Event Article

2nd Session added to Pitch Competition!!

Posted on by Brian Kelleher

Monday night was a great time at the CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition – in fact, we ran out of time before everyone had their turn to pitch!  So, we have scheduled a second session to allow everyone who showed up last night the opportunity to pitch their idea, but also if you were unable to attend on Monday, this will provide you one last opportunity to participate in this fun event.  We hope to see you there!

4/9/14, 6:00pm
UConn Storrs Campus
GENTRY 131 (School of Education Building – DIFFERENT LOCATION)
**Pizza, refreshments, and soda provided** 

The CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition is the first  of two events that comprise the CCEI Startup Challenge initiative.  At the Pitch Competition,$10,000 in prize money (ten $1000 prizes) will be awarded to individuals or teams across multiple categories.  Individuals or teams can pitch more than one idea, and you could win in more than one category.  This competition is open to all UConn Students (all majors, levels, campuses), and the idea can be for anything – we encourage you to get creative!  Five of the prize categories are listed below; the other five will be revealed at the event. Pitches will be limited to 90 seconds and will be followed by up to two minutes of Q&A.  Have an idea?  Pitch it!

First Five Prize Categories Revealed:

  • Best Pitch Presentation
  • Best Product/Invention Idea
  • Best Mobile App Idea
  • Most Socially Responsible Idea
  • Best College Targeted Idea (“Most Likely to Succeed at UConn”)

1st Annual Risk Management Academic Conference

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

The Master of Science in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM) Program at the University of Connecticut will host the First Annual Academic Conference on Risk Management at Storrs, Connecticut on May 30, 2014.

Date & Time

  • May 30, 2014 (Friday)
  • 9am-5pm

Program Committee

  • Chinmoy Ghosh
  • Chanatip Kitwiwattanachai
  • Efdal Misirli

Purpose

The purpose of this conference is to bring together academic researchers at the frontier of risk management and investments. This year’s conference program includes empirical perspectives on credit contagion, hedge fund investment, fire sales, market efficiency, mutual fund investment and media visibility in financial markets, central bank borrowing and risk shifting by banks in Europe.

Invitation

The Finance Department at the UCONN School of Business organizes this conference for the first time this year, and we would like to make it an annual event where prominent scholars and active young researchers present their work and receive valuable feedback. We will be happy if you can join our conference in its inaugural run.

Presenters

1. Jean Helwege, J. Henry Fellers Professor of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina, “Do Hedge Fund Fire Sales Disrupt the Stock Market?”  (9:00 – 9:50 am)

Discussant: Namho Kang (University of Connecticut)   (9:50 – 10:05 am)

Audience Q&A. (10:05 – 10:15 am)

 

2. Jennie Bai, Assistant Professor of Finance at Georgetown University, “Non-committable Channel for Credit Contagion”.  (10:15 – 11:05 am)

Discussant: Chanatip Kitwiwattanachai (University of Connecticut).  (11:05 – 11:20 am)

Audience Q&A. (11:20 – 11:30 am)

 

Lunch & Remarks from Dean John Elliot (11:30 am – 1:00 pm)

 

3. Ron Kaniel, Professor of Finance, University of Rochester, “Making the list – the impact of WSJ fund rankings on consumer investment decisions”,  (1:00 – 1:50 pm)

Discussant: Jonathan Reuter (Boston College, NBER). (1:50 – 2:05 pm)

Audience Q&A. (2:05 – 2:15 pm)

 

4. Bing Liang, Professor of Finance, University of Massachusetts Amherst, “Hedge Fund Ownership and Stock Market Efficiency” (2:15 – 3:05 pm)

Discussant: Jean Helwege (University of South Carolina). (3:05 – 3:20 pm)

Audience Q&A. (3:20 – 3:30 pm)

 

Coffee Break (3:30 – 3:45 pm)

 

5. Phillip Schnabl, Assistant Professor of Finance, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Kaufman Management Center, NYU “Who Borrows from the Lender of Last Resort?”. (3:45 – 4:35 pm)

Discussant: Jennie Bai (Georgetown University) (4:35 – 4:50 pm)

Audience Q&A. (4:50 – 5:00 pm)

Over 100 Participate in Business Career Center “Biz-Nite” Event

Posted on by

Biz-Nite EventStorrs, Conn.– On the evening of February 19, more than 100 School of Business students participated in “Biz-Nite,” the Business Career Center’s spring career event. The program included 35 corporate professionals from 16 companies who engaged students in presentations about the job market as well as full-time and internship positions.

The presentations were held at the School of Business in Storrs, Connecticut where there was a palpable energy as employers’ marketing banners lined the hallways. Steve Wolfberg ’81 (CLAS), principal and chief creative officer at Cronin and Company Marketing Communications, had this to say about the event:

“Biz-Nite was a great experience. UConn School of Business students are smart, prepared and curious. Hopefully they learned as much from me as I did from them.”

In addition to top key corporate partners, the evening also welcomed new presenters from the Boston Celtics, CareCentrix, Bouvier Insurance, and Cronin and Company. “Biz-Nite had a variety of employers, and as a student, I was able to hear about companies and the opportunities at them as well as talk with recruiters and have an informal interview,” said Nicole Nonnenmacher ’16.

Before, during and after the information sessions, students were able to network with business professionals and to deepen relationships developed at the Fall Career Expo.

At the end of the evening all students who had attended two or more sessions were entered into a drawing for two tickets to a Celtics basketball game at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. A junior MIS student was the lucky winner of the tickets, which were generously donated by Jillian Paine, inside sales manager of the Boston Celtics.

Pictured: Steve Wolfberg and Lindsey Wolejko, Cronin & Company, with School of Business students.

CFA Institute Helps UConn Business Students Practice Ethical Decision Making

Posted on by

CFA Institute Ethical Decision MakingStamford, Conn. – On March 4, 2014, the Stamford CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Society hosted an Ethical Decision Making course for UConn business students on the Stamford campus. Michael Dineen, CFA and professor of finance, coordinated the event which was designed to provide participants with the framework to analyze situations from an ethics perspective.

Bob Dannhauser, head of global capital markets policy at the CFA Institute, led the presentation and discussion, presenting the CFA Institute’s Ethical Decision Making course in a case-based format. After the presentation, cases were given to all students, who were challenged with the task of choosing the ethical decision to make. This personal interaction and dialogue was an important component for the students: the discussion that ensued generated many considerations for real life situations that students may face in their financial careers.

The course attracted both graduate students in the MS in Financial Risk Management program and undergraduates studying Financial Management.

Shirkani Presents “Emotional Intelligence: Skills for Success”

Posted on by

Emotional IntelligenceStorrs, CT – “The rules for work are changing. We’re being judged by a new yard stick – not just by how smart we are but by how we handle ourselves and each other,” said Jen Shirkani, the CEO and president of Penumbra, a talent management consulting practice. Shirkani drew from her 20 years of personal and professional experience as she presented “Emotional Intelligence: Skills for Success” to UConn students and faculty on January 29th.

This presentation, brought to UConn by Target and the School of Business Career Center, educated an audience of undergraduate students and UConn faculty members on emotional intelligence, or EQ, and how it contributes to success in the workplace.

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to control impulses, read situations and people appropriately, influence others and manage stress. According to Shirkani, emotional intelligence is just as, if not more important than having the proper technical skills in most jobs. “The number one reason new employees fail is lack of coachability… the last reason was due to technical skills” Jen explained. Along with this information the audience received insight on practical techniques on how to improve your EQ and apply it to work situations. The key points taken from her engaging and practical lecture included:

  • Your comfort zone is the enemy of EQ; you need to take risks to better yourself.
  • EQ is a collection of skills that can be learned through increased awareness, practice and coaching; your EQ level is not static.
  • There is a correlation between high EQ and success in life; book smarts alone will not take you to high places.

For more information on emotional intelligence or Jen Shirkani you can go to: http://jenshirkani.com/ or read Shirkani’s book “EGO vs EQ.”

Pictured (from left): Allison (Allie) Lavista ’12, ’13 CLAS, Target Executive Team Leader; Lorraine Liswell, School of Business Career Center; Jen Shirkani; and student Lauren Harrigan, Target Campus Liaison.

CEO Evolution

Posted on by

On January 29, 2014 more than 200 participants attended CEO Evolution, a panel discussion featuring four exceptional Connecticut CEOs discussing the challenges they’ve faced while leading their businesses through tremendous periods of growth.

Named after his column in the Business Journal, panel moderator Mark Fagan, managing partner of the Norwalk office of Citrin Cooperman, believes that CEOs should focus their attention on strategic activities versus tactical ones, adding that the success of a company is heavily weighed on a CEO’s understanding of the business, anticipation of changes and strategic thinking.

Roundtable panelists featured Linda McMahon, co-founder and former CEO of WWE in Stamford; Austin McChord, founder and CEO of Datto in Norwalk; Paul Senecal, partner of United Services of America, in Bridgeport; and John Votto, president and CEO of the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain.

In addition to emphasizing hard work and dedication as traits for success, all four panelists stressed the importance of hiring qualified staff and allowing them to do their jobs so that the CEO can devote all efforts toward keeping their business on track.

Held at UConn Stamford, the event was hosted by the School of Business and Citrin Cooperman.

The Value of a Day’s Work: Panel Addresses Pay Equity

Posted on by Claire Hall

Women make up 48% of Connecticut’s labor force, and yet in 2011, Connecticut full-time working women earned just 78% of what their male counterparts earned, according to a research brief on pay equity by the Connecticut General Assembly Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW).Continue Reading

Student/Alumni Networking Event Marks the Start of a New Academic Year

Posted on by Claire Hall

The start of a new semester is an excellent time to strengthen connections and welcome in new students. That is just what happened at The Society Room on August 22 in downtown Hartford, as the UConn School of Business community welcomed in new students entering into the MBA, Master of Science in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM), and Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBAPM). Continue Reading