Charlotte Center to Host Discussion on Major Apple Project

Apple’s plans for the nation’s biggest private fuel cell energy project to be built in North Carolina will be the topic of a special panel discussion on Wed., April 25 from 5:30–7:00 pm at the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center.
The event is free and open to the public.
The fuel cell project is the nation's largest such project not built by an electric utility company, and will be developed this year at Apple’s Maiden, N.C., data center. The complex has already earned the LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and will also host a planned 20-megawatt solar farm, the biggest ever proposed in the state.
Fuel cells generate electricity through an electro-chemical process and are compared to batteries that give out power as long as they have a source of hydrogen.
Panelists who will discuss this fuel cell energy project and its impact on our future include:

• Dan Rastler: senior manager in the energy storage and distributed energy resources program at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
• Michael Youth: counsel and regulatory advisor, North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association
• Richard Williams, Reynolds Professor, Physics Department, Wake Forest University

The panel will be moderated by Dan Fogel, associate director of policy, enterprise and markets at the Wake Forest University Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability. He is also an executive professor of strategy at the Wake Forest Schools of Business.
“Energy has the potential to surpass the financial services industry to become the economic driver of the region,” Fogel said. “We have assembled a panel of experts who will talk about the pros and cons of fuel cell technology."
Advance registration is required. Click here for the online registration link.

Farrell Hall Topping Off Ceremony

An exciting time for prospects, alumni and faculty:

WFUSB Farrell Hall Topping Off Ceremony from WFU Schools of Business on Vimeo.

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.