Recent Events

Cass Business School recently travelled to India to host alumni receptions as well as to participate in an Actuarial Conference which took place in Mumbai and at which Professor Steven Haberman, Deputy Dean and Director, was invited to participate in a panel discussion.

Cass hosted 2 separate receptions for alumni and prospective students- in Mumbai and Delhi. Professor Haberman gave a master-class at each event on the theme of Longevity which was well received and was followed by canapés and drinks. Both evenings were well attended and very sociable and the overall feedback was very positive.

On 25 October 2011 a reception was held at Cass to honour Professor Steven Haberman’s 60th Birthday. Currently Director and Deputy Dean of Cass Business School, he has been teaching and doing research in actuarial science at Cass for 35 years.

Steven Haberman has made an enormous contribution to the Actuarial Science profession. To mark his 60th birthday Cass has launched a fundraising Campaign – The Haberman Campaign for Actuarial Science. An appeal is made to all alumni to support this Campaign and make a donation. For further details please contact Ruth.velenski.1@city.ac.uk  

On Saturday 15 October 2011, about 60 students from 7 M/E/MBA cohorts gathered for a half-day afternoon inaugural event at Cass to discuss their career progression, strengthen their network and continue the technical learning. This group named the Cass G7+ M/E/MBAs is a student driven initiative and the idea is bringing together those cohorts that between 2009-2011/12 had shared experiences through international electives, modules and course work.

The first session had four students - from the EMBA Sep 2009, the FTMBA 2010 and MEMBA 2009 - present on their individual career transition, ie a change in industry, company, country, role or progression to a greater level of seniority with extended management responsibilities within the same company. They were all great examples and insights into how students at different stages of their career all successfully solved challenges also by using their newly gained skills and network through the MBA.

An equally interactive session on career images lead by Graham Abbey (Cass lecturer/consultant) followed to help students identify how they can adopt different perspectives on their careers to prevent limiting their own options through defining their careers too narrowly. There are an abundance of career definitions and various disciplines have tried to establish their own concept, including the economic, sociological and psychological perspectives. However, the metaphors which we use to describe careers can hinder and limit thinking: in order to support transition, a different mindset is required to avoid oversimplification. We discussed nine key metaphors used to describe careers – inheritance, construction, cycle, matching, journey, encounters/relationships, roles, resource, story – and each participant reflected on which term we use to describe our own career. If we just use one metaphor we limit ourselves to one perspective. Instead, looking at our careers through various different metaphors can provide new insights and open opportunities.

The session was followed with a joint master lecture on M&A lead by Scott Moeller (Cass professor), Anna Faelten (EMBA Sep 2009) presenting her BMP research and a seasoned Cass alumni Michael Llewelyn-Jones who completed his EMBA in 1988 and is Managing Director at Citi’s Investment Bank based in London. Michael also gave practical insights into a successful integration to the investment banking industry and large organisations. The overall event concluded with drinks, food and plenty of social networking during the evening.

This event’s main organiser, Natalie Westerbarkey from the MEMBA 2009 cohort, recently completed her MBA with distinction in 2011. She undertook a major career change herself 6 years ago in October 2005 when she transitioned from being a competition lawyer at Clifford Chance in London to become a manager in Citi’s banking business. During her MBA she changed roles internally at Citi from the business team dealing with investment banks to the client executive and sales management division responsible for asset management clients. Her current job remit also includes topics that she covered in her BMP on global investment fund distribution, particularly in Asia, and she was promoted to Director. She states: “I learned a lot during the MBA and it has already helped progressing my career - the big question is: what next? I guess transition is ever evolving, so hopefully through the Cass network we can jointly continue progressing at all levels – this is at least the vision of the Cass G7+ M/E/MBA group.”

The Cass alumni network in Germany is gaining momentum and Kelly Kent from the Development & External Relations Office recently visited alumni in both Berlin and Munich. The week ended on a real high with a networking event at Flemings Hotel, Munich.

Following the Cass event, most of the group travelled on to Oktoberfest, celebrating the occasion in the Hippodrome tent and toasting their alma mater.

Cass alumnus Alexander Baron, MSc Finance 2010, is our newly appointed volunteer. He says, “Not only do I hope to further build the Munich and German network of Cass alumni, I hope to see Cass return to Oktoberfest next year!”

Cass alumni attended a networking cocktails event in Nairobi, Kenya at the Serena Hotel on Thursday 8 September 2011. The event was part of the Capital Markets Authority conference also held at the Serena Hotel on Thursday 8 September 2011.

The Lord Mayor of London, who is also the Chancellor of City University, was a guest speaker at the Conference and the networking cocktails. He presented the Mansion House scholarship to a Kenyan student, Daniel Ndegwa who will be enrolling on a Full Time MBA course at Cass next year.

Cass alumni attended a networking reception on Sunday 11 September in Lagos, Nigeria held at the Deputy High Commissioner's residence. The Lord Mayor of London was the guest speaker at the event.

Also in attendance was Cass alumnus Dr Pascal Dozie (MBA Administrative Sciences 1968) chair of the Commonwealth Business Council and Chairman of Diamond Bank. He led the alumni in presenting a commemorative plaque to the Lord Mayor on the occasion of his visit to Nigeria.

The Haberman Campaign for Actuarial Science was formally launched at a reception at Cass Business School on July 21st 2010.

The event was well attended by a wide range of individuals including alumni of the Faculty of Actuarial Science and Insurance Risk at Cass, Actuarial professionals from the business world and the various professional bodies, Cass academics as well as Cass students.

Jane Curtis, President Elect of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, was the guest speaker and she spoke about the benefits and relevance of an education in Actuarial Science not only for the Profession but for so many other careers too. She emphasised the aims of the Haberman Campaign and underlined the importance of supporting this Campaign and by so doing ensure that Cass Business School can continue to provide a world class education in Actuarial Science

The Campaign has been launched to pay tribute to Professor Steve Haberman on his 60th birthday and is a fitting way to thank him for the 35 years he has, so far, been teaching at Cass Business School/City University.

The Campaign aims to raise £1million over the next two years to raise much needed funds to support Scholarships, Research and Teaching  within the Faculty of Actuarial Science and Insurance at Cass.

On Thursday 6th May, the MSc in Management 2007 Reunion dinner took place at 30 St Mary Axe, better known to most as the 'The Gherkin'. Around 30 alumni were welcomed for a drinks reception at the very top of this iconic and prestigious building where they enjoyed panoramic views of London. Following a welcome speech from the Dean, our guests sat down to a three course dinner and an opportunity to catch up with friends and network with Cass staff and some of the current Msc Management students. After dinner an update about the MSc Management Programme was given by Dr Gianvito Lanzolla and this was followed by a further opportunity to network and take in the surroundings.

On March 4th, over 37 alumni attended an alumni reception at the Shangri-La in Singapore, where Professor Andrew Clare spoke about the current financial climate. This was an exceptional evening where alumni not only took the opportunity to catch up with old friends and network with fellow alumni but also to announce the launch of a Scholarship for a student from Singapore to study at Cass Business School. On the same evening we received the first pledge for the Scholarship for the amount of S$1000 and we hope to raise enough funds for the student to start in September 2010.

On March 1st, Cass Business School hosted an alumni reception in Kuala Lumpur at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, with 26 alumni attending and making this evening very enjoyable. We are looking forward to hearing about alumni events organised by the international volunteers in Malaysia and we look forward to meeting everyone again.

An Evening with Hilton Nathanson (MBA 1997), Marble Bar Asset Management
Cass MBA alumnus Hilton Nathanson joined us for the evening on Tuesday 8 February to present to Cass students about his experiences and the career path which led him to set up his hedge fund Marble Bar Asset Management. Hilton's talk to almost 90 students also covered some fascinating industry insight as well as giving some general advice to the students on finding a job and career development. The presentation was followed by a Q&A session, which gave the students a unique opportunity to ask Hilton about his industry knowledge, and for advice on starting a career in hedge funds. The feedback from the event was excellent with students describing the event as 'inspirational' and 'truly enjoyable'.

Our first undergraduate reunion was held in November, where over 100 Cass graduates from all over the world came to network and meet old friends.

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On November 17th, 40 alumni representing 20 courses enjoyed an informal drinks reception at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Seoul, Korea.  

The event was organised by Professor Byung-Gak Son along with key alumni club members. This very enjoyable evening offered a great opportunity to network and catch up with friends. It was also wonderful to see so many recent alumni doing well in Korea.

On November 12th, Cass Business School and City University hosted a very successful reception for alumni from all over the US at the Williams Club in New York City.   

Over 70 alumni and friends attended the event, where the speakers were George Brock, Head of City's award-winning Department of Journalism, and Professor Julius Weinberg, and current International Editor of The Times and Acting Vice-Chancellor. 

The US Alumni Committee also had the opportunity to meet with Dean Richard Gillingwater and Director of Development Paola Barbarino in New York.