In This Issue:

 

 Director's message:
 Join us for Reunion!
The Johnson School is pleased to present Reunion 2004, "A Celebration of Leadership," on June 10-13, 2004. This year's program will include traditional favorites, such as the Reunion barbecue (complete with entertainment by the Faculty Follies Players) at the home of Rich Marin, MBA '76, the Reunion Golf Tournament, a wine tasting conducted by Associate Dean Joe Thomas, and the State of the School Address by Dean Robert Swieringa. The program will also feature many new offerings, such as:

A faculty presentation by Jay Russo, the S.C. Johnson Family Professor of Management and Professor of Marketing and Behavioral Science, on "The Confidence Game," a look at how confidence (or over confidence) in one's own judgment can affect managerial decision making; a Faculty Welcome Reception at the Cayuga Lake homes of Associate Dean Joe Thomas and professor Tom Dyckman; an executive education presentation by Michael Hostetler, director of Leadership Studies, on "Career-Enhancing and Career-Derailing Behaviors," a discussion of the traits and behaviors that assist or interrupt progression from middle to senior to executive management; an alumni panel presentation on "Meeting Leadership Challenges," moderated by Hal Bierman, the Nicholas H. Noyes Professor of Business Administration, and featuring Chuck Knight, MBA '59, chairman, Emerson Electric Company, J. David Officer, MBA '74, vice chairman and chief administrative officer, The Dreyfus Corporation, Dan Garton, MBA '89, executive vice president, American Airlines, and Michael Hopsicker, MBA '89, CEO, Agway; a Tai Chi Demonstration by Carolyn Campora, MBA '89, Tai Chi Master and owner, Nabi Su Martial Arts and Healing Center; a "Sage Hall Cinema" screening of "Swimming with Sharks," starring Kevin Spacey and produced by Stephen Israel, MBA '83; and the first "State of the University" address by new Cornell University President Jeffrey Lehman, AB'77.

Alumni who graduated in a year ending in a "4" or "9" are especially encouraged to attend these festivities, and all alumni are welcome to participate and become part of our "Continuing Reunion Club." For more information, and to register, please go to http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/alumni/events/reunion/

We look forward to having you join us.



Risa M. Mish '85, JD '88
Director, Alumni Relations

 Useful Links:


















Save the Date!
Save the Date for Reunion 2004 - June 10 -13, 2004!
Negril Village

Christopher Boswell '05, Tanqwena Nelson '02, and Rob Rose '04 gather at the alumni-student happy hour held at New York City's Negril Village in March. The event was sponsored by the Black Graduate Business Association.
Print Instructions
Under your file menu, choose print. In the print window, find and select landscape orientation (should be under options, layout, or preferences). This will not change your default printer settings.
European Alumni Symposium

The organizing committee from the 2004 European Alumni Symposium held in Paris in April. Standing are: Michel Danon, MBA '73, Bernadette Chauvallon, MA '83, Risa Mish '85, JD '88, and Jean-Pierre Perney, MBA '66. Seated are: Curtis Bartosik, AB '89, Antoine Corpet, MBA '03, and Bruno Vivet, MBA '02. This year's theme was Regearing for Growth.

 

Perspectives on the future

Johnson School alumni, students and faculty joined with prestigious business leaders in April to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sam Johnson's initial gift that gave Cornell's graduate school of management its name, and in many ways transformed its direction. Two decades after that groundbreaking gift, "Managing the Future: A Summit on the Transformation of Business" brought distinguished leaders from some of the world's most prominent organizations to campus to share their personal perspectives on the changing business landscape. See video coverage of the event on the web: http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/anniversary/speakers.html.

A few highlights:

  • Keynote speaker Sanford Weill '55, chairman of Citigroup, spoke about the various experiences that characterized his colorful career of more than four decades. A groundbreaking entrepreneur in financial services, Weill had a primary role in shaping the development of the industry.

  • Cornell history professor Walter LaFeber, who has taught at Cornell since 1959, took a thoughtful and sobering look back at the history of globalization and speculated about future trends. To operate successfully in today's world, he said, business leaders must understand the complex, interrelated geopolitical and socioeconomic forces that underpin modern society.

  • Priceline.com co-founder Jay Walker '77 talked about how technology is affecting the landscape and the value proposition that high-tech organizations must provide to today's consumers. To succeed, organizations must have solutions that offer value in terms of convenience, entertainment, information or savings, and that work in concert with certain ingrained human behaviors.

  • Noted Goldman Sachs analyst Abby Joseph Cohen '73 detailed the United States' current economic situation and described recent market "bubbles" that have affected consumers. While the markets are largely back on track after recent derailments, said Cohen, the nation must increasingly participate in the global arena to ensure continued healthy growth.

  • Cargill chief executive Warren Staley, MBA '67, described corporations' obligation to be responsible citizens in the global community. He explained that organizations' business conduct, environmental stewardship, people practices and community involvement occur in four progressive phases: compliance, societal expectations, best practices, and transformational solutions.

  • Stephen Friedman '59, assistant to the President for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council, described the United States' ability to bounce back from recent world events and economic turmoil, and spoke about future challenges, such as establishing a comprehensive energy policy, solidifying tax cuts, enhancing free trade with other nations, and improving education to ensure the competitive edge of the future U.S. workforce.

  • Entrepreneur Jeff Parker, BEng. '65, M. Eng. '66, MBA '70, moderated a panel of noted entrepreneurs from diverse fields to discuss today's market challenges. Bill Nye, '77 "the Science Guy," longtime Democratic campaign manager Peter Knight, '73 and public-service veteran John Dyson spoke about the need to maintain focus, stay innovative, perform due diligence, select talented teams, and control costs, and discussed other lessons learned.

  • Jeffrey Immelt, who took over the reins of General Electric Co. from legendary leader Jack Welch, shared with his standing-room-only audience his vision of what will drive business for decades to come. In his Hatfield lecture, which capped off the Johnson School's 20th anniversary celebration, Immelt said that U.S. businesses must continue to grow and innovate. At GE, that translates to a new "culture of productivity" that fosters creativity, as well as shrewd investments in promising technology. In the new business environment, he said, GE will seek people who know how to live in any part of the world, engage suppliers and partners, take risks and try new things, and productively mine their own imagination.

Student focus: Reaching out and winning
Congratulations to Blake Howard '05 and Mark Mitchell '05, who comprised half of the team that took first place in the first annual Reaching Out Case Competition in Los Angeles on April 2. The competition was held at the sixth annual Reaching Out Conference http://www.reachingoutmba.org/ for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender MBA candidates and graduates. Because each entering team was required to have four members, Howard and Mitchell joined forces with students from the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley, developing their case via conference calls and e-mails.

The HBS case centered on Wainwright Bank and Trust, a Boston-based bank that began marketing directly to LGBT consumers in the 1990s with a community credit card. The bank's co-founders, two heterosexual males, wanted their organization to provide excellent service while giving back to the community. The case took a snapshot of the bank's results to date and asked case competitors what the organization should do next, including projecting the size and profitability of the LGBT market in four metropolitan areas.

Judges included senior consultants from McKinsey & Co. and Booz Allen Hamilton and a communications professor from NYU/Stern. The predominantly Johnson School team won over teams from Kellogg, Columbia, UNC and other prestigious schools, and was commended for its thorough data analysis and out-of-the-box thinking. The team's results were especially impressive, the judges noted, considering its members were located in different parts of the country — but added that that was excellent practice, since that's how consultants work!

2004 Women's Management Council Symposium
The Women's Management Council (WMC) of the Johnson School at Cornell University is hosting the WMC Symposium on Friday, November 19, 2004, at Cornell University. Entitled Women in Management, this event brings together alumnae, students and high-profile women executives to explore the unique opportunities and challenges that confront women in business.

The goal of the WMC Symposium is to gather businesspeople of diverse backgrounds to expose and educate students on the tactics and strategies women in business have employed to make themselves successful. The keynote address will combine personal experience, academic theory and practical advice for attendees interested in the advancement of women in business. The two panel discussions will then cover a broad range of contemporary thoughts on women in management. The first panel, Strategies for Success, will debate work-life balance, the glass ceiling and networking, specifically for women. The second panel, Highways and Byways: Different Pathways to Success, will explore success for women in male-dominated industries, female entrepreneurship and "opting out" — women leaving the workforce for their family and then later returning.

Although the WMC Symposium is entirely student run, the Johnson School community plays an important advisory role in the planning process and in the day's activities. Faculty and staff members will introduce featured speakers and serve as panel moderators, skillfully blending theory and practice.

The symposium provides an opportunity for business leaders to meet one another, as well as interact with Cornell faculty and meet students at the beginning of the on-campus recruiting process. For more information, contact student chair Meredith Rutherford, vice president, Women's Management Council at mrr32@cornell.edu.

Videoconferencing software free to Cornell alumni
SightSpeed is a Berkeley, CA, Internet videoconferencing startup founded in 2001 by Cornell University professor Toby Berger, undergraduate Aron Rosenberg, and Brad Treat '02. BR Ventures, the student-managed venture fund at the Johnson School, is one of three institutional investors in SightSpeed. Treat is the firm's CEO and recently decided to offer the service free to all students, faculty, and alumni of Cornell University and the Johnson School. Many faculty and students at Johnson already routinely use SightSpeed. For more details and to sign up see http://www.sightspeed.com/cornell.

Treat's firm was also featured in the March 15 issue of Time magazine (page 96) in an article entitled "Can You See Me Now?" about video chatting.

LGBT community forms alumni network
After receiving a "D" grade in Business Week's "gay-friendliness" report on U.S. business schools, students at Cornell led efforts to address the concerns identified in the report. The revitalization of Out for Business (http://forum.johnson.cornell.edu/students/orgs/glib/index.htm), the Johnson School's LGBT student organization creates an attractive environment for current prospective LGBT students, faculty, and staff. The organization's activities include: recruiting LGBT prospective students, establishing ties with corporate LGBT employee groups, participating in national LGBT business conferences, hosting events for the entire Johnson School community, and socializing with the larger Cornell University LGBT student community. We're excited to hear from LGBT alumni and add you to our Out for Business Alumni Network. Please update us on your contact information, job position/career path, etc. so we can help you leverage our LGBT professional network.

Provide us with your contact information by visiting our web site at http://forum.johnson.cornell.edu/students/orgs/glib/alumni.htm. Please let us know if you would like to be a career network volunteer and have your contact information published in a guide available to current students and alumni.

Featured alumni

Mark Zamoyski, MBA '78 , founder, CEO, and principal scientist of NexGen Biomedical, Inc. (nexgenbio.com), was awarded five biomedical patents, including one for locally injectable chemotherapeutics, one for a treatment of psoriasis, one for an apoptotic epidermal chemexfoliant, and one for a chemotherapeutic regimen for endocrine-dependent cancers. He also has a number of other patents pending for treatments that regenerate limbs and organs and treatments against cancers and airborne viral epidemics. Nexgen Biomedical, Inc. is an early stage company involved in developing novel solutions for unmet medical needs. The company has three broad areas of research-Localized Protein Synthesis Restriction, Low Toxicity, High Tumor Response Rate Chemotherapy, and Regeneration.

Christina Tunnah, MBA '00, is part-owner of, and director of marketing and business development at, Counter Production LLC, www.counterproduction.com, a Berkeley, California-based sustainable business that manufactures custom and hand-made solid surfaces comprised of over 80 percent recycled content, using post-consumer and post-industrial glass diverted from landfills. Last year alone, the company diverted over 100 tons of glass and stemware and local curbside recycling. Tunnah says that she was "compelled to become a partner in this business, not only because its mission resonated deeply with my personal commitment to the environment, but also because it produces a custom hand-made high-end, aesthetic and ecological product that meets the demand for green products for building construction and remodeling. I am very proud of being a Hispanic female business owner working with colleagues who are like-minded and unwaveringly committed to social, environmental, and sustainable business, and I am very proud that the Johnson Graduate School of Management is showing leadership in this undeniable way of the future in business."
Pete Sinisgalli, MBA '82, was named chief executive officer of Manhattan Associates, Inc. (www.manh.com), effective July 1. He is currently serving as president and COO of the Atlanta-based supply chain technology firm, and previously served as president and CEO of NewRoads, Inc. In 2003, Forbes magazine named Manhattan Associates "One of America's 200 Best Small Companies," and Fortune named it one of the fastest growing technology companies in the country.
Jonathan Linner ,MBA '96, is CEO/founder and Peter Larsen, MBA '96, is senior vice president and general manager for Europe at Enpocket, a leading provider of wireless marketing services, and winner of the Direct Marketing Association's first ever award for a mobile campaign. Enpocket's clients include Levi's, Nike, McDonalds, BBC, Volvo, HSBC, Honda, Sony, Universal Pictures, Expedia, Warner Brothers, Coca-Cola, Fidelity, General Motors, and Mastercard. Before founding Enpocket, Linner was worldwide head of the Engage wireless business and was a member of the team that developed the company's media analytics offering, Acknowledge. Larsen formerly served as worldwide business manager for Apple's Powerbooks division and product manager and director of PopTVEuorpe's Liberate Technologies.

Recent media hits
Johnson School recruiting efforts and related progress are highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article (March 16, B8). "Business Schools Say Students Are Seeing More Job Offers" quotes JS student Dave Titus and CMC Director Karin Ash, and tells our unique "Just About Jobs" story. The Johnson School is featured prominently in the column, as nearly one-half of the text space is either coverage about "Just About Jobs" or comments from Johnson School staff or students.

Success of the Cayuga MBA Fund in 2003 is highlighted in a Pension and Investments story that focuses on management's move to a market-neutral approach. Lakshmi Bhojraj is quoted in the article, which is accompanied by a photo of Lakshmi and student manager Alison Reichert.

Ann Richards, director of financial aid at the Johnson School, is one of three experts offering advice on "Footing the Bill for B-School." Originally a live online chat at BusinessWeek online, the article is now archive material that offers advice for students seeking financial aid and loan packages.

Kevin Baradet, chief technology officer for the Johnson School, is quoted in an eWeek article that reveals major wireless carriers are working closely with third-party partners to produce enterprise applications. Says Baradet, "That makes sense as they [The carriers] are not software developers — they're not even hardware developers. This will be a good move."

Maureen O'Hara, professor of management and finance at the Johnson School, is quoted in a Fortune article that looks at an unscientific area of study, "the wisdom of the crowds," also known as "collective intelligence." The central thesis is that there are circumstances when "collective intelligence" will arrive at a more accurate conclusion than any single individual can. The article cites prior O'Hara comments, "While markets appear to work in practice, we're not sure how they work in theory," then offers up the wisdom of crowds as one plausible theory of explanation. The author states, "Each of us knows very little, really, about the companies we invest in — certainly not how they're going to perform in the future. Yet our collective buying and selling often sends stunningly accurate signals about a company's prospects, which are reflected in the stock price."

For more Johnson School media hits, see Johnson School in the News.

Upcoming events:
May 10
Seattle, Washington
Cornell Entrepreneurial Network (CEN) presents "How to Spend Money on the Internet and Not Make a Penny and Get Older and Closer to Death" by Bill Nye '77 "the Science Guy". Location: Bell Harbor International Conference Center, 2211 Alaskan Way Pier 66. Time: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. (buffet reception, cash bar, dessert, and coffee). Cost: $35. For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.cen.cornell.edu.
May 11
Atlanta, GA
Cornell's Johnson School Club of Atlanta invites you to attend the second Cornell Atlanta Semiannual Entrepreneurial Roundtable Dinner. Location: Greg Vojnovic's (Hotel '85) Bridgetown Tropical Grill and Bar in Buckhead (3316 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, GA 30305; T: 404- 266-1500) at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont roads. Please join us for an informal, Cornell only and guests, roundtable dinner to discuss your entrepreneurial endeavors and/or offer your skill sets to mentor and assist Cornell entrepreneurs in the Atlanta area. Please RSVP by Tuesday, May 4th, 2004 to the Johnson School Alumni Office (alumni@johnson.cornell.edu; 800-847-2082 ext. 2) if you plan on attending the dinner so we can reserve adequate space for everyone. (There will be no pre-set menu or pre-payment; we will each order and pay for our own dinners.) If you have any additional questions about the event, please do not hesitate to contact Dan Berler MBA '02 (770) 853-3448 or Tyler Tatum '97 (706) 265-6009.

May 11
New York, NY
Cornell Entrepreneurial Network (CEN) Metro New York presents "Persistence" by Jules Kroll '63, founder of Kroll, Inc. and Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year 2003. Location: Cornell Club, 6 East 44th Street. Time: 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. (buffet reception, cash bar, dessert, and coffee). Cost: $30. For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.cen.cornell.edu.

May 13
Racine, WI
Meet President Jeff Lehman '77, Cornell's New President. Location: The Council House, 222 Three Mile Road. Time: 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Cost: $20/person. For full event information including registration, visit: http://www.pres.csv.cornell.edu/. For questions, please contact the Midwest Regional Office at pdr8@cornell.edu or call 312.236.7850.

May 14
Chicago, IL
Meet President Jeff Lehman '77, Cornell's New President. Location: The Chicago Club, 81 East Van Buren Street. Time: 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Cost: $20/person. For full event information including registration, visit: http://www.pres.csv.cornell.edu/. For questions, please contact the Midwest Regional Office at pdr8@cornell.edu or call 312.236.7850.

May 17
Boston, MA
Cornell Entrepreneurial Network (CEN) Boston presents "How to Earn What You're Worth" by Sunny Bates '78, author and Chief Executive Officer of Sunny Bates Associates. Location: Sheraton Boston Hotel, 39 Dalton Street. Time: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. (buffet reception, cash bar, dessert, and coffee). Cost: $35. For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.cen.cornell.edu.

May 19
Rochester, NY
Meet President Jeff Lehman '77, Cornell's New President. Location: Genesee Valley Club, 421 East Avenue. Time: 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Cost: $20/person. For full event information including registration, visit: http://www.pres.csv.cornell.edu/. For questions, please contact the New York/Ontario Regional Office at 607.254.7182.

May 28
Dallas, TX
Johnson Club of Dallas Business Breakfast Series with Steve King, CFO of Carlson Restaurants. Time: 7:00 to 8:30 a.m. Location: Park Cities Club (on Sherry Lane between Douglas and the Tollway). More details and RSVP information to come.

June 15
New York, NY
Cornell Entrepreneurial Network (CEN) Metro New York presents "Opportunities which Follow an Entrepreneurial Success — Experiences from Healthcare" by Fredrick C. Powell '70, founder and Chief Executive Officer of OMNI Interactive Systems. Location: Cornell Club, 6 East 44th Street. Time: 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. (buffet reception, cash bar, dessert, and coffee). Cost: $30. For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.cen.cornell.edu.

View and search a complete listing of Cornell University events.

Johnson School specific events appear in red.

JAC - The Johnson Alumni Connection
JAC, our online alumni database, is your ticket to networking, the Alumni Job Bulletin and connecting with the Johnson School community. You can search the database by class year, geography, company, industry and more. Please help us keep our data current by updating your alumni profile and by letting us know if JAC contains inaccurate information for any of your Johnson School friends. We thank you for your assistance and support, and we look forward to receiving feedback from alumni who are JAC users.

Cornell Alumni Directory
As Cornell graduates, you have access to the recently launched Cornell Alumni Online Directory. To access this, go to the directory and click "first time user." You will need to provide your last name and alumni id # to gain access (if you don't know your alumni id #, e-mail alumni@johnson.cornell.edu and we will provide it for you). This directory is searchable by name, location and company name!

Johnson Gear Available Online
To view and purchase Johnson School clothing and accessories, please visit: http://www.jsoutfitters.com/. All proceeds benefit Johnson student clubs.

If you wish to be removed from the Johnson School e-mail list, please e-mail alumni@johnson.cornell.edu.