Video: Habitat for Humanity CEO Speaks at Nonprofit Symposium

The Wake Forest University Charlotte Center welcomed Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, to launch an educational initiative to support nonprofit organizations. Reckford served as the keynote speaker for “Navigating for the Future” a free symposium for nonprofit organizations on March 28.

More than 200 people representing a wide variety of nonprofit organizations attended the symposium which will become an annual event at the Wake Forest Charlotte Center.

Steve Reinemund, Dean of Business, and Anthony Foxx, Mayor of Charlotte welcomed attendees who gathered at the Bank of America Auditorium to hear Reckford’s keynote address.

Reckford’s presentation titled, “Turning Calamity into Opportunity” emphasized how a crisis provides opportunities for innovation and rethinking “business as usual.” He discussed how the tsunami in Asia and hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States forced Habitat for Humanity to become more nimble.

“People lost their lives, their homes, their communities and their businesses. But the magnitude of the destruction and our desire to help more families rebuild their lives forced us to change our idea of what was possible. It meant that we had to test new ideas and attempt some strategies that we never tried before,” he said.

Reckford said those natural disasters prompted Habitat for Humanity to shift its paradigm of building individual homes to one of developing entire communities.

The housing crisis created yet another challenge for Habitat for Humanity, he said. With the increasing numbers of vacant, foreclosed homes, the organization worked on repairs and rehab of existing homes to purchase and sell at an affordable price to low-income families.

Audience members watched in amazement as Reckford showed before and after photos of
a Habitat for Humanity neighborhood revitalization project along Cherry Street in Winston-Salem. Reckford commended Wake Forest University students, faculty and staff for work on the project, and said his organization has set a goal to serve 100,000 families a year worldwide by 2013.

Reckford closed his keynote address by recognizing the passion and work of the Charlotte-area nonprofit community. “I want to thank all of you who made the decision at some point to invest your time, talent and treasure into making the world a better place.”

Joanne O’Brien Beam (’84), Managing Partner of Capstone Advancement Partners and President of the Wake Forest University Charlotte Alumni Club, said she was impressed by Reckford’s message. “He runs an enormous organization, but was able to put it into perspective for any organization, big or small,” she said.

The keynote address transitioned into a fireside chat with Reckford and Reinemund, moderated by Dr. Leighton Ford, author, social activist and president of Leighton Ford Ministries.

The conversation touched on topics such passion, navigating change, mandatory monetary commitments for board members, and the transition from a business career to nonprofit sector.
While concluding the session, Ford told the audience, “I want to thank you for being hope holders.”

Steve Virgil, Director of the Wake Forest University Community Law and Business Clinic, announced that the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center will host “Essentials of Business for Nonprofit Organizations,” an executive education series starting in September. Course topics will include: Governance, Strategic Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Human Resources, Fund Development, Collaboration, Evaluation, Advocacy and Communication, and Leadership Lessons for Nonprofits. Registration opens June 1. Some scholarships are available thanks to the support of corporate partners Duke Energy and Foundation for the Carolinas. More information may be found at here.

Video: Condoleezza Rice Speaks at Wake Forest

Last week, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke at Wait Chapel as part of the school's Rethinking Success conference. Here is the video of her entire speech:

An Update From the Charlotte Campus

The Wake Forest Charlotte Graduate Finance Club has set the bar high.
The newly formed club held its first event on Wednesday, April 11 in the new Wake Forest University Charlotte Center. A full classroom more than 50 people from a variety of Wake Forest programs (Charlotte Evening MBA, Charlotte Saturday MBA, Full-time MBA, MSA and MA) attended a panel of finance professionals. The panel featured Private Equity, Investment Banking, Commercial Banking, Asset Management, Audit, and Compliance.
“It was a really diverse group with a lot of helpful advice,” said Lawrence Sansone (MBA ’12), a second-year full-time MBA from the Winston-Salem campus.
The panel discussed a variety of subjects, including career progression, the value of an MBA, soft and transferable skills, and how to switch to a finance career.
“Know what you want to do before you do it,” said Ryan Simmons (MBA ’11), an Investment Grade Credit Research Analyst with TIAA-CREF. Simmons offered three suggestions on ways to discover what career is the best fit for a student: 1) shadow someone; 2) be honest about what your skill set is; 3) be resilient.
“Have the ability to fine tune your internal barometer,” said Dan Niccum (’04), a vice president at Brookwood Associates. “Know when you need to dig into a financial model versus taking a 30,000-foot view, when to move at a fast pace or a strategic pace.”
Those career-evaluating tips may be especially salient for students interested in investment banking. Students often intend to pursue that career for salary, prestige, and experience. But the panel offered wise words of wisdom for students considering that industry.
“There are no transferable skills to prepare you for the rigors of the buy- or sell-side,” Adam Richeson (MBA ’11), who works in business development at private-equity firm CapitalSouth Partners, said. “There are sleepless nights, and giving up time with family. You have to really enjoy the working environment.”
Members on the panel from non-investment banking careers offered encouraging advice for students whose personality and skill set do not match investment banking/private equity.
“People are driven for their first job by how much money they can make, but I have seen people who are much more passionate about their jobs have a lot more success,” said Wes Beckner, a regional president for BB&T’s commercial bank.
“The word is equi-finality,” Ravi Correa, a senior vice president and chief accounting officer for RoundPoint Mortgage, said. “Don’t think there is only one way to get where you want to go.”
Students know they will develop the hard skills needed to succeed in a variety of finance careers from the Wake Forest curriculum. However, they were interested to learn what soft skills are necessary to develop before graduation.
“Building rapport with clients is critical,” said Matt Lindberg (’02), who serves as a vice president in the industrial group at Wells Fargo’s Investment Bank. “You really need to form long-term relationships.”
“Trust and relationships are what get deals done because valuations are relatively close nine times out of ten,” Richeson said.
The relationship management and communication skills are also needed internally, according to Beckner. “When you integrate with several areas of the bank on a routine basis, how you develop those relationships is important so that you always receive cooperation.”
The students were also interested to learn that their opinions can be valued from the very beginning of a new career.
“The thing that sets people apart is if you know your stuff and then speak your mind,” Correa said. “Nobody wants a ‘yes’ man. People appreciate ideas.”
“Know your stuff and challenge people. It is a skill that is appreciated,” said Anna Engstrom (MSA ’11), a compliance analyst at Wells Fargo Securities.
Members of the panel lauded students for choosing a finance path because “those skills are probably the most transferable” to other companies and roles. They also expressed that students were making the right education choice to further their career prospects.
“Getting my MBA showed I was committed to asset management, and that I wanted to stay for the long term,” Simmons said. “It was a game changer for me.”

Pic: Update on Farrell Hall

Picture courtesy of Emily Perry (on Twitter at @redesign_that)

Wake Forest MA Team Wins Yum! Brands Challenge

Yum! Brands announced that the Wake Forest University School of Business has won the TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU Case Study Challenge to fight global hunger. Yum! Brands made a $250,000 donation to the United Nations World Food Programme on behalf of Wake Forest.
The competition is an extension of Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief global efforts and was conducted among student teams from five leading MBA programs across the country. The goal was to leverage the principles in Yum! Brands Chairman and CEO David Novak’s new book, TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen, to provide solutions that address global hunger.
Wake Forest prevailed from a field of MBA teams that included the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, UCLA and the University of Southern California. Executives from Yum! Brands and its divisions, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Yum! Restaurants, provided mentoring and support.
The Wake Forest team was comprised of Larry Gordon, Nick Miller, Eric Plummer, Gabriela Scarritt and Anthony Tuttle.

Wake Forest Family Helping Rebuild MBA's Home

While many Wake Forest University Schools of Business students were off soaking up the sun on Spring Break, Vanessa Hosein (MBA ’13) was weathering a storm that will last for months.
Vanessa, a first-year student in the Saturday MBA program in Charlotte, was home studying for Financial Accounting and Quantitative Analysis tests on March 3 when a tornado broke through the silence, ripping through her home, tearing away walls and destroying everything in its path. Trees snapped off their trunks and shot like missiles into the walls of her home. The intense winds tossed around and swept away furniture, clothing, personal belongings and documents. The force of the twister sucked in the garage door, causing the door to wedge onto her car that was parked inside. The home’s privacy fence is gone – as is any sense of normalcy in Vanessa’s life.
Through it all, she is grateful to be alive and thankful that she sent her beloved dog “Gizmo” off to stay with a friend that night so she could focus on studying.
Focusing on studying in the days and weeks following the tornado is a tremendous challenge. As a student in a working professionals MBA program, Vanessa has a full-time job to maintain as well. “It has been very, very difficult. I had to go back to work part-time after one week and full-time after two weeks. I don’t have someone to financially support me other than myself and insurance does not pay for lost wages,” she said.
Vanessa stayed in a hotel for two weeks before moving into a temporary apartment. Anything she could recover from her home has been hauled off to a storage unit. She still has to pay her mortgage, even though her house is unlivable.
She has gone from running regressions and building financial models, to landing knee deep in insurance paperwork, trying to find a way to rebuild her home. Vanessa has been warned that the process could easily last nine months.
But she is not weathering this storm on her own.
“I have very good friends who are my family. They helped me with everything from moving out of the house, securing the property, finding a hotel or an apartment, and taking care of my dog. I can’t say enough about my friends, they have been wonderful,” she said.
“My coworkers and bosses have been excellent as well as my professors and the Wake Forest family who have helped me get caught up with my missed classes and coursework. WFUSB staff members Kyla Acie and Pasquale Quintero have been so understanding and accommodating.”
In fact, many people have reached out to check in with Vanessa and offer her support. “I could not keep up with all the calls, e-mails and texts that I was getting. My phone was going dead all of the time, and I needed to find a way to pass on information to everyone quickly. I’ve never done a blog but it seemed to be the best way to get the info out.”
You can keep up with Vanessa’s news in her “11707Twister” blog.
Wake Forest students, faculty and staff have asked how to embody the school’s Pro Humanitate motto and help Vanessa. The Wake Forest University Charlotte Center staff is collecting monetary donations to deliver to her. Checks, cash and VISA gift cards may be dropped off at the Wake Forest Charlotte Center in Uptown or mailed to: Wake Forest University Charlotte Center, Attention Vanessa Hosein (MBA ’13), 200 North College Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
To view a slideshow, click here.

Ethics Team Performs Well in National Competition

The Wake Forest University Ethics team advanced to the Semi-Final round of the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl earlier this month in Cincinnati, taking home a fourth place trophy.

The Ethics Bowl team, in its first year of existence at Wake Forest, won first place in the North Carolina Ethics Bowl and was a finalist in the Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl, earning the honor to compete at the national level.

Undergraduate students Louis Brotherton (Team Captain) (’12), George Bader (’15), Emily Bryant (’15), Kevin Cirronella (’14), Nick Cohen (’12), and Patrick Kelly (’12) advanced through their first four rounds of the Ethics Bowl to compete in the Semi-Finals. The Wake Forest team lost by just one point to the team that went on to win the national championship.

“Our team had a tremendous first year and made me very proud every step of the way,” said Wake Forest Ethics Team faculty advisor, Charles Lankau. “Formed from students across the University, this team represented the best Wake Forest has to offer in intellectual ability, and critical analysis of complex ethical dilemmas, as well as presentation and argumentation skills. These students handled themselves like seasoned debaters and made a real impact in each of the competitions they entered.”

Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl teams receive a set of ethical issues cases in advance to prepare for the tournament. Questions may concern ethical problems on wide ranging topics, such as the classroom (e.g. cheating or plagiarism), personal relationships (e.g. dating or friendship), professional ethics (e.g. engineering, law, medicine), or social and political ethics (e.g. free speech, gun control, etc.)

During the competition, teams present their solutions to questions presented from the set of dilemmas and teams of three to five students also respond to impromptu questions from the panel of judges.

Rating criteria include: intelligibility, focus on ethically relevant considerations, avoidance of ethical irrelevance, and deliberative thoughtfulness.

A total of 32 teams from around the country competed in the 16th Annual Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl on March 1.