at the Hatzalah Emergency Medical Service (EMS) organization. He was also the President of Majesco Biologicals from 1996 to 2006. He became the CEO of Majesco Entertainment in August 2006.

Team 6- Peter Chuang, Sung Kim, Nadiya Sydor, Kelvin Ng, Kimberly Liang, Robert Raczkowski, Israt Itu, Kiy Howard and Kuang Chen



Panelist Contact Info:

Sam E. Antar

Former CFO of Crazie Eddie

Email: sam@whitecollarfraud.com

Phone: 646-549-0997

Panelist Bio:

Sam E. Antar was the former Chief Financial Officer of the now defunct discount electronics chain, Crazy Eddie. Antar is an alumnus of Baruch College and majored in Accounting. His company, Crazy Eddie, was in the middle of one of the biggest scandals of its time. Securities fraud, cash skimming, cheating auditors and shareholders alike were just some of the things they were convicted of.

The tightly knit “Antar Clan,” the term many experts coined, were often compared to a mafia family except that instead of guns, they used a pen to hurt their victims. Their undoing came at the hands of inner familial conflicts. At the height of the scandal, his cousin Eddie Antar, CEO of Crazy Eddie, fled the country and left Sam E. to take the fall. However, Sam chose to cooperate with authorities and avoided prosecution by turning against his family and sending them to jail. In turn, he received six months house arrest, 1,200 hours of community service, three years probation and approximately $10,000 in fines and fees.

Now Sam Antar spends his time cooperating with authorities, such as the FBI and the SEC, teaching them how to catch white-collar criminals. He also devotes his time to speaking and lecturing in various venues about the darker side of business.

Education

-High School: Lafayette High School, Brooklyn, New York (graduated 1975)

-Team Sports: Varsity Track

-Other High School Activities: News Editor – Lafayette News

-College/University: Bernard M. Baruch College (City University of New York)

-Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration

-Graduated: September 1980

-Grade Point Index Overall: 3.67

-Grade Point Index Accounting: 4.0

Honors: Magna Cum Laude, Beta Gamma Sigma, Beta Alpha Psi, Beta Alpha Psi Service Award, Deans List

-Passed CPA Exam 3 Parts (November 1980: Problems 95%, Theory 88%, Law 90%)

-Passed CPA Exam 1 Part  (May 1981: Auditing 87%)

-Passed all parts of CPA exam on first try

-Obtained CPA License 02/14/85 NY License # 050872

-Surrendered CPA License in April 2008

Other Information

-Born: 1957

-Began Employment at Crazy Eddie: January 1971

-Employment at Penn & Horowitz (Crazy Eddie’s First Audit Firm) – 1981 to 1984

-Employment Ended at Crazy Eddie: November 6, 1987

-Began Cooperation with Government in Investigation: March 8, 1989

-Crazy Eddie Criminal Trial: June and July 1993

-Crazy Eddie Civil Trial: 1998

Questions:

1. Tell us a little bit about your background and what happened to the company.
   • Explain how you cheated auditors
   • What exactly is cash skimming and how did you do it?
   • Tell us bout the “panama pump” and how you executed it.
   • How did you guys ultimately get caught?
   • Was the whole family in on it and encouraging this behavior?
2. When you got caught, why did you decide to turn in your own family who you’ve claimed to be loyal to till the end?
3. From the time you got caught, a lot of people had called you pretty harsh things, even comparing your family to a mafia. Do you think you guys are good people who did bad things or just plain bad people?
4. I know that you respected Eddie and looked up to him in the past. Was seeking his approval one of the integral reasons for the unethical choices you made? Do you hold him at fault for making you turn out like this?
   • Why did you want to request that meeting with him on CNBC after 20 years of not talking to each other?
5. After making so many unethical choices and hurting so many people, in your opinion will there ever be redemption? Do people ever change their ways?
   • If someone were to give you enough money to open up a profitable and legit business, do you think you would stay within the boundaries of legality, or would you revert back to your old ways?

As most of the students in management 3120 if not all of the students, are under 30 years old and eager to succeed in the business world, our panel presentation of entrepreneurs under 30 was a very relevant concept. Success and success under age 30 is something people everywhere dream about and strive to achieve. Finding the courage, uncovering the passion, and going for ones dreams are the elements of success and are concepts of value to any achiever in the business world and in life. The five speakers of our panel were young, talented, and driven, entrepreneurs. However, what made our panel presentation concept so tangible and moving was that these entrepreneurs were not so different than the ladies and gentlemen sitting in our classroom. The differences and way they achieved their success lay in the key messages brought home by each one of them.

Russ Marshalek a gentleman who maintains his own PR, marketing and consulting firm was quoted saying how important passion was in business. “ Do something you would do for free.” The value of this message is profound, as working for the mere enjoyment and love for what one does can surely guarantee success.

Michael Pomposello, a 20-year-old online marketing professional stated a very key point in realizing ones own potential. He said, “ take yourself seriously and others will too. “ At 20 years old this gentleman has found success and respect because he takes himself seriously, so everyone else does as well.

Philip Bjerkness a partner at a NYC creative agency drove home the point of taking risks and sacrificing oneself to succeed. He also spoke of the value of packaging what you create whether it may be a company or a product, and how what you create is unique and special.

Yoni Goldberg a partner at DGI Management spoke of passion and how passion about an idea can cause one to execute this idea in a unique way. He also spoke of the belief in oneself that is necessary to succeed.  He mentioned that, “ as you get older skill set changes, and it is important to recognize that.”

David Kuliyev whose passion lay in electronics from the young age of 8 years old spoke of consistency and quality, and how to never sacrifice quality. David does what he loves and makes sure he does it correctly and that is something we can all learn from.

BIO:

Moderator:

MONICA DEAN

Monica Dean is the Administrative Director of the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship. Ms. Dean has over 20 years of professional business experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Speakers:

PETER F. KETTLE

Peter Kettle is a Financial Advisor in Brooklyn for Edward Jones. Mr. Kettle attended New College Oxford for his BA and MA and NYU Stern School of Business for his MB. He has 25 years prior experience at Citigroup as a director for 10 years and at Kleinwort Benson as a Senior Vice president.

ARI BAUM

With over a decade of experience in the financial services industry, Ari works closely with his clients on a broad range of financial services planning—from estate and retirement planning strategies to education planning. Prior to joining MorganStanley SmithBarney in 2009, Ari was a Vice President – Investments at UBS Financial Services, a financial Advisor at JPMorgan Chase and a Trading Floor Manager for the American Stock Exchange. Working from the MorganStanley SmithBarney office on Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, Ari brings his in-depth experience to bear for his clients.

Ari earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Finance at Brooklyn College. In addition, he holds Series 7, 31, 63 and 66 securities licenses and is registered in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Washington DC, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He also holds his life, health and variable annuity insurance licenses in New York, New Jersey and Ohio.

In his spare time, Ari serves on the Board of Directors for the Omega Ensemble (a non-profit chamber music ensemble) and as a member of Business Network International — Park Avenue Chapter. Ari enjoys classical music, reading, skiing and
running. Residing in Brooklyn, NY with his wife Sima, they are raising three wonderful children, Sammy and Michelle and Elie.

BRENDAN MOLLOY

Brendan Molloy is the Director of Recruiting at KPMG, Northeast Area.  Brendan  Molloy is the Director of Recruiting at  KPMG, Northeast Area. Brendan’s eleven years  with KPMG have all been within the  campus recruiting group. Brendan is active  in the community, including participation with  Junior Achievement and a position on the  board of the New York City Public  Schools’ Virtual Enterprise program.

PANEL GUIDE:

Introduction (to be done by group leader)

• Introduce each panelist with name, company, and position
• Thesis of the panel – “ In today’s business world, the competition among business is increasing at a staggering rate. With new companies entering the markets everyday and the development of new technologies moving in leaps and bounds, it is hard for companies to remain atop of their target markets. Yet, some companies manage to be successful year after year and hold the title of a Fortune Top 100 company. Today, representatives from some of these companies as well as representatives from growing fields, will discuss with us how they continue to be successful and what will drive them into the future.

About the Company

• Brief discussion of what each company actually does and why they are so successful and/or considered a hot job
• What is the mission of the companies and what role does the mission play in the success of the companies?
• Reputable companies are going to have added pressure placed on their performance, but does this added pressure strain employees by setting higher standards? Or does it drive them to exceed expectations?
• In the panelists’ opinion, what is it about your company that makes it so successful and drives people to want to work there? (ex: benefits, reputation of the brand name company, pay, etc.)

Corporate Culture

• Working off the point of why the company is successful with its consumers and attractive to the work force, what is it like working for your company or in your field?
• Successful work environments foster strong work relationships and team bonding. Do you feel that these factors play a large role in the success of your company or even your own person success? Can you stress how important you feel strong team rapport is the careers of future business people (the class)?

Accommodating Employee Needs

• Employees are just as important in a company’s success as customers. Does your company have any special programs, services, etc. that accommodate employee needs better than other companies?
• Has your company suffered due to the recent economic downturn, and if so how have you kept your employees positive throughout and how have you delt with downsizing/ pay cuts?

Future of the Company

• Looking to the future, is your company/industry growing and are there new opportunities revealing themselves to your companies that could lead to more success in the future?
• What steps or focus areas do you think your company needs to concentrate on in order to remain a top company in the future?

Executive Summary:

Our group’s topic was “The Changing Business World”. Dr. Abe Tawil constantly states that our global markets are continuously changing and that the world is becoming smaller and smaller everyday. Even when we go to sleep with a new idea, someone across the globe is already implementing it. Changes are rapid and hard to keep up with, making this topic seem very appealing to our group. Due to the fact that it was very broad, we had to find a focal point. Our initial idea was to find speakers who left large corporations to join or start their own smaller sized firms. They would speak about the changes, benefits and disadvantages of both business worlds and how the recession affected them. Unfortunately, we were unable to recruit an adequate number of speakers who could relate to this topic, so we collectively decided to change our focus. We agreed to broaden our topic, and bring in speakers from different industries and firms to discuss changes they had experienced in their respective fields. Our persistence, team work, and group dedication enabled us to recruit Dr. Kamal Zafar, Al Falack and Eduard Mikinberg as our panelists, and Professor Edward G. Rogoff as our moderator.
Often people experience many issues while working on group projects from leadership to decision making; fortunately, we were very compatible as a group and our group communication was excellent. We divided leadership amongst all of our members and we actively contributed during our meetings and outside of class. We consistently met before and after class to discuss whom we had contacted and what our goal for that week would be. We also had several official group meetings out of the classroom, and we constantly stayed in contact via email and text message for prompt responses. We created a group environment that allowed everyone to feel comfortable to provide feedback and support each other through the process. This experience definitely taught us how important it is to learn to work with one another and how valuable communication is. By communicating our goals and ideas, managing our time, actively contributing, and providing feedback on a consistent basis, we were able to succeed in putting together our panel.
We all contacted speakers from different sources. Unfortunately, we learned that rejection was very common. Many people didn’t respond or declined. However, we stayed committed to our goal and were more aggressive about contacting people. Due to our great efforts, we were able to recruit our panelists and have them participate in a very successful panel.
We learned from our panelists that it is important to find a passion and pursue it. Dr. Kamal Zafar eloquently stated, “You need to develop passion and passion will build your confidence. With your confidence you will be able to cause the snowball effect – which is to have people around you to join and support your cause or organization”. Confidence is vital to success and being able to inspire others around you to believe in what you are doing is essential. Another great point that all speakers touched upon was about being open-minded. Everyone must be open-minded in regards to approaching other people because one day that individual you met might help you succeed. Judging others based on biases is only limiting the opportunities you have to succeed.

Questions:
1.  Please tell us about your current occupation and business line.
2.  What effect did the recession have on your company and how has your company dealt with it?

3.  How has technology changed your business and how do you see its effect moving forward into the future?

4.  Have you witnessed changes in customer management styles in your company over the last several years?

5.  Does maintaining ethical standards have a larger impact in your industry as opposed to before the recession?

6.  Does environmental sustainability play a role in your company?

7.  How is your company dealing with the push towards globalization?

8.  Have management strategies changed within your company?

9.  What are new challenges that you face in your work environment today?

10. What skills do you believe people need today in order to be successful in the changing business world?

Quote: “You need to develop passion and passion will build your confidence. With your confidence you will be able to cause the snowball effect – which is to have people around you to join and support your cause or organization.” – Dr. Kamal Zafar

We thank our panelists, moderator, and audience for making this event so successful.