MGT3120TAWIL

MODERATOR:

Kannan Mohan, Ph.D

Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems

CUNY Baruch College

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

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: [email protected]

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.

4 ENTREPRENEURS UNDER 30 Y.O. PANEL/ with LAWRENCE FIELD CENTER, EDWARD ROGOFF

Questions:

1)   How did you get started in entrepreneurship, were you exposed to entrepreneurship as a child or did you simply make a decision to be your own boss / and can you elaborate on your first business?

2)   What is the average workday like for you, as an entrepreneur?  Do you work primarily independently or do you have many employees?  How does this compare to other working experience you may have had?

3)   How have you dealt with risk in your business and what are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?  How important has the business plan been in dealing with risk and growing your business?

4)   What do you think are the greatest opportunities today for students starting out to become entrepreneurs?  In the fast paced world that we live in today, how important has technology and the internet been in assisting your business?

5)   What 3 pieces of advice do you think are most important for entrepreneurs starting out today?

Bio:

Russ Marshalek has worked in new and digital media since the age of 18. At 28, he currently maintains his own event, pr, marketing and consulting firm, RussComm, has executed campaigns for Rolling Stone, Barbara Walters and Top Chef Richard Blais, and is the social media manager for arts and culture touchstone Flavorpill and New York Office Community Sunshine NY.

Philip Bjerknes began his career as Creative Technologist for Gucci, working alongside creative to launch 6 international online stores. From there he founded Coutorture, a network of fashion websites that was acquired by Sugar Inc in 2007. As Product Lead at Sugar, Philip worked to integrate e-commerce, online media, and social gaming into a

seamless platform used by millions of visitors. In 2009 he joined ALLDAYEVERYDAY as Digital Director and partner as part of the company’s re-launch as an NYC creative agency and production company.

Michael Pomposello is a passionate, 20 year old online marketing professional.  Although his background is in technology, he formed his company in 2008 to help mid-size businesses realize and leverage new promotional opportunities online. Over the past two years Michael’s company has developed proprietary search engine optimization technology driving it to become a recognized force in the online marketing space.

Yoni Goldberg is a partner at dGi Management. A Boston native, Goldberg represents Rev Run, The Misshapes, Paul Sevigny, DJ Ruckus, DJ Berrie, Jesse Marco, lastnightsparty.com, and others. In addition to managing recording artists, record producers, and a bevy of celebrity deejays, dGi Management provides consultation to a wide-range of clients including Valentino, Revlon, Moet Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, and ESPN. Goldberg, who graduated from Brown University in 2004 with academic distinction in History and Engineering, has been featured in publications including Cosmopolitan, New York Post, Us Weekly, BlackBook, Time Out New York, and Spin.

David Kuliyev: Electronics have always been a great passion of mine. When I was 8, my dad asked me to help him plug the cables into the back of his 1997 Compaq, and then the nights playing video games became long nights of assembling cold steel, nuts and bolts. Computer parts and electronics, generally, weren’t easy to come by, but as I learned more, I was always able to compromise. The joy I see and display, is just as any automobile fanatic would display of his car, being able to fine-tune every part and customize it to your liking, way beyond manufacturer standards.

As I grew older, I realized such skill was in high demand amongst my family, friends, and acquaintances. This only inspired me further to pursue a career in computer electronics. In high school, I had enrolled in the preengineering program at Midwood High School which had me and twenty other students be given a chance to build robots with Lego’s and circuit boards. During High School, I had also expanded my freelance computer repair business, the only downfall became anxious customer standing over my shoulders as I click the mouse away in their home. Rest assured, house calls have become a distant memory in my mind. Recently, I had moved on to ventures in graphic design and setting up custom systems for retail stores and other commercial locations. Surveillance, networking, and entertainment systems have a place in my heart, but steel, nuts, and bolts will always stay dear.

Dr. Kamal Zafar is a well-respected community leader who for the past 10 years has been actively involved in civic and community issues in Long Island and New York City.

Dr. Kamal was born in Turkey and got his education in many different High Schools because he was traveling in so many different countries with his family, which included his father who retired as a senior diplomat.

Dr. Kamal finished his MD program from Punjab University in Pakistan. Developed General Medicine practice and worked with United Nations to provide population-planning awareness in underserved areas.

Dr. Kamal worked in the fields of Neurology and Orthopedics. He Created a Healthcare Management Group to head the team of managers in developing interdisciplinary approaches for the treatment of Post-traumatic Injuries and created state of the art Orthopedic & Rehabilitation Centers.

Dr. Kamal served as executive Vice President of Mother Rose Foundation, which provides housing and shelter needs to the homeless in New York. He is dedicated to helping the homeless.

Dr. Kamal also dedicates his time to helping victims of Natural Disasters. He has helped a great amount of people that have lost their homes and families in these disastrous situations. For example, he has fundraised for Hurricane Katrina, the Earthquake in Pakistan and Haiti, and the tsunami in several countries in South Asia.

Dr. Kamal is the former Chairman of Pakistan League of USA, which is the one of the largest organizations of the Pakistani American community in North America. Pakistan league represents the most vibrant group of Pakistani Americans who provide significant grass root support for the betterment of our community. The Pakistan League is also involved in Civic culture and is a non-profit organization that does a lot of charitable work.

Currently he is the chairperson of South Asian Political Action Committee and President of Pakistani-American Association of Long Island.

Dr. Kamal has received all types of awards and recognitions from a host of dignitaries and Civic organizations.  He looks forward to continuing to make a positive difference in the lives of hard-working people throughout Long Island and the greater metropolitan area. He truly is a hero and shows it with his great contributions and effort, to help the lives of others.

Al Falack is founder and director of Cookieskids.com, a children’s apparel and toys retailer. Prior to founding Cookieskids.com, Al was vice president of marketing for Cookie’s Kids retail stores, where he helped the company achieve the title of the World’s Largest Kids Department Store.

Al also works as a private marketing and operational consultant to e-commerce companies seeking rapid growth.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the CUNY Honors College at Baruch College in New York City.

Eduard Mikinberg graduated from the Macaulay Honors College at Baruch in 2003 as Marketing major.

After a brief internship with Midea Electronics in Guangzhou, China, Eduard began his career at Morgan Stanley in Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage. He served as a representative and primary point-of-contact for hedge fund clients establishing a “prime broker” relationship with the firm. This role allowed Eduard to develop in-depth knowledge of the operational and settlement lifecycle of Foreign Exchange transactions, which later segued into a process improvement role within the Operations Control department at Morgan Stanley.

In his current role, Eduard is responsible for collaborating with stakeholders across a variety of product groups to implement new processes for monitoring risk activity.

In August 2011, Eduard will leave his role to pursue an MBA degree at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

Edward G. Rogoff is the Lawrence N. Field Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management of the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, The City University of New York. He is also Chair of the Department of Management. He received a B.A., M.B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University where he wrote his thesis under the supervision of Nobel Laureate William Vickrey. Dr. Rogoff has served as the Academic Director of the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College, teaches, and conducts research in entrepreneurship, particularly relative to minority and later-life issues. Dr. Rogoff has been named the 2010 Outstanding Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year by the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He also teaches at Columbia University and New York University.

He is the author of Bankable Business Plans and co-author of The Entrepreneurial Conversation. His most recent book is The Second Chance Revolution: Working for Yourself after 50, co-authored with David Carroll. He has published in such journals as The Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, The Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Family Business Review, and Journal of Small Business Management. Dr. Rogoff was a 2003 Guest Co-Editor of the Journal of Business Venturing. In 2007, he is Guest Co-Editor of the Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship and is currently on the Editorial Board of the Entrepreneurship Research Journal. He initiated and supervised the largest study of minority entrepreneurs in the United States, the National Minority Business Owners Survey, which was carried out at Baruch. In 2007, he led an effort to create a research partnership with Babson College that manifested itself with Baruch and Babson becoming the U.S. partners of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the largest, longest continuing, and most respected international study of entrepreneurship in the world.

After teaching the first entrepreneurship course at Baruch in 1995 and developing its curriculum, the program has grown to be recognized by Princeton Review as one of the top 25 programs in the country and is now one of the largest majors at Baruch. The Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch has been recognized nationally for its excellence and now provides direct services to approximately 2,000 business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs annually. Professor Rogoff has written articles for the New York Times, Forbes, and Newsday, as well as having been a guest on CNN.  Prior to joining the faculty at Baruch College, he was an entrepreneur in the radio broadcasting industry where he headed two companies that operated 23 radio stations throughout the United States.

Panelists

Amy Abrams, Co-founder, In Good Company

ShaSha Dai, Journalist, Dow Jones & Co.

Bonnie Kerker, Assistant Health Commissioner, Department of Health

Karen Lukas, Executive Director, Folk Arts Rajasthan

Maria DiMeo Calvelli, Lawyer/professor

As a group project for Dr. Abe Tawil’s management class, we were faced with an assignment to put together an event about “Successful Women in Business.” It seems as though New York City is filled with successful businesswomen, but getting them to come speak to our students for free doesn’t happen too often or easily. We began our search through the young entrepreneur council, Baruch’s women’s clubs, and websites. We even paid a fee to join a “celebrity contact” website in hopes of recruiting Oprah. Little did we know, the search was not going to be easy. After weeks of attempts and failures, we had a few contacts that gave us some hope. We were persistent with them, and they agreed to come do us the favor. Our group was very lucky to find the speakers that we had at our panel. They were intelligent, successful, inspiring, and enjoyable to listen to.

Before the panel, we were nervous about the speakers showing up, getting along, and performing well. Each of our 5 speakers arrived (on time too), and gave an excellent contribution to the panel discussion. We also had a spectacular moderator, Barbara Lambert from the STARR Career Development Center, who led the discussion (and took some stress off of our shoulders). The panelists’ comfort and understanding between each other was incredible, especially for people who had just met. It reminded me of the same relationship our group members had when we first met, and it made sense that a group with a good relationship can set up a remarkable event such as this one. Our speakers found a connection shortly into the discussion. They began by talking about their road to success. They assured us that it is okay to search for something you’re passionate about. One key point that they illustrated is that the road to success isn’t a straight path, and you may end up somewhere else before finding your place.

Another topic they discussed is the possibility of gender problems in the work place. None of our speakers faced serious gender problems in their career, and they felt that as long as you have the drive, your gender will not stand in your way of success. The only constraint that they expressed for women is the difficulty to balance time while being a mother and a career-oriented woman. A lot of women find their balance over time, and they learn to be flexible. Another key point that they stressed is that it is important to maintain leverage between work and your personal life. You must give attention to both and neglect neither. Our panelists also touched upon the importance of networking. Amy Abrams stated that today, “80% of people find their job through networking while only 20% find their job through a regular job listing.” This number is only increasing so you must always network, look for mentors, be courteous to those who help you, and build your reputation. The speakers ended us off with some words of wisdom and advice for our future – explore the world, don’t be constrained, look for your passions, and implement your creativity! We were extremely happy with the outcome of our event. From our speakers, to the pizza – everything was delightful. Once again, we thank all of our panelists, our moderator, and our audience for making this a successful event.

Guest List:

1.  Bonnie Kerker, Assistant Health Commissioner, Department of Health

Dr. Bonnie Kerker is the Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Epidemiology Services at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Bureau focuses on collecting, analyzing and communicating data to inform policy-makers and program-planners both within and outside of the Health Department. The Bureau also conducts epidemiologic analyses to help further the work of the agency and improve the health of New Yorkers.

After college at Tufts, Dr. Kerker joined the Peace Corps, and spent two years (Aug. 1990 to Oct. 1992) in the Dominican Republic developing community health and education programs in Sabana Alta, a village of 8,000. She has two degrees in public health, a master’s and a Ph.D., from Yale. She joined the city health department in 1995 as an epidemiologist, returned to Yale for her doctorate, and was rehired in 2003 to analyze data and help write a report on health disparities in New York City. She is now Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Epidemiology Services at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

2.  Karen Lukas, Executive Director, Folk Arts Rajasthan

Karen Lukas maintained a decorative painting studio in New York City for twenty-four years after receiving a BFA from Mass College of Art and Design with a focus in crafts. Her work drew on a broad spectrum of influences culled from extensive travel and study of traditional decorative arts, textiles, and crafts. Simultaneously, Ms. Lukas founded Folk Arts Rajasthan (FAR) out of a desire to preserve the vanishing folk art, music, and culture of the Rajasthani Merasi (musician) clan. Her vision and artistic ingenuity have initiated and cultivated FAR’s invaluable American support base for Lok Kala Sagar Sansthan (LKSS) FAR’s collaborative partner organization in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India.

3.  Amy Abrams, Co-founder, In Good Company

Amy Abrams, co-founder, has over 10 years of entrepreneurial experience. Through her work over the past decade, Amy has helped hundreds of individuals launch and grow their own businesses.

Amy is also the founder of Artists & Fleas (www.artistsandfleas.com), a marketplace for emerging artists, designers and vintage collectors in Brooklyn. Over the past seven years, Artists & Fleas has helped thousands of artists and designers showcase their creations. Artists & Fleas has been recognized as a major tourist destination in New York City and has received numerous press accolades. Amy also founded Interactive Pipeline, a recruiting firm specializing in placements for start-up companies.

Amy served as a as a Principal Partner at Berkman Fives, LLC, a consulting firm for women professionals and entrepreneurs. Prior to these ventures, Amy worked as Marketing Director at a software company and at an investment bank and consulting firm in Israel. In addition to an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Fordham University, Amy has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Amy is currently on the board of the Open Space Alliance of North Brooklyn (www.openspacealliancenb.org/)

4.  ShaSha Dai, Reporter/journalist, Dow Jones

ShaSha Dai was born in Nanchang, China. She holds a masters’ degree from Columbia University. ShaSha has worked for The Wall Street Journal, and has been working at Dow Jones for the past 7 years.

5.  Maria DiMeo Calvelli, Lawyer/professor

Maria DiMeo Calvelli holds a bachelors’ degree in political science from Fordham University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She currently teaches law at Baruch College and she has practiced law for over 20 years. She worked for Clifford Chance LLP, and worked and made partner at Werbel & Carnelutti LLP and Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP.

Topics which were discussed:

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself and the field of work that you do.
2. Was it difficult for you to find success in your field as a woman? Have you experienced the “glass ceiling”?
3. Have you ever encountered a major crisis in your job? If so, was it ever gender related?
4. Do you feel that being a woman has helped your career growth or hindered it?
5. What is your greatest achievement thus far?
6. How did you start out in your career? What obstacles did you have to go through to get where you are now?
7. Do you find it hard to maintain a steady successful position and also carry other responsibilities of a woman? Do you have time for a family? Children?
8. What advice can you give to other young women who want to get into your field of work?

Charles Fishman

Today was a pretty exciting panel and it all came down to one man, Charles Fishman. My partners and I have been working for about 3 weeks to organize the perfect panel for our Baruch management class. The topic we decided on, suggested by our professor Dr. Abe Tawil, was Wal-Mart and the effect it would have on entering the NYC market. There has been a lot of fuss about this topic behind the scenes in New York Cities top offices, most of which can be found in obscure news articles, so we thought it would be interesting to delve into this topic.

We began by trying to contact Mayor Bloomberg’s office, perhaps we can get a councilman/woman to come join us on the panel. The calls were to no avail. We emailed a local vendor who does quite some business with Wal-Mart, selling a mass amount of goods to Wal-Mart each year. After some persuasion he agreed to join us on condition there would be no news outlet in which he can risk his relationship with Wal-Mart. This man obviously will remained anonymous in this article. Four days before the set panel date, the vendor backed out saying it was to risky for his relationship.

One of my partners had emailed Charles Fishman, author of “The Wal-Mart Effect”, to see if he would be interested in speaking about his book over a Skype call. Mr. Fishman graciously agreed. Finally some progress for me and my partners.

One week before the date, one other partner and I took off from school to travel NYC to find some interesting panelists. First stop: Chambers Street. We went to the City Council office and after luckily getting in without an appointment, met with Council Member Dan Garodnick’s aid. He spoke to us for a few minutes and apologetically informed us there was nothing he can do but we should email the scheduler. And that is just what we did. The scheduler replied back saying the City would have been very interested in sending someone over to participate but unfortunately there is a hearing the same time and she can not spare anyone. Some luck we’re having.

Next, we visited the NY Public Advocates office. After again being graciously welcomed without an appointment by the assistant, we were told to email some other guy who participated in a similar NYU panel and would love to talk with us. So, once again we emailed the contact and once again we were rejected. This time, ignored all together.

We then went up to Target’s NY HQ in midtown, see if they will send a representative. I know, it was a long shot and highly unlikely to happen but we were desperate! Struck out again.

Dejected and most of our hope lost, my partner and I headed back to Baruch after a couple of unrelated stops… (Did you know there are 3 Starbucks in 34th Street Macy’s!!).

As the days weaned on by we attempted to contact all sorts of people that had any far off relation to Wal-Mart to be part of our panel. No success there either.

March 16th finally arrived and apprehensively my partners and I got up in front of the class and introduced our only speaker, Charles Fishman. This was the first time this class was using skype for a presentation so we were also pretty worried something would go wrong. We hit the call button on our computer to connect to Mr. Fishman in his home in Philadelphia, and after some nerve-wracking rings Mr. Fishman finally picked up.

The presentation was a hit. Mr. Fishman spoke for about 30-40 minutes shooting off crazy, mind boggling facts about the monstrosity of Wal-Mart. Did you know Wal-Mart does as much sales as Target by St Patricks day than Target does all year? Or that the profit per employee in Wal-Mart is about $7,000 and at Exxon-Mobile it is $250,000 per employee? Or that Chile is the largest producer of salmon yet there are no natural salmon in that part of the world?

Another interesting point he brought up was how over-blown the issue of Wal-Mart entering the NYC market is. We live in a democracy he said, and if a business wants to open up they should be able to. When asked if the competition would be driven out of business, Mr. Fishman replied “consumers drive businesses out of business, not Wal-Mart”. He pointed out that the Wal-Marts in he city would be large Duane Reades, not huge superstores we imagine as they have in rural areas.

Anyway, I believe it was a great success and quite interesting to say the least.

As Dr. Tawil said a numerous amount of times, the one problem most students complain about is not having enough time. How right he is.

(Group Members: David Tawil, Jonathan Gong, Steven Esses)