M&T Bulletin - May 2010

M&T BULLETIN

In the middle of November 2009, over 200 M&T

alumni returned to Philadelphia to celebrate the

University of Pennsylvania’s first coordinated dual

degree program, the Jerome Fisher Program in

Management and Technology’s 30 years of success.

The M&T celebration began with a session offering

alumni the opportunity to mix with current students.

This session was followed by parallel sessions

about the current state of affairs at Penn including

legacy admissions, Penn’s eastward expansion and

graduate options. Dr. William Hamilton, Faculty

Director of the program gave a retrospective of the

M&T Program from past to present. The evening

ended with a M&T Alumni Venture Capital Contest

and cocktails.

The second day of the celebration commenced with

Dean Robertson and Dean Glandt welcoming

returning alumni with updates on their respective

schools. During his remarks, Dean Glandt recog-

nized Dr. Bordogna and Dr. Hamilton for their

involvement with the program from the beginning.

Newsletter of the Jerome Fisher Management and Technology Program Edited by Eve Lee (M&T ‘12) & Matt Vogel (M&T ’12)

May 2010

30 Years ... and Still Going StrongDr. Dan Lee spoke about his pioneering work

exploring how to apply an understanding of how

biological entities learn to program increasingly

sophisticated and adaptive behavior into robotic

systems. He began with a demonstration of a face

recognition task which, while very easy for the

audience and even primates to complete, he

explained it is very difficult to program a robotic

system to perform. He drew contrast between this

behavior and other seemingly complex tasks such as

playing chess which can be approached using brute

force computation. He went on to describe his

current work with Penn’s GRASP lab including a

live demonstration of a two foot tall humanoid robot

capable of balanced walking, picking itself up from

a fall, and following sound while moving across the

room.

This robot is the second generation of Penn’s

robotic team which has over the past several years

been successful at fielding teams of robot dogs in

international robotic soccer championships. Such

competitions introduce some friendly competition

into the challenging task of making robots capable

of responding appropriately to their environment

and working collaboratively. Dr. Lee admitted that

the sophistication of play is still at a junior league

level, but this represents a leap forward from

primary school recess level of play just a few years

ago. Whether the matches will approach the thrill of

human soccer anytime soon is unlikely, but it is

clear that Dr. Lee and his team are enjoying the

challenge of keeping their robot teams one step

ahead of their international competition.

The lecture concluded with another project repre-

senting the cutting edge of possibilities in autono-

mous robotics. In 2007 Penn entered the DARPA

Urban Challenge which charged teams with the task

of developing vehicles able to navigate city streets

and interact with other traffic without human inter-

vention. The Penn team’s car “Little Ben” was a

Prius outfitted with a roof rack of sensors and a

trunk of computers outfitted with software allowing

it to make driving decisions up until now considered

squarely in the realm of human drivers. Little Ben

did his namesake proud and the Penn team was one

of only six groups to finish the course despite a

comparatively small budget.

Dr. Lee’s talk was an inspiring summary of a rapidly

developing realm of technology in which M&T

students are already contributing in research and are

sure to play a role later in the financing and execu-

tion of bringing autonomous robots into homes,

offices, sports matches, and roadways.

Dr. Chris Murray, a Penn Integrates Knowledge

Professor with appointments in the Chemistry and

Materials Science Departments, considered a lead-

ing researcher and visionary in the field, voiced his

appreciation for the enthusiasm and quality of M&T

students who have carried out Senior Design proj-

ects under his direction over the past several years.

He proposed that the nanotech arena is particularly

well suited to attention of the program due to the

inherently multidisciplinary nature of the research

and the potential for disruptive changes in business

practices from emerging fields such as nano-

manufacturing.

Dr. Garrett Reisman, M&T ’91 and NASA astro-

naut, concluded the guest lectures with the Alumni

Keynote Address on Space Adventures. Garrett

credited Penn and the M&T program with providing

him a strong foundation of solving problems and

communicating across disciplines. He has demon-

strated this appreciation by bringing tokens, includ-

ing a piece of the ENIAC computer and a laser-cut

M&T logo into space as personal items. After Penn,

Garrett pursued his Phd at CalTech, worked at TRW

designing propulsion controls for NASA, and

ultimately achieved his dream of being an astronaut

where he has contributed to the design of the Inter-

national Space Station robotic arm and flown two

missions as Flight Engineer aboard the space

station.

Garrett presented highlights from his most recent

mission - ranging from the thrill of launch and his

spacewalks to lighthearted antics such as an attempt

at juggling without gravity. He showed amazing

photos, including pictures of his night launch from

Cape Canaveral and a photo from space where he

pointed out the location of Penn. Lastly Garrett

walked the audience through plans for his upcoming

mission where he will serve as a member of the last

crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis before it is

decommissioned. He brought up a 3D model of the

station and demonstrated each step of his planned

spacewalk.

The celebration ended with a Gala Dinner where Dr.

Joseph Bordogna addressed alumni and Dr. Hamil-

ton was recognized by the M&T 30th Anniversary

Alumni Committee for his dedication to the M&T

Program over the last 30 years. All in all, the

successful event reconnected alumni to the program

while kicking off a number of new and exciting

M&T initiatives. More information can be found at

http://mt30.mandtalumni.com/.

Alumni UpdatesPeggy Choi (M&T '06) recently moved from

London to San Francisco to join TPG Opportunities

Partners, a special situations hedge fund started in

mid 2009 by TPG. The team opportunistically

invests in risk-adjusted assets across capital struc-

ture, including bank debt, bonds, distressed debt and

public equity. They also invest in portfolios of

assets and middle market direct lending. Prior to

TPG Opportunities, she worked in private equity at

Silver Lake Partners in London and investment

banking at Goldman Sachs in New York. In

London, Peggy took part in a few M&T gatherings

which were a lot of fun. She looks forward to

meeting other M&T alums in the Bay Area!

Jon Ozark (M&T '04) married Nicole DeShazo in

Las Vegas on Nov. 7. Representing Penn was Kunal

Gupta EAS’04 W’04. They had a beautiful outdoor

ceremony, during which ‘The Red and Blue’ was

sung at some point. Congratulations Jon and Nicole:

we wish you all the best in your new life together!

Vineet Sen Budhraja (M&T '00 WG’01) married

Dr. Rebecca Lynn Bagdonas on June 26-27 on Long

Island. Among alumni attending was Roger Wu

(M&T 00)

Davor Sutija (M&T' 83) recently joined Thin

Film Electronics ASA (www.thinfilm.no) as

Executive Vice President. Thinfilm is a leader

in the emerging area of Printed Electronics,

producing non-volatile re-writable polymer

memory for use in advanced games, smart tags

and displays. Before Thinfilm, Davor was SVP,

Product Marketing at FAST, an enterprise search

vendor which was acquired by Microsoft in

2008 for $1.2B. Davor has lived in Norway

since 1991, and earlier co-founded SiNor AS, a

producer of silicon ingots for the photovoltaic

market, now a division of REC. Davor can be

reached at [email protected].

Jeffrey Modell (M&T '90) is the Division

Chief, IT Client Services at the International

Monetary Fund. He recently returned from a trip

to Africa to see first-hand how the Fund works

with country authorities and to understand the

technology challenges that affect staff in Africa.

Jeffrey also went on a short safari to Selous

National Game Reserve in Tanzania! On the

home front, he and his wife, Melissa, have two

daughters, ages 7 1/2 and 6. He can be contacted

at [email protected]

Ryan Sheftel (M&T '95) has moved to Credit-

Suisse to start and head the Electronic Market

Making trading business for fixed income,

including all high frequency trading. In addition

he also has responsibility for designing and

implementing the firms strategy for automated

trading across the Rates and Mortgages globally.

Alumni UpdatesLing Chang (M&T '92) and Jenny Chang (SEAS

'94) with their 2 boys, Sydon (8.5) and Ethan (7),

have recently moved to Tokyo. Ling joined Google

as Director of Partner Solutions for Asia Pacific at

the end of last year. Previously he was with Voda-

fone Group, spending more than 3 years in China

and 5 years in UK. In Vodafone, he introduced

e-auction into the global supply chain which is used

to negotiate anything from indirects to entire

networks. He has high hopes for Google being a

unique company and optimistic about its next 10

years. Jenny was working as a management consul-

tant in Andersen Consulting before she decided to

be a full-time Mom. Ling and Jenny met 20 years

ago at Penn. Ling can be reached at at

[email protected] or via his LinkedIn profile.

Monish Kundra (M&T ’95) and Minal J. Damani

joyously announce the birth of their son Sachin

Damani Kundra on March 23, 2009, just six days

before their one-year wedding anniversary! Minal is

a business strategist currently consulting for the

National Restaurant Association. Monish is a

venture partner for Columbia Capital, a private

equity firm focused on media and communications.

In their spare time when they’re not playing with

Sachin, they volunteer in local high schools for the

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE),

which extends entrepreneurship education to youth

in low-income urban communities. Monish can be

reached at [email protected]

Sarah Dong (M&T '06) is currently back at Penn

pursuing 'grad-level' M&T and finishing 1st year of

the MBA/MSE, and expects to graduate in May

2011.She will be interning at Blackstone's M&A

group in NYC this summer. She looks forward to

meeting up with M&T Alums again! Sarah can be


Pradyut Shah (M&T ‘00) and Anh Thu Shah

(W’00) celebrated the birth of their beautiful baby

boy, Pavan Shah, on July 27. He is the first child for

The couple is “happily settled in San Francisco, and

look forward to camping trips in the California

wilderness with [our] son in a few years.” Pradyut

can be reached at [email protected]..

Shehzad Daredia (M&T ‘06) recently became

Product Manager at BillShrink, a personalized

recommendation engine for lowering your everyday

bills. BillShrink has attracted top-tier VC funding,

earned significant press coverage, and won numer-

ous awards for its innovative approach to saving

consumers money. Shehzad previously led the

online marketing team at KAYAK.com and invested

in startups at Rho Ventures. He can be reached at

[email protected].

Katherine Wu Brady (M&T '01) is happy to

announce that she married Atticus Brady on Octo-

ber 11th. In attendance were Nimita Shah (M&T

2002) and Nitin Sikka (M&T 2002) in addition to a

number of other Penn friends. They reside in Man-

hattan and Katherine is currently the VP of Market-

ing Strategy at NBC Local Media. She can be


Amarish Mehta (M&T ‘95) and his wife, Dr. Neha

Shah-Mehta, are happy to announce the arrival of

their son, Akash Mehta, on March 30, 2010

in New York, NY. Anokhi (2yrs) is thrilled to be the

big sister. Amarish is the Director of Research for

Arcadia Captial Advisors LLC, a value-oriented

hedge fund. Neha has taken a long deserved leave

to be a full-time mother. Amarish can be reached at

[email protected].

Entrepreneur’s CornerStuart Eichert (M&T '99) recently formed Sliced

Simple with two friends to produce collaboration

software for the real estate industry. Sliced Simple

is currently hard at work on their first product and

always interested to hear from exceptional M&T

alumni who are looking for a new opportunity. On

the personal front,Stuart married his long time

sweetheart, Lucy, last summer. Stuart can be


William Stanger (M&T '02) based in Philadelphia,

has completed site architecture for Ventuity, his new

bootstrap real estate development and investment

matchmaking site. There are hundreds of places

online where a real estate developer can sell prop-

erty or apply for a loan, but there are no resources to

simplify the search for partners and investors,

especially for smaller deals. Equity placement

firms, brokerages, and investment funds aren’t

interested in projects valued below $1M because the

risk adjusted returns don’t cover their overhead or

opportunity costs. Through creative use of automa-

tion, standardization, and user-generated content

management tools, Ventuity will become the first

subscription based online marketplace for sub-

million dollar real estate equity investments.Stanger

is looking for small-project real estate developers

and investors in the Philadelphia-NY corridor to

participate in beta-testing and/or late stage market

research. All early adopters will receive complimen-

tary lifetime memberships. Ventuity is also

currently soliciting bids for a .Net software develop-

ment spot on the founding team. If you are inter-

ested in learning more about these opportunities,

please email [email protected].

David S. Levy (M&T '96) recently formed his

second digital media company, Hang10, in the

social television space. Hang10 lets people use

their mobile devices to check-in to television shows,

comment on shows, receive targeted offers, and

share their television experiences with friends.

Hang10 is accepting registrations for its private beta

now at http://hang10.tv. David can be reached at,

among other places, [email protected].

M&T Alumni Spotlight

As almost all alumni know, MGMT-237, Manage-

ment of Technology, is a central part of any sopho-

more M&T’s spring semester. This year brought a

change to the yearly tradition, as Dr. Hamilton

passed the responsibility of teaching the class to Dr.

Saikat Chaudhuri, an M&T alumnus from the Class

of 1997. Throughout the semester, we have gained

invaluable insights into the subject of managing

innovation, and Professor Chaudhuri’s M&T back-

ground has truly provided us with a unique perspec-

tive on the subject. As current students in the class,

we believed that an Alumni Spotlight on Professor

Chaudhuri would illustrate not only how an M&T

education could influence the path one takes after

graduation, but also the exciting interaction between

alumni and current students.

As an Indian citizen born and brought up in

Germany, Saikat has an extremely diverse back-

ground. He described his education at the Interna-

tional School of Duesseldorf as extremely interest-

ing and exciting, as he was able to interact with

people from a wide array of countries. Saikat found

that although there was a mix of so many different

cultures, students were able to be “perfect Indians,

Americans, and Germans” and interact with others

“without losing their true identity.”

Saikat majored in Mechanical Engineering and

Multinational Management while minoring in

Mathematics in his time at Penn. Saikat was a TA in

MGMT-100 for two years and MGMT-234 for one

year, as well as a UCB in Hill House. Outside of

academics, he was actively involved in the Interna-

tional Affairs Association, International Student

Admissions, Tau Beta Pi, and the American Society

of Mechanical Engineers. Saikat strongly believes

that the M&T Program at Penn was an ideal envi-

ronment to nurture his academic interests, as he was

able to gain solid fundamentals while studying in a

very social and supportive atmosphere.

After graduating summa cum laude, he eventually

continued his studies at Stanford University, in a

joint Masters program between the engineering and

business schools, focusing on

manufacturing/systems engineering and

technology/operations management. Saikat’s M&T

background helped him complete the program in an

accelerated timeline of one year, instead of the usual

two years required. As he found his interests

converging towards the subject of strategic manage-

ment of technology, he went on to Harvard Univer-

sity to pursue a doctorate in Technology and Opera-

tions Management, specifically concentrating on

high-tech mergers and acquisitions in the field of

hardware/software. Impressively, an independent

study Saikat started at Stanford became an HBR

article titled “Capturing the Real Value in High-Tech

Acquisitions,” appearing the month he joined at

HBS. His research on such external sources of

innovation has now expanded to include R&D

outsourcing as well, which have recently risen to

prominence.

While Saikat worked with several companies in

between his various academic pursuits, including

Dusseldorf-based Mannesmann, McKinsey, Roland

Berger, and Citibank, he was eventually drawn to

academia after being offered an assistant

Saikat Chaudhuri, M&T ’97 (MEAM, MGMT)

Saikat (right), pictured with Doug Alexander (’83),

truly enjoyed his time at the M&T 30th Anniversary.

professorship at The Wharton School upon graduat-

ing with his doctorate. At Wharton, Saikat currently

teaches MGMT-721(MBA-level Corporate Develop-

ment, Mergers and Acquisitions), and had until last

year also taught the undergraduate version of the

same course, MGMT-249. At Dr. Hamilton’s

request, Saikat took up the role of teaching MGMT-

237 this past semester, in lieu of MGMT-249.

When asked about MGMT-237, Saikat enthusiasti-

cally answered that this class is the “perfect fit” for

him, as M&T holds “a special place in [his] heart.”

He finds it very rewarding that he is able to “help

shape the views” of students who are eager to learn

about managing technology, a subject he is

extremely passionate about. The best part about the

class, Saikat believes, is that he does not have to

focus on basics, as M&Ts will already have a solid

foundation in both fields.

As for future plans, Saikat says that he is “very

happy” where he is, although he didn’t necessarily

expect to find himself in academia. He has found

that he most enjoys the intellectual work and the

freedom to explore topics which intrigue him,

likening academia to entrepreneurship. As a profes-

sor, Saikat is also extremely involved in work with

outside firms, and finds this applied research

extremely engaging. To this end, he encourages all

current M&Ts and alumni to explore various options

and pursue their true passions.

Saikat particularly encourages alumni to take full

advantage of their exclusivity in order to promote

the M&T “brand” and steer funds to further the

program. In addition, he truly enjoys seeing cohe-

siveness within the alumni community, citing events

such as the 30th anniversary and regional alumni

gatherings as some of his favorites. Saikat also

envisions the creation of a more interconnected

global alumni community, and would love to see

alumni become even more unified than they are

today.

When he is not saving the world one merger or

acquisition at a time, Saikat enjoys spending time

with his wife, a microbiologist, and his two sons,

ages 4 and 2½. His hobbies include tennis and other

racquet sports, but points out that golf is not a

particular favorite. He also enjoys reading novels

by Crichton, Grisham, and Ludlum. Above all,

Saikat loves traveling, and treats his time on the

plane as an opportunity for a rare moment of relax-

ation. Some of his favorite destinations include

Hong Kong, Istanbul, Vienna, Calcutta, Dusseldorf,

and Boston.

Saikat has truly followed an amazing path since his

time in the M&T Program, one which can be

summed up by his advice to all M&Ts, “Pursue your

passion…success will follow later.”

Since Jason Wang (M&T '98) joined AutoChina as

its CFO last July, it has been quite the whirlwind

experience as they work to position the company as

a premiere growth company. AutoChina most

recently completed a $70M registered direct place-

ment of its common shares that will provide the

company with some much needed growth capital.

Jason lives in San Diego and typically spend a week

out of every month in China. AutoChina is head-

quartered in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei

province, about a 4 hour drive or a 2 hour train ride

from Beijing. According to Jason, "there is an

amazing level of growth and development occurring

in China and it's neat to be able to see it firsthand

while still living in San Diego, which is a place I

really love." Jason can be reached at

[email protected]. (logo available)

Peter Burchhardt (M&T '03) has been in China

since 2006, first with Microsoft, now as an entrepre-

neur. His latest project is http://CallMeInChina.com,

a service targeted at foreigners living in China.

Users get phone numbers in their home countries

that then ring directly to their mobile phones in

China. This makes it cheap and easy to get calls

from friends, family, and customers back home.

"The idea came naturally because I needed this

service myself. Previously, my friends had to go to

their computers and call me via Skype, or we'd have

to arrange times to meet there. Now with CallMeI-

nChina, they just use their own phones to call my

number as if I were in the US, and it reaches me

directly here on my mobile. My business partner

Theron is a friend from my time at Microsoft. We

put a good amount of effort into making the system

fault-tolerant so our customers can rely on it. It's an

exciting project because we're building something

directly useful in our daily lives, and because the

nature of the business allows us to operate it from

anywhere in the world. Inspired by Tim Ferriss'

The-Four-Hour-Workweek, I developed the first

version in Buenos Aires, was in Uruguay when we

launched our first beta version, and I'm on an island

off the coast of China right now - no cars allowed

here - but I have my 3G modem and carry a big

monitor in my suitcase so I can work productively

anywhere. More than four hours per week, but

loving it."

M&Ts in China

Adam Leitzes (M&T ’02) married Kim Nguyen

(W’04) on Nov. 12 on a boat off the coast of St.

John , U.S. Virgin Islands. Joshua Solan (M&T ’02)

was one of the groomsmen. Elaine Chan (W'05) and

Olivia Shone (W'04) were two of the bridesmaids.

Adam and Kim enjoyed a month of married life in

Manhattan and then shipped off to Shanghai where

Adam established the China office for Tiger Man-

agement, Julian Robertson’s personal investment

vehicle. The firm is investing opportunistically in

both private and publicly traded Chinese compa-

nies. Having exhausted nearly all the food options

in NYC after six years in the city, Adam and Kim

are particularly excited about exploring all the

culinary delights of Shanghai . Adam can be


Justin Rapp (M&T ’06) has been studying

Chinese for the past two years and after recently

applying to law school, has decided to stay in China

for at least another year. His travels have seen him

start a company in Thailand and teach English in

Taiwan as well as slaughter goats with Indonesian

villagers. At the moment, he is doing some part-

time work with David Diebold & Associates,

helping identify opportunities in the healthcare and

green energy sectors in China in addition to helping

understand how Chinese regulations affect firms

operating in these spheres. As the Secretary of the

Penn Club of Beijing, Justin has been able to work

with other alumni to plan events that keep fellow

Quakers in contact. Currently, he is looking for a

full-time position with a firm focused on investing

in China and/or Southeast Asia. Justin would love

to hear from fellow classmates as well as any other

M&T interested in this part of the world. He can be

contacted at [email protected].

M&Ts in China

Bill Kung (M&T '97) has had 9 years of experi-

ence working with startup companies, as a venture

capitalist since 1999. He was most recently with

General Catalyst Partners, a $1.6 billion venture

fund. He is currently the Executive Director and

Acting COO of one of his portfolio companies: La

Miu, one of China’s top e-commerce companies.

Bill is also managing his other investments in the

PRC: Tudou, Giant (NYSE:GA), CIC and InteTrust,

while serving as director for Young Venture Capital,

an organization he co-founded. Bill can be reached

at [email protected].

Spring 2010 has been a time of new beginnings for

James Feldkamp (M&T '96) with the birth of his

son, birth of a new venture, and moving into a new

apartment. James' son, Albert, was born on March

13th. He is an absolute joy and mom and dad are

slowly adjusting to the sleepless nights and added

responsibilities. In preparation for their son's

arrival, they decided to lay down roots in Shanghai

and purchased an apartment. Renovations are nearly

complete and the family will move in next week.

The process of purchasing building materials and

baby products brought home the severity of the

health hazards and lack of consumer protection in

China. In response, and together with an MBA

classmate from Shanghai, James have formed

MingJian Consumer Products Testing and Informa-

tion to provide an independent, unbiased source of

consumer product testing and information for

Chinese consumers. Look for the launch of James'

website later this year at mingjian.org. He can be

reached at [email protected] or

[email protected].

Mark Smerznak (M&T ’93), and Gabriele Solarik,

C’93, will mark 5 years in Beijing this summer.

Mark is working for Procter and Gamble as an

Associate Director in R&D, leading a global organi-

zation focused on downstream process development

for the Fabric and Home Care businesses. Mark and

Gabi have two children- Erik, 5, and Eline, 2. The

whole family has enjoyed living in Beijing, and

traveling throughout Asia.He can be contacted at

[email protected].

M&Ts in China

Jeffrey Cheung (M&T '87) is the founder and

managing director of Crossgate Advisors Limited

(www.crossgateadvisors.com), helping multina-

tional companies to invest and integrate ventures to

raise fund for growth. Drawing from a wealth of

investment, management experience across indus-

tries and a vast business network, Jeffrey completed

consecutive assignments with various consumer-

related and technologyinvestments in PRC. Cur-

rently based in Beijing, Jeffrey enjoys angel invest-

ing and regularly mentors entrepreneurs. Jeffrey can

be reached at [email protected].

Charlene Chen (M&T ’05) writes, “After working

in NYC for 4 years (Monitor and Insight Venture

Partners), I decided to head back to Penn for my

MBA. With my start date fast approaching, I

deferred my admission to experience life on the

other side of the world. I am now in Beijing, study-

ing Chinese at Tsinghua University where I’m

enjoying $1 meals and bracing myself for an

onslaught of sandstorms. Key highlights so far

have been the below zero night in a yurt in Inner

Mongolia and an all-star alumni event at the US

Embassy, hosted by Jon Huntsman Jr. While it’s

tempting to defer another year, I will be heading

back to Philadelphia this August and joining the

WG class of 2012." She can be reached at

[email protected].

Senior Farewell

It’s that time of the year again – when a newly

graduated class of M&Ts is shipped off from

campus and into the real world. After months of

anticipation, from buying our caps and gowns to

hulling back two heavy diploma frames, graduation

is just around the corner and feelings of nostalgia

are in the air.

As founding editors of the M&T Bulletin, we want

to take a moment to freeze frame and look back at

the M&T experience, from the tribulations of

all-nighters to the triumphs and accomplishments of

our peers – for it is these amazing peers who have

truly shaped our experience. These are the people

who made writing a 100 page research paper in

MGMT 237 bearable and, dare we say, fun. These

are the people who commiserated in the pains of

OCR as well as the agony of late nights in labs (be it

the Moore Linux Lab or the Skirkanich BE labs).

These are professional workload jugglers, connois-

seurs of nerdy jokes, and athletes who have trained

to run back and forth across campus in 10 minutes.

Though we are of the same breed, each of us, with

our own perspective and ambition, has left a unique

mark on Penn, M&T, and each other. But don’t just

take our word for it! Just take a look at some of the

impressive accomplishments of the M&T Class of

2010.

Noah Ready-Campbell has pursued his entrepre-

neurial passion, receiving the Wharton Venture

Award and acceptance into the Weiss Tech House

Innovation Fund. On the other end of the spectrum,

Clarence Tso has pursued research interests in cell

and molecular biomechanics and has been published

as a coauthor in FASEB (Federation of American

Societies for Experimental Biology). Looking

forward, Sam Levine will take advantage of his

Thouron Award to study abroad in Cambridge.

Nechemya Kagedan, on the other hand, is travelling

the globe, hoping to meet people of different

cultures and gain worldly perspective.

Alexander Yen was this year’s recipient of the

Michele Huber and Bryan Giles Award; this award

honors an outstanding M&T senior who “demon-

strates academic excellence, leadership, service and

love of mankind”. After graduation, Alex will be

working for McKinsey and in his “spare time”, he

will continue to develop YouthBank, a non-profit

organization he is involved in. When asked about his

“M&T experience” he says, “M&T was an experi-

ence I am grateful to have been a part of. I was

exposed to opportunities I couldn't have had

anywhere else, and became part of a community of

friends and colleagues that made my four years here

completely worthwhile.” We agree wholeheartedly.

In many ways, we are lucky to be part of the Class

of 2010. We have had the pleasure of knowing both

Lea and January. We were fortunate enough to be

one of Dr. Hamilton’s last MGMT 237 students

while still having the opportunity to interact with

and learn from M&T alumnus and new professor of

MGMT 237, Dr. Chaudhuri. Of course, we can’t

forget about Jaime whose familiar face and warm

greetings make the M&T office feel like a second

home.

Graduation is always bittersweet. Though the two of

us will be in NYC next year and the rest of the class

will be scattered around the globe, we hope that our

class will not be afraid to reach out to each other the

way we do now or will at least know that they will

always have a couch to crash on in NYC. With that,

we wish everyone the best luck (though you prob-

ably won’t need it) and hope to see you at our

reunion!

Starting in July 2010, Juhi Heda will be working as a Private

Equity Analyst at The Blackstone Group. Joy Xu will be

working as a M&A Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

They can be reached at [email protected] and

[email protected], respectively.

From left to right, seniors Joy Xu, Juhi Heda, and Alex Yen

pictured with Dr. Hamilton at the 30th Anniversary celebration.

Job PostingsGoogle (posted by Cynthia Yeung, M&T ’06)

Overview:Google's mission is to organize the world's information, and our growing Content Partnerships team helps to

provide access to all of the world's content. Through content partnerships and programs, we support over 14

Google products/properties around the world including Google.com, Mobile/Android, Product Search, Google

Maps and Google Earth. The breadth and scope of content we acquire almost defies description – it includes

video, books, publications, mapping data, satellite and aerial imagery, business addresses, restaurant reviews,

retail product listings, real estate listings and government data.

Seeking:Strategic Partner Development Associate (SPDA), Local/Core ContentThe Strategic Partner Development Manager for Local/Core content provides exposure to multiple functional

disciplines (e.g. product management, engineering, finance, legal, and operations). You will be working to

obtain content that is valuable to Google users, but not yet included in Google's index. In this role you will have

the opportunity to: help define the content strategy and execution for certain categories/verticals, negotiate

partnerships, represent Google at industry events, present to senior management, and collaborate with product

teams to evolve Google's offerings. The position will be in Mountain View.

Requirements

* BA or BS degree (an excellent academic record from a leading university is preferred)

* At least 4 years of related work experience (investment banking, consulting, venture capital, marketing

and/or business development preferred)

* Demonstrated strong work performance with increasing levels of responsibility and independence

* Sharp analytical and problem-solving skills

* Exceptional communication and presentation skills

* Ability to operate with energy and flexibility in a fast-paced, constantly evolving and collaborative

environment

* Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (PowerPoint, Excel, Word)

Responsibilities

* Lead research and conduct competitive analyses that help to determine our content categories and

vertical strategies

* Maintain a deep understanding of Google's product roadmap in order to better identify and qualify

prospective content partners and negotiate partnership term sheets and legal contracts

* Help execute scalable content acquisition programs through marketing plans and outreach to content

owners/aggregators

* Represent the company at industry events, which will include describing the benefits of working with

Google to users, content providers and advertisers

* Play a central role in helping our team build content metrics and management business infrastructure

tools

Contact:For more information or if interested, please contact Cynthia Yeung ([email protected]).

Job PostingsGoogle (posted by Cynthia Yeung, M&T ’06)

Overview:Google's mission is to organize the world's information, and our growing Content Partnerships team helps to

provide access to all of the world's content. Through content partnerships and programs, we support over 14

Google products/properties around the world including Google.com, Mobile/Android, Product Search, Google

Maps and Google Earth. The breadth and scope of content we acquire almost defies description – it includes

video, books, publications, mapping data, satellite and aerial imagery, business addresses, restaurant reviews,

retail product listings, real estate listings and government data.

Seeking:Business Analyst, Strategic PartnershipsAs a Business Analyst, you will provide analytical support to Google’s Strategic Partnership teams, focusing on

mobile partnerships and software distribution partnerships. You will work individually and as part of cross-

functional teams to conduct analysis and report on business performance. You will work collaboratively with

Partnership Development, Product Management, Finance and Operations teams to analyze and report on prod-

uct and partnership performance to assist in business decision making, optimization and issue identification and

resolution.

Requirements

* Degree in Business/Finance/Economics preferred with at least 3 years of relevant experience.

* Experience at a leading consulting firm or investment bank, or experience as an analyst in a high

growth company.

* Demonstrated aptitude for and interest in data-driven analysis and problem solving.

* Strong Excel skills required, database experience and working knowledge of SQL a big plus.

* Good communication skills and ability to explain complex analysis and work effectively with cross-

functional teammates.

Responsibilities

* Provide data reporting and analytical support to global and regional strategic partnership sales teams.

* Develop and report metrics to assess performance of Google products and partnerships and identify

and track trends.

* Build models to predict or explain business performance and conduct root cause analysis to resolve

issues or identify opportunities for improvement.

* Conduct primary and secondary market research, and synthesize and report on key business metrics

and trends.

* Establish working relationships with cross-functional peers and collaborate to gather data and conduct

analysis.

Contact:For more information or if interested, please contact Cynthia Yeung ([email protected]).

Job PostingsClearView Healthcare Partners (posted by Ankita Deshpande, M&T ’95)

Overview:ClearView is a premier strategy consulting firm based in Boston focusing on the life sciences. ClearView

Healthcare Partners provides world-class strategic decision-making support across a wide diversity of business

issues, informing actionable recommendations that allow companies to achieve their business goals. We serve

the life sciences industry, including firms in the biopharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic spaces.

Seeking:Strategy Analyst in the Life SciencesYou will interact with both clients and teams within ClearView to address critical strategic questions within the

biopharmaceutical space. During the course of a typical project, you will engage in a number of activities,

including:

• Conduct complex problem-solving through a hypothesis-based approach;

• Complete primary and secondary research to drive to critical insights;

• Create and utilize analytic tools, e.g., forecast models, to support key decision-making; and,

• Communicate recommendations to clients to inform strategy and maximize value.

We are seeking analyst-level candidates with undergraduate and/or Master’s degrees in the life sciences.

Although prior business or consulting experience is not necessary, all candidates should have a demonstrated

interest in the biopharmaceutical industry. Candidates must be highly analytical in their approach to solving

complex problems, should be proficient in both written and oral communication, and must enjoy working

within a dynamic team environment.

Contact:For more information or if interested, please contact Ankita Deshpande ([email protected]).

Aksia (posted by Patrick Adelsbach M&T ’97)

Overview:Aksia is an independent consultant focused on advising institutions (pensions, endowments, foundations, insur-

ance companies, etc.) with respect to their hedge fund investments. The firm is headquartered in New York

with satellite offices in London and Tokyo. Aksia’s key people are seasoned hedge fund industry professionals,

who previously held senior roles at investment banks and hedge funds in the areas of portfolio management,

research, trading, audit, prime brokerage, operations, and risk management. The combination of these experi-

ences gives Aksia a “360-degree” perspective when analyzing hedge funds and advising on hedge fund

programs.

Seeking:Aksia is seeking an analyst to assist the senior investment partners with research related to hedge fund invest-

ments. Analysts will have the opportunity to gain a deep understanding of various hedge fund strategies and

will develop both subjective and objective skills necessary to assess the attractiveness of hedge funds from an

investor’s point of view. Each analyst will rotate between Aksia’s 3 strategy teams over a 2 year period in order

to gain a broad exposure to the hedge fund universe. A significant portion of the role will entail writing invest-

ment reports that detail the qualitative and quantitative aspects of individual hedge fund strategies. Analysts at

Aksia will be working directly with hedge fund managers, clients, and the partners of the firm. Ideal candidates

will have 1-4 years of relevant work experience, strong communication skills, independent and critical thinking.

Contact:For more information or if interested, please contact Jenny Hirsch ([email protected]).

Job PostingsCiti (posted by Alexander Chilton, M&T ’05)

Overview:Citi's Municipal Capital Markets department serves institutional and municipal clients by underwriting, structur-

ing, marketing, selling and trading all products related to the municipal market. In addition to flow business in

bonds and derivatives, we provide affordable housing structures, credit products, tax credit financings, securiti-

zations and other structured products to meet the needs of our customers in a rapidly changing market. Citi-

group is consistently ranked #1 in municipal underwriting, sales and trading. Municipal Capital Markets is part

of the Municipal Securities Division (MSD) in the Institutional Clients Group (ICG) of Citi.

Seeking:Municipal Capital Markets Structured Products AnalystMSD is looking to add an Analyst in our Financial Products group focused on Structured Products.

Job Responsibilities:

· Support MSD's Financial Products group in the development of municipal structured products

· Development of financial models for municipal structured products

· Prepare term sheets, deal summaries, and presentations on various structured products

· Assist in drafting approval memorandums and presenting proposed municipal structured products to

internal approval committees

· Monitor daily desk profit and loss report

Qualifications:

· Candidate is required to have a BA/BS with a minimum of 1-2 years of experience in banking and/or

finance

· Individual must have excellent communication (oral and written), organizational and interpersonal

skills, as well as the ability to multi-task under tight deadlines

· Experience with financial modeling

· Ability to create high-qualify presentations and product descriptions Series 7 and 63 are preferred

Contact:For more information or if interested, please contact Alexander Chilton ([email protected]).

Google JAPAC (posted by Ling Chang, M&T ’92)

Overview:The Asia Pacific (JAPAC) region is extremely dynamic and Google requires innovative people to help us grow.

I lead the Partner Solutions Organization in JAPAC and this function drives the technical implementation of our

key products with strategic partners and customers. PSO works cross-functionally with BD, Sales, Products and

Eng to deliver projects. For example, we helped to launch Android devices around the world, integrate Google

mobile apps with carriers, integrate search with publishers, automate adwords creation with advertisers, etc.

Seeking:Technical Account Managers (TAM), Technical Solutions Engineer (TSE) and Customer Solutions Engineer

(CSE) to join PSO in Australia, Japan, Singapore, India, Korea and Taiwan. PSO is perfect for graduates and

alumnus of M&T as we seek candidates who are highly technical and yet well-versed in business. Ideal candi-

date will have CS degree (if not, then with programming experience), with business experience that is customer

or partner-facing (MBA degree is plus but only M&T is great). Applicant should be a self-starter, creative, and

passionate to make a difference. There is also local language requirement depending on the countries.

Contact:For more information or if interested, please contact Ling Chang ([email protected]).

Job PostingsBillShrink (posted by Shehzad Daredia, M&T ’06)

Overview:BillShrink provides a free, online service to help consumers make better purchase decisions for complex prod-

uct categories. It takes a scientific, highly-personalized approach which identifies the products that best fit

users’ individual requirements. BillShrink’s first category is wireless services; a user can interactively describe

their cell phone usage (or automatically import their bill for comprehensive analysis) and receive personalized,

ranked recommendations on the 10 million cell phone plan/add-on combinations available on the market today.

BillShrink was launched in April 2008.

Seeking:BillShrink is seeking to fill the following positions:

• Product Intern Part or Full Time

• Marketing Communications Intern

• Front End Engineer

• Senior Software Engineer

• Software Engineering Intern

All the above positions are based in Redwood, CA. For more details, please visit

http://www.billshrink.com/jobs/.

Contact:If interested, please contact Shehzad Daredia at [email protected].

Nomura Securities

Seeking:Nomura Securities is actively looking to recruit an associate to join the Securitized Products Research Team.

This team consists of seven senior analysts and is responsible for publishing research reports on RMBS,

consumer ABS and CMBS markets. Associates joining the team will work with senior analysts on analyzing

prepayment and credit profiles of assets backing different mortgage and asset backed securities as well as on

identifying macro-trends that are important drivers of the performance of MBS/ABS investments. Strong

quantitative background is required but no prior work experience in financial services area is necessary. Candi-

dates with BS degree in engineering/mathematics/physics/economics and MS in finance or an MBA will be

preferred.

Contact:If interested, please contact Paul Nikodem at [email protected].

Job PostingsCVS Caremark (posted by Clifford Jones, M&T ‘07)

Overview:CVS Caremark (Fortune 19, ~$99B revenue) is beginning to search for a new Analyst to join our Enterprise

Delivery team. The ideal candidate will have 1-3 years of experience at a top tier strategic consulting or private

equity firm (or equivalent background). Leveraging their modeling expertise, advanced communications skills,

and problem solving abilities, this person will drive projects that add value to our company by chartering new

pharmacy and pharmacy benefit management products and services. This position provides a unique opportu-

nity to have a significant impact on the strategic direction of one of the nation’s largest and most innovative

companies.

Seeking:CVS Caremark is seeking an Enterprise Delivery Analyst (Full-time) that will be responsible for modeling and

analyses that will help define the company's overall business strategy. The Analyst will be expected to work in

teams with key stakeholders from across the enterprise to gather, analyze and synthesize data; the Analyst's

work must routinely drive business insight, leading to competitive advantages in a highly complex and dynamic

market. Generally, the Analyst will work both independently and collaboratively on several projects simultane-

ously. The Analyst will also be a thought partner for the leaders of the group and will regularly interface with

senior leaders throughout the company. In addition, the Analyst will perform market research, help develop

solutions to operational and other qualitative issues, and generate reasonable assumptions in the absence of hard

data. Overall, the Analyst’s work will have a significant impact on product development decisions made by the

senior management of CVS Caremark.

Job Description:

• Perform advanced quantitative analyses (spreadsheet modeling, data analysis, etc.) to help determine

product development strategy

• Execute modeling to assess the value of pipeline opportunities

• Develop presentations to communicate findings, summarize key insights, and influence decision-

makers

• Work with appropriate stakeholders to define key metrics to track

Requirements:

• Superior analytical and problem solving skills

• High level of independent judgment and initiative required

• Ability to work both independently and in a team environment

• Excellent communication and writing skills

• Advanced skills with spreadsheets, databases and presentation software, including a strong working

knowledge of MS Excel and MS PowerPoint, as well as familiarity with MS Access

• Ability to support multiple projects simultaneously, adjusting priorities as needed and meeting

deadlines

For more information, please see

https://www.cvs.apply2jobs.com/ProfExt/index.cfm?fuseaction=mExternal.showJob&RID=3860&CurrentPage

=1

Contact:If interested, please contact Richard Huff, at [email protected].

Job PostingsAQR Capital Management (posted by Sarah Jiang, M&T ’08)

Overview:The founders of AQR were still Ph.D. candidates when they initially developed the complex financial models

that are now at AQR’s core. Today, AQR Capital Management is a $23 billion asset management firm

employing a disciplined multi- asset, global research process (AQR stands for Applied Quantitative Research).

AQR's investment products are provided through a limited set of collective investment vehicles and separate

accounts that deploy all or a subset of AQR's investment strategies. These investment products span from

aggressive high volatility market-neutral hedge funds, to low volatility benchmark-driven traditional products.

AQR offers a professional culture that is entrepreneurial and team-oriented, where those with talent and drive

are offered a vast array of opportunities to hone their skills and tackle new challenges as they take on ever-

greater responsibility.

Seeking:AQR is seeking to fill the following positions:

• Global Stock Selection- Research Associate

• Global Asset Allocation- Research Developer

• Global Asset Allocation- Risk Parity Researcher

• Global Stock Selection- Developer

All the above positions are based in Greenwich, CT, a short commute from New York City. For more details,

please visit http://www.aqr.com/ExperiencedHires.htm.

Contact:If interested, please contact Matt Gombos at [email protected].

Announcements

Save the Date!Philly M&T Alumni Club Event for Alumni Weekend

Del Frisco’s Steakhouse (15th and Chestnut)

Saturday, May 15th

5-8pm

The Philadelphia M&T Alumni Club has organized a family and friends night to coincide with Alumni Weekend

festivities. If you are coming into town for Graduation or Alumni Weekend, stop by the Vault Bar downstairs at

Del Frisco’s Steakhouse at 15th and Chestnut between 5pm and 8pm on Saturday, May 15th. Bring your

spouses and friends and then go out to dinner afterwards – this is a unique opportunity to socialize instead of

network! Cash bar. An RSVP to [email protected] is requested for headcount, but is not manda-

tory. Hope to see you there!

Want to update your fellow M&Ts on your life? Did you start a

company? New additions to your family? Or do you have

suggestions for an article in the next edition?

Email blurbs, photos, and any suggestions to

Matt Vogel (M&T ‘12) and Eve Lee (M&T ’12) at

[email protected] and [email protected].

Looking for current M&T students to intern at your company?

Email a description of the company and the position to M&T Program

Administrative Director January Stayton and Administrative Coordinator Jaime Davis

and [email protected].

Artem Mikhlin (M&T '97) will be coordinating the requests.

at [email protected]

M&T Bulletin - May 2010

Documents

Transcript of M&T Bulletin - May 2010