Wcny Celebrates Leadership Transition
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WHARTON ALUMNI CLUB OF NEW YORK | FALL 2017 WCNY CELEBRATES WCNY Volunteers LEADERSHIP Share Club’s TRANSITION + Last 22 Years LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Fall 2017 ave you ever looked at the variety of industries listed Tony Andreoli, W’97 in the Wharton Alumni Directory? Wharton alumni Vice President, Business Networking impact the world in many walks of life! Chair, Social & Special Events [email protected] As your new President of the Wharton Club of New York (WCNY), I envision the Club providing you Florin Armenciu, WG’13 Hvaluable resources that positively impact you and what you do Vice President, Wharton Investment professionally or personally, no matter your class year. And I hope Resource Exchange (WIRE) you will consider positively supporting your fellow alumni through [email protected] the Club’s many offerings. Rosemarie Bonelli WG’99 Normally each magazine highlights those offerings, whether it be the Joseph Wharton Vice President, Finance Dinner, our multitude of career development services, our many affinity groups in the CFO, [email protected] entrepreneur, hedge fund, investment, real estate, and retail arenas; our Speaker Series, social outings, business development groups, and more! Udayan Chattopadhyay, WG’01 Vice President, University Relations This issue however, commemorates the recent history of the Club (from 1995) and the [email protected] current leadership transition. Even as alumni of the number one business school in the world, you know that it is not easy Blair Duncan WG’85 to start or to grow a successful business. The odds are against you. The same is true for an Vice President, General Counsel organization. Many alumni clubs struggle, even falter, as WCNY had at one time. [email protected] There are many factors that make a club thrive, and you read about those factors in this Chuck Forgang W’78 issue. I recently heard from the School’s alumni office that other clubs are always looking to Executive Vice President learn how WCNY is organized. Some may think that part of our success formula is our large Vice President, Career Development base which offers a pool of volunteers and active participants at events. However, WCNY [email protected] has learned – the hard way – that size alone does not enable a club to succeed. Rather, the quality of dedicated team-focused volunteers sharing the vision, possessing integrity and Jeff Greenhouse W’97 fiscal discipline, offering their commitment of time, and fulfilling their deliverables in a timely Vice President, Marketing & manner are the building blocks of a successful club. Communications [email protected] It’s important to note that it takes many (hundreds!), to make WCNY successful. And often the positive results of alumni efforts aren’t seen until years later. So, I want to stress that Jennifer Gregoriou W’78 WCNY is grateful for all those who contributed their time, effort, and funds since the Club’s Vice President, Programming founding, in 1962! [email protected] In this issue we asked a few volunteers, in the Club to represent all of you. Nigel Edelshain, Jordan Halperin W’98 WG’93, shares his perspective as Chairman of WCNY since 2003 (through June 2017) and Vice President, Volunteer Services of course, how Kenny Beck, WG’87, dramatically changed WCNY. Dana Michael, W’82, talks [email protected] about his time since joining the board in 1996, and the Board nomination process. Allen Levinson, W’77, WG’78, explains how the Club progressed in the late 1990s and how the Regina Jaslow W’97 Joseph Wharton Dinner started-up again. Tom Courtney, WG’90, explains how the Club was President re-built in the mid-1990s. [email protected] And I share my thoughts on our path forward. Regina Jaslow, W’97 President | Wharton Club of New York Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Dove Tree Style Phone: 201-679-0433 [email protected] The Wharton Business School Club of New York WHARTON CLUB OF NEW YORK MAGAZINE 1324 Lexington Avenue, Suite 409, New York, NY 10128 PUBLISHER EDITOR Phone: 212-463-5559 Regina Jaslow, W’97 Kent Trabing, WG’01 Club website: www.WhartonNY.com [email protected] [email protected] FRONT COVER: MANAGING EDITOR LAYOUT & DESIGN Peter Hildick-Smith, C’76, WG’81, P’13 Alberto Faccon Kenny Beck, WG’87, Chairman, [email protected] [email protected] WCNY with Regina Jaslow, W’97, President, WCNY. READ THE MAGAZINE ONLINE www.readwny.com (Photo credit: Jonathan Silvers/Saybrook) IN THIS 4 ISSUE 6 8 17 2 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 3 WCNY MAGAZINE AD RATE CARD 12 15 BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS 4 NIGEL EDELSHAIN, WG’93 REACH 6 REGINA JASLOW, W’97 PRESIDENT, WCNY 30,000 20 TOM COURTNEY, WG’90, WCNY 18 8 PRESIDENT 1995 WHARTON 12 KENNY BECK, WG’87 ALUMNI CHAIRMAN, WCNY IN THE NEW YORK METRO AREA PETER HILDICK-SMITH, C’76, WG’81, P’13 15 WCNY MAGAZINE AD RATE CARD DIANA DAVENPORT, WG’87 & 17 UDI CHATTOPADHYAY, WG’01 WCNY Magazine reaches 30,000 Wharton alumni living or working 18 ALLEN LEVINSON, W’77, WG’78 in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. 20 DANA MICHAEL, W’82 Alumni sponsorship discounts are available upon request. JENNIFER GREGORIOU, W’78 & Non-camera-ready ads may be 21 BILL HADDAD, W’89 W’82 subject to production charges. A 15% commission is offered to ad agencies. Premium positions for ads CLUB can be secured for a 20% fee. THANKING SPONSORS OF THE 10 JOSEPH WHARTON DINNER DEADLINES SPACE RESERVED MATERIALS DUE 16 TAKE THE CALL! WINTER ISSUE OCTOBER 31 NOVEMBER 15 PREMIUM MEMBER & VENUE FOR INQUIRIES BLACK & WHITE FULL COLOR 22 PROVIDERS – THANK YOU! REGARDING FULL PAGE $1,600 $2,000 SPONSORSHIP ADS 23 MEMBERSHIP HALF PAGE $1,120 $1,400 PLEASE CONTACT: QUARTER PAGE $640 $800 [email protected] EIGHTH PAGE $400 $500 READ ARTICLES ONLINE AT READWNY.COM | 3 BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT JOB! Nigel Edelshain, WG’93 Past Chairman, WCNY, VP of Marketing for Wainscot Media Nigel Edelshain, WG’93, left his native England for America to study marketing at Wharton. Today, Nigel runs a digital marketing agency, BigFish Digital Solutions (to help companies become big fish in their local ponds), and is VP of Marketing for longtime magazine publisher, Wainscot Media. Nigel has enjoyed a front-row seat to the Club’s success, and shared the key milestones accomplished by Kenny’s management team. “Your most important job is finding your successor.” New York is a big city. I’m still not sure how Tom Courtney, WG’90, heard about the entrepreneurs’ club that I had started for Wharton alumni. He did, and invited me to visit the Wharton Club of New York. I became very active in organizing events and other initiatives for the Club, and when Tom’s term expired in 1999, I was elected President! In 2002, Tom, who had become Chairman of the Club, told me, “Your most important job as President now, is to find your NIGEL EDELSHAIN, WG’93, RECEIVING AN AWARD ON JUNE 15, 2017 FOR HIS CHAIRMANSHIP AND SERVICE TO THE CLUB successor.” Tom and I assembled a Club Nominating Committee, which included Hans Albeck, WG’74; Dana Michael, W’82; and Allen Levinson, W’77, WG’78. Well, you know how that story account to $1 million, which we could then use as an endowment ends. We chose Kenny Beck, WG’87, as the new President of the for the Club and its membership. Club. Looking back, I consider that one of my best decisions. I When I heard that, I thought, “Well, this guy is clearly mad,” remember thinking at the time, “Kenny seems to have all the right because the Club had only $40,000 in the bank. As the previous ingredients to be President, because it requires someone with an President, I was proud to have been hands-on in all aspects, from entrepreneurial spirit, and that is something Kenny has plenty of.” running events and increasing membership. I felt I knew quite This year, our Board made an equally important choice, to pass well the operations of the Club and its ability to generate cash. I the mantle of the Presidency from Kenny Beck to Regina Jaslow, thought, “There is no way we are going to generate $1 million to W’97, and the Chairmanship from myself to Kenny. It has been put in the bank.” an amazing 15 years for the Club and for the Wharton alumni I was wrong. At the WCNY board meeting this year on June community in the New York region. I’d like to mention four areas 15, Roe Bonelli, WG’99, the Club’s Vice President of Finance, that made a difference. announced that we now have $1,388,208.23 in the bank. Wow! Having embraced such a challenging goal and helping to 1. Becoming financially sound accomplish it — that is an incredible feeling. It was one of those At one of our early board meetings, I remember Kenny “did this really just happen?” moments. It reminded me of the announcing that our goal would be to grow the WCNY bank feeling I had when I got that my acceptance letter from Wharton. 4 | WHARTON CLUB OF NEW YORK | WHARTONNY.COM | FALL 2017 closer to the school and making them more aware of all the opportunities to give back to up-and-coming alums. It has strengthened the alumni network for all. 3. Take the Call Words matter. To me, the Club always stood for networking and helping alumni benefit by connecting with other alumni. Kenny knew this, too, but condensed the several sentences we used to explain this, to three essential words: Take the Call.