On Monday February 8, 2010, the Drexel Finance Association (DFA) and Drexel Marketing Association (DMA) hosted a panel discussion featuring 3 alumni who are each currently participating in management training programs at world-renowned companies.

The panelists included Shilpa Gadhok (Lockheed Martin), Jeff Walter (GMAC), and Ronjon Bose (The Vanguard Group), while DFA President Richard Lavner served as master of ceremonies.

Among the topics of discussion, panelists detailed the many advantages of participating in management training programs, citing exposure to multiple departments within an organization. In comparison with peers who enter a firm in a traditional entry-level position, the rotations of a training program allow for more career flexibility. Additionally, there are tremendous amounts of prestige associated with these programs. After all, the reason companies invest time and money into management training is to breed its future leaders. Therefore, acceptance into these programs is highly competitive. In some cases, as explained by the panel, you are competing with 50-100+ other students vying for one of three spots in a company’s management training program (numbers and spots are subject to change depending on the company). But, if Monday night’s panelists are any indication, LeBow College of Business’s tagline “Learn Here. Lead Anywhere” certainly holds true.

Before breaking the panel discussion for a networking reception, each speaker was asked to offer advice to the 80+ students in attendance–what could they do now as undergrads to increase their marketability as potential applicants to a company’s management training program? The answer was quite unanimous as all said grades are important but passionate participation in campus organizations is of the utmost. In fact, the DFA received accolades from Vanguard panelist Ronjon Bose who noted the student organization is well-known and respected throughout the company, which specializes in investment management services.

Both the Drexel Finance Association and Drexel Marketing Association would like to thank our panelists for their participation, LeBow UGCS for their support in the event planning process, and finally, the 80+ students who came out to the event–check below for pictures!

–NOTEWORTHY DATES FOR DFA & DMA–

Wednesday February 17, 2010: DMA will be hosting a general body meeting (details will be sent out shortly)

Wednesday February 24, 2010: DMA will be holding a speed networking event at 6pm in Paul Peck. Guest will be from Tierney Communications, Brownstein Group, and Red Zebra Works. Be sure to look for more information about it on Lebow Ticker, Facebook, and the Daily Digest.

Tuesday March 2, 2010: The DFA and Drexel Investment Group (DIG) will be co-hosting the much anticipated Top Finance Co-Op Employer event. Employers will have a HR representative, current employee, and a current/previous co-op student to represent the firm. Each employer will have roughly 5-10 minutes to present their firm, employment opportunities, and relay their company culture. Networking will follow the presentations to allow students and employers to exchange questions and make personal connections. Registration for this event is now open at http://www.lebow.drexel.edu/Event/2864

Panelists (L-R): Ronjon Bose, Jeff Walter, Shilpa Gadhok

(L-R): Oren Eisenberg (DMA Secretary), Richard Lavner (DFA President), Krupa Desai (DMA President)

Capacity crowd for the event!

Last night, the Drexel Finance Association (DFA) held its first General Body Meeting of the Winter Term in front of a record attendance of 63 students. This surpasses the organization’s previous record of 61 students, which was set last term and is indicative of the DFA’s staying power within the LeBow community. In fact, last night’s attendance represents a roughly 250% increase over last year’s on a comparable meeting basis. In addition to this feat, the DFA had plenty of business to discuss, all of which can be found below.

*Upcoming Events for Winter Term (2Q10)*

February 8, 2010 @ 6pm in Paul Peck: “Market your Dreams, Finance your Future” is a collaborative effort between the DFA, Drexel Marketing Association (DMA), and Undergraduate Career Services (UGCS). This event will highlight the leadership development programs available at Lockheed Martin, Vanguard, Susquehanna International Group (SIG), and GMAC. Students will gain an understanding of how participation in corporate programs at these companies will provide short and long-term career benefits. More information will be sent out via Facebook and e-mail, as well as a Ticker post the week of the event.

March 2, 2010 @ TBA in Paul Peck: “Top Finance Co-Op Employers Event” will be co-hosted by the DFA and Drexel Investment Group (DIG) for the second year in a row and will most likely feature companies, among others, that have participated in networking/professional events with both student organizations in the past. The Top Finance Co-Op Employer Event is very popular with students as it gives them the chance to meet with representatives from companies with highly desirable Co-Op opportunities.

*Spring Term Guidance (3Q10)*

The DFA is in the process of finalizing plans for two professional events and one charity event in the Spring, all of which have been published in the organization’s previous guidance released in December 2009. The two professional events include a panel discussion on the hedge fund industry featuring Drexel alum and DFA-event veteran Rob Delany (CFO, Sciens Capital Management). The second event is still in the planning phase but is expected to feature Danielle Hughes (CEO, Divine Capital Markets) to lead a discussion on the emerging role of women in finance, among other topics. Lastly, the DFA plans to hold its Third Annual Charity 3-Point Shootout at the DAC, which has raised a sizeable portion of money for notable causes.

*DFA Shadow Program*

After a successful trial last year, the DFA has elected to run the Shadow Program again. This gives interested students the opportunity to attend Executive Board Meetings and contribute to all facets of the organizational process. The program lasts roughly 10 weeks (Spring term), but based on performance students may be asked to permanently join the Executive Board for the upcoming year.

Students are invited to submit their resume to dufinance@gmail.com and please be sure to reference the program in the subject line. Interviews will be granted to qualified applicants in the middle of February.

Finally, the Drexel Finance Association would like to thank everyone who attended last night’s General Body Meeting. We hope you enjoyed yourself and will proudly wear your DFA T-shirt!

The Drexel Finance Association presents its quarterly newsletter, The Conference Call, which highlights the organization’s past events and previews its future plans.

This issue is for the Fall 2009 term and all information is current as of January 10, 2010.

To read, please click the following link: DFA Fall 2009 Conference Call

This past Monday, November 30, the Drexel Finance Association (DFA) hosted its 2nd General Body Meeting of the term–the first time the organization has ever had two in one term.

A modest turnout of just over 30 students received an in depth overview of the events the DFA has planned (so far) for the remainder of the year.

These events include*:

1) Finance Leadership Development Program (FLDP) Event (2/8/2010)–This event will highlight various corporate finance positions at well-known companies around the world.

2) Top Finance Co-op Employers Event (March 2010)–The DFA will co-sponsor this event with UGCS and DIG. Many prominent companies will be on campus for a networking session intended to discuss co-op positions.

3) Hedge Fund Management Event (March/April 2010)–Rob Delany (Drexel alumnus), CFO of Sciens Hedge Fund Management, will present along with several of his collegues the fundamentals of the hedge fund industry.

4) Divine Capital Management Event (April/May 2010)–Danielle Hughes, CEO of Divine Capital Management will lead a discussion on the role of women in business.

5) Networking Event with Young Alumni (May/June 2010)–The final event of the year will feature a host of Drexel alumni who are now working in the finance industry (may also include accounting, consulting, credit rating, etc.).

As always, the DFA welcomes any feedback or suggestions–please email dufinance@gmail.com

*The events listed above are subject to change and may not reflect actual future outcomes. Therefore, anyone reading this after December 2, 2009 is advised to refer to the most recent DFA news release for any event-related updates.

Drexel FBLA-PBL and the Lebow College of Business will be hosting the annual Holiday Dinner

-Thursday, December 10
-6pm – 7:30pm
-Private Dining Hall at Handshumacer Dining Hall

Our guest speaker for the evening is Justo Villasmil, a CPA from Ernst & Young and a Drexel Alumni. He will be discussing how he got to this position, the places he has been abroad, and the opportunities that wait in Ernst & Young. This is a good opportunity to network if you are interested in working in the Big 4 firms, or overseas.

We will be offering a fancy meal to all those who attend this event.

One of the most storied records in baseball history is Roger Maris’ single-season home run record of 61, breaking legendary slugger Babe Ruth’s mark of 60. However, due to the elongated season that helped Maris in surpassing Ruth, the MLB commissioner at the time decided to place an asterisk next to the new record (it was removed some years later). 

What does this have to do with the DFA? Last night we hit a “home run” of our own when we hosted our first general body meeting of the term, in front of a DFA-record 61* students. Those who were a part of this milestone got the opportunity to meet the DFA Executive Board for 2009-2010, learn about the mission of the organization and hear about the exciting events coming up this term. 

On the subject of events, our first one will be “Tools of the Trade: Susquehanna International Group” on October 20 at 6pm in the Paul Peck Alumni Center. Rather than regurgitate information that is already on LeBow Ticker and various other social media, please click here to read the event description and register for the event via the LeBow Events Calendar (space is limited, so it is in your best interest to register ahead of time). 

The details of our second event of the term are still being finalized so check back to LeBow Ticker where updates will be available shortly. In the meantime, I can say that this event will be held on November 10 and will feature the Society of Financial Service Professionals–great contacts for anyone interested in accounting, financial planning, insurance, or banking.

As an added bonus this year, we decided to give away 20 limited edition DFA sweatshirts at the end of the meeting. And, staying true to the arduous nature of the finance industry, students had to work for their prize. One board member would recite the stock ticker symbol of a company, and the first student to successfully identify the company by name won a DFA sweatshirt. This was a simple game meant to increase the participation of our general members and it worked quite well. In fact, a reorder is being placed on the DFA sweatshirts so we can play again at the next meeting and keep our members warm during the winter!

Finally, on behalf of the DFA Executive Board, I would like to express the profound gratitude we have for everyone that came out last night and helped us reach this significant milestone. We look forward to presenting you with the best recruiting and networking opportunities in the future. As the old adage goes, “records are made to be broken,” so we hope to achieve even greater attendance numbers at upcoming meetings. After all, Roger Maris’ record no longer stands as three players, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Barry Bonds, have gone on to hit more home runs in a single season. 

Here’s to new heights!

Rich Lavner

DFA, President

*The official attendance at the general body meeting was 56 plus 5 Executive Board members, thus totaling 61. The previous record for a general body meeting was 42. The record for attendance at a DFA event is estimated at ~100 (Tools of the Trade: JP Morgan in April 2008).