In June, more than 2,000 alumni, current students, and newly admitted students gathered in more than 75 cities around the world in celebration of the Columbia Business School global alumni network as part of the sixth annual Worldwide Alumni Club Event (WACE). Events included receptions with faculty speakers, happy hours, dinners, panel discussions, and family outings organized by dedicated alumni club leaders.Kresimir Spoljar ’97, organizer for the event in Zagreb, Croatia, said attendees relived their days as students in New York. "We also had the pleasure of meeting the first Columbia Business School alum from Croatia, Mirko Barišić, who was in attendance in 1971, more than 40 years ago," Spoljar said. "All in all, it was a fun evening."
Ron Plotkin '86, who organized the event in Tel Aviv, Israel, said more than 40 participants, including incoming students on their pre-MBA world tour, attended a sold-out speech by Vice Dean Amir Ziv. "We heard an update on the School and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for students and alumni in a changing landscape for business education," Plotkin said. "With a changing core curriculum, a new campus, a new approach to business education, and more involved alumni around the world, we were happy to be a part of this year’s Worldwide Alumni Club Event."
The following faculty members spoke at events around the world: Noel Capon, R.C. Kopf Professor of International Marketing (Boston); Ray Fisman, Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise, Bernstein Faculty Leader, and co-director of the Social Enterprise Program (Toronto); Kathryn Harrigan, Henry R. Kravis Professor of Business Leadership (Portland, San Diego, and Seattle); Charles Jones, Robert W. Lear Professor of Finance and Economics and Academic Advisory Board Member of the Program for Financial Studies (Washington, D.C.); Chris Mayer, Paul Milstein Professor of Real Estate and co-director of the Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy (Philadelphia); Eric Schoenberg, adjunct associate professor of marketing (Palm Beach and Miami); Bernd Schmitt, Robert D. Calkins Professor of International Business and faculty director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership (Hong Kong, Manila, and Taipei); Don Sexton, professor of marketing and director of the Center for International Business Education and Research (Paris and Rome); and Amir Ziv, professor of accounting, vice dean, and Samberg Faculty Director (Beijing and Israel).
Save the date: The School’s seventh annual Worldwide Alumni Club Event will take place in June 2013.