Financial industry leaders, academics, and a Nobel laureate will discuss what businesses are doing to plan for an economic recovery at the third annual Berkeley Finance Conference on Nov. 13 at the Haas School.
Organized by the Haas Finance Club and funded by $20,000 in corporate sponsorships, the all-day conference is titled “Recovery — What will it be like?”
One of the keynote speakers will be UC Berkeley Professor George Akerlof, who shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics for research on asymmetric information.
Six panels will cover investment banking, investment management, private equity, venture capital, real estate finance, and corporate finance. Panel members will address what their industries are doing to plan for the recovery, whether it’s taking advantage of less competition or using their relative financial strength to gain market share.
“The goals of the conference are to expose students to industry professionals and to give them an opportunity to meet and talk to them,” says conference co-chair Raj Uparkar, MBA 10. “The other goal is to build up relationships with companies, so that when they think of recruiting they think of Haas.”
Companies also benefit from attending. “Industry leaders are constantly trying to get their firms in front of Haas students. Attending this conference will increase the chances that the best students apply to their firms,” Uparkar says.
This year's corporate sponsors include McKesson and Cisco Systems.
The organizers expect 250 attendees, with about one-third of those industry professionals. Last year’s event sold out. More information and registration details are available at berkeleyfinanceconference.org.