This past November, SVMP ‘09 classmates Tyler Sanchez, Aiesha Davie, Jameel Merali, Joe Seydl, Alice Fadiora, and Alex Porto reunited in New York City to participate in the Business Today International Conference: Weathering the Storm. The conference comprised three action‐packed days of executive group seminars, case study competitions, and keynote speaker events, revolving around the central theme: how business leaders overcame the challenges of the 2008‐2009 financial crisis.

 

Notable speakers included William Clay Ford Jr., Executive Chairman at Ford Motor Company, Michael Novogratz, President and Director of Fortress Investment Group LLC, Pete Miller Jr., President and CEO of National Oilwell Varco, Inc., and Alan Blinder, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University.

 

To become a successful leader in business, participants learned that one must always be forward‐looking, especially during periods of economic adversity. When asked how he was able to navigate Ford Motor Company through the peak of the crisis, Mr. Ford admitted to ascribing to Wayne Gretzky’s etiquette: “he tried to skate not to where the puck was at, but rather to where he believed the puck was going.”

 

More than half of the 100+ conference participants were international students hailing from Australia, China, Brazil, Greece and Russia, allowing for invaluable international exposure and a deeper understanding of the interdependence of the global economy.

 

Business Today is the largest student‐run publication in America, organizing various conferences for students throughout each academic year centered around bridging the communication gap between college students and business executives all around the world. To learn more about Business Today, and the conferences that they sponsor each year, visit http://www.businesstoday.org/.

 

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