Know Thyself: Words of Wisdom at the 14th Annual GFA Conference
Michael Tarulli
Issue date: 11/17/09 Section: News
After imparting his words of wisdom, Professor Murphy introduced the day's second keynote speaker, Ray McGuire, Head of Global Banking at Citi. The pair first met each other over twenty years ago when Mr. McGuire arrived at First Boston, where Professor Murphy had already risen to a senior position. In his comments, Mr. McGuire discussed the global nature of business and the extent to which investment professionals need to be cognizant of this new landscape. Much like the two speakers before him, Mr. McGuire stressed the importance of taking hold of your own career and, when facing a crossroads, listening to the people that we trust most, since those are the people that often know us best. As John Hutcheson, GFA Executive Vice President, said, "Ray did a great job connecting with the audience. After an inspiring keynote address, Ray brought his larger than life persona off of the stage and into the crowd displaying his fondness for music, knowledge of global events and ability to entertain."
After the keynote speeches, attendees had the opportunity to participate in two rounds of panel discussions on topics with titles such as "Managing Risk in Capital Markets", "A Focus on Cross-Border Transactions", and "The Role of Corporate Finance in the Financial Services Industry". Conference attendee Jack Kuhns said of the M&A panel, "The panelists all came from different spaces in M&A and as a result were able to collectively provide a rich review of emerging trends." While most panel discussions seemed noticeably more sanguine than in 2008, some were still somewhat cautious about the outlook for the domestic economy, even going so far as to suggest we may see a dramatic second leg down over the next few months.
The conference concluded with a cocktail reception, featuring representatives from companies such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Thomson Reuters, among others. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with company representatives in an intimate and conversational setting.
With roughly 200 attendees, over twenty speakers, and more than fifty representatives from twelve companies, the Graduate Finance Association once again offered students a unique opportunity to listen to and speak with leading professionals from nearly all corners of finance. As co-chair Blake Stuchin said, "Our goal was to put on a broad-reaching event with speakers who would be not only informative but also fun and engaging. Based on GFA member suggestions, we expanded the program this year to include three terrific keynote speakers and seven different panel discussions featuring more than two dozen industry professionals from a wide range of fields including corporate finance, hedge funds, sales and trading, private wealth management, and investment banking. Judging from what we've heard from attendees, we were thrilled with the turnout and the responses for this year's conference."
After the keynote speeches, attendees had the opportunity to participate in two rounds of panel discussions on topics with titles such as "Managing Risk in Capital Markets", "A Focus on Cross-Border Transactions", and "The Role of Corporate Finance in the Financial Services Industry". Conference attendee Jack Kuhns said of the M&A panel, "The panelists all came from different spaces in M&A and as a result were able to collectively provide a rich review of emerging trends." While most panel discussions seemed noticeably more sanguine than in 2008, some were still somewhat cautious about the outlook for the domestic economy, even going so far as to suggest we may see a dramatic second leg down over the next few months.
The conference concluded with a cocktail reception, featuring representatives from companies such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Thomson Reuters, among others. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with company representatives in an intimate and conversational setting.
With roughly 200 attendees, over twenty speakers, and more than fifty representatives from twelve companies, the Graduate Finance Association once again offered students a unique opportunity to listen to and speak with leading professionals from nearly all corners of finance. As co-chair Blake Stuchin said, "Our goal was to put on a broad-reaching event with speakers who would be not only informative but also fun and engaging. Based on GFA member suggestions, we expanded the program this year to include three terrific keynote speakers and seven different panel discussions featuring more than two dozen industry professionals from a wide range of fields including corporate finance, hedge funds, sales and trading, private wealth management, and investment banking. Judging from what we've heard from attendees, we were thrilled with the turnout and the responses for this year's conference."
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resume writing experts
posted 12/01/09 @ 11:44 PM EST
This annual GFA conference gives a lot of useful information and really helped to know ourselves.
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