Top Haas Thinkers Head to Big Apple, March 5

Some of the Haas School's top thought leaders will share their insights and knowledge with East Coast alumni at the first-ever New York City alumni colloquium on Saturday, March 5.

The West Meets East: Haas New York City Colloquium will run from noon to 6:30 p.m. at the Hilton New York, 1335 Avenue of the Americas.

Haas leaders will discuss entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovation, while alumni panels will bring attendees up to date on developments in digital media and finance.

“The colloquium will offer a lively, thought-provoking opportunity for the New York community to find out what’s happening with the big thinkers at Haas,” says Leslie Kanberg, Haas director of alumni relations. “Then the day concludes with a lively reception for alumni to expand their personal and professional networks.”

The event will feature Dean Rich Lyons; André Marquis, executive director of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship; and Adjunct Professor Henry Chesbrough, whose new book Open Services Innovation: Rethinking Your Business to Grow and Compete in a New Era just came out.

Chris Phenner, MBA 03, executive vice president of business development at mobile entertainment provider Thumbplay, will moderate a panel on digital media titled “Social+Local+Data+Media.” Five Berkeley alumni will serve as panelists:

• Camilla Cho, BS 97, vice president of business development at hyperlocal news provider outside.in
• Christian Oestlien, MBA 06, a group product manager at Google
• Shaival Shah, BA 97 (Letters & Sci.), vice president of business development at Hunch, a company that personalizes the Internet by making recommendations to users based on their answers to a questionnaire
• Vivek Sodera, BS 06 (Chem.), co-founder of Rapleaf, an Internet company that helps businesses personalize customer online interactions

Lyons will moderate the finance-focused panel, “Path-Bending Leaders on Wall Street,” which will include :

• Jas Khaira, BS 04, head of corporate development at Blackstone Group
• Jeff Woods, MBA 98, COO of JP Morgan’s Liquidity Solutions

More than 100 people are expected to attend the colloquium. The price to attend is $25 for students, $60 for Berkeley alumni, and $75 for guests. The deadline to register is Feb. 27. For more information, visit haas.berkeley.edu/groups/alumni/ny.