July 2006 Princeton NY NetNight In Manhattan: Risk-Taking in Career Decisions

Region: New York
Date: Tuesday, July 18th at 6:00 PM
Attendees: 40

QUESTION: What do these people have in common?

1. A business executive who became a financial advisor;

2. A naval navigator who had his own consulting business;

3. An investment banker turned private investor; and

4. A seasoned entrepreneur who doesn't mind being a start-up's first hire

ANSWER: They are courageous and enterprising people who took the risk and changed their career towards something they really enjoy doing.

TOPIC: "Risk-Taking in Career Decisions"

Princeton NetNights in NYC brings together four special guests – Lew Ross ('58, English), Jack Gelman ('67, Economics); Rich Sun ('72, Politics); and Jonathan Gordon ('99, WWS) – for our July gathering to discuss what drove them to take on risks in their pursuit of dream careers.

Our evening will include a panel of prominent Princetonians to answer your questions on how to make risky career decisions work.

When: Tuesday, July 18, 2006

               6:00-8:30pm

Where: Baker & McKenzie (formerly Coudert Bros.)

       The Grace Building

       1114 6th Avenue

       New York, NY 10036

The "after-hours" entrance is on 42nd (between 5th & 6th, closer to 6th).

Please report to the security desk with a photo ID.  Baker & McKenzie is on the 4th Floor.

FOOD (NOT JUST SNACKS) FROM FRESH DIRECT CATERING, AS WELL AS SODA, ETC. WILL BE SERVED.

COST: $10 pre-registration through NetNights website AND pre-pay through PayPal

$15 at the door, even if you pre-register on www.networknights.org

You must pre-pay through PayPal in order to receive the $10 rate.

REGISTRATION:

Required to attend.  To RSVP make sure you're signed in at http://www.networknights.org.  You will see the event listed under Upcoming Events.

PAYMENT:

We are able to accept credit card payment or PayPal balance transfer through PayPal pre-payment for this event. 

If you decide to pay at the door on the night of the event, we can ONLY accept cash.

In order to pre-pay for this event through PayPal, first be sure to pre-register at www.networknights.org, as described above.

Then, click (or cut and paste into your web browser address bar) on the following link and follow the PayPal directions to pay:

http://tinyurl.com/nwkeg

If you prefer to pay for this event at the door (on the night of the event), then please bring cash to pay for this event ($15).  Only cash will be accepted at the door.

**Remember - only the first 20 people to sign up get to give a 30 second "Offer & Ask" (see description below)

AGENDA:

6:00 - 6:30 p.m.  -  Informal mixing and refreshments

6:30 - 7:00 p.m.  -  Learn about Fellow Alumni: NetNights "Offer & Ask"

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.  -  Guest Speakers and Q&A

8:00 - 8:30 p.m.  -  Informal mixing

THE 30 SECOND OFFER & ASK:  The 30 second "Offer and Ask" allows your fellow attendees to learn a little about you, to enable more informed & effective networking.  Each Offer & Ask can only last for 30 seconds so please prepare in advance as we will be timing them!

The Offer and Ask typically includes:

1. Your Name

2. Your Graduating Class

3. Your Company/Organization and Title

4. What You Offer

5. What You're Looking For

Below is a brief biography of each of the four panelists:

Lew Ross ('58, English)

Upon graduation from Princeton with a B.A. in English Lew spent two years on active duty in the U.S. Army as an officer and then went to work in Marketing for Procter & Gamble. Over the 13 plus years that he spent at P&G he was given a range of marketing and brand management assignments with increasing responsibility.  Brands included Tide, Ivory Liquid, Era, Ivory Flakes and Joy Dishwashing Liquid. During his last year at P&G he served on a task force designed to address legislation concerning the issue of phosphates in detergents.

Upon leaving P&G he joined a small private company in Ohio (Totes, Inc.) as its Marketing Vice President and later returned to the New York area and became involved with a marketing/promotion company (QLM Associates).  He had the opportunity to participate in the purchase of QLM from a British firm in 1988, and eventually sold his 50% share of the company to the remaining partner in 1998.

He then joined Merrill Lynch in 1998, and is now a partner in an 8 person team in the Private Client side of the business.  His transition into the financial advisory business is worth discussing with people who are considering a career change.

Jack Gelman ('67, Economics)

Jack Gelman has led and inspired organizations, built businesses from scratch and turned around ailing companies.  He has served as an Andersen Global Managing Partner, Corporate senior officer, Division President and marketing executive. His consulting practice provides customized assistance to business owners interested in forming Advisory Boards and extracting value from them. His focus is on helping private companies evaluate and prepare for future liquidity events including merger, acquisition, public offering and outright sale or for next-generation succession.

Jack also provides advisory services to senior executives on business and marketing strategy, Board best practices, new business development, organization restructuring and sales force effectiveness. He facilitates business introductions to C-level Fortune 1000 executives for a select group of firms. Prior to co-founding his own consultancy he led the Consumer Products Practice for Andersen.

Early experience at Procter & Gamble and General Mills enabled Jack to gain a keen understanding of marketing, sales, new product development and new business commercialization. Later as a Division President/General Manager he turned around and profitably grew operating units at Cross Pen, Nashua, Beiersdorf and Rustoleum.  His industry experience spans Pharmaceutical, Consumer and Office Products.

Jack earned his BA in Economics from Princeton and served in the U.S. Navy as both a Naval Aviator and Assistant Professor of Naval Science. Following military service he attended Harvard Business School where he earned an MBA with Honors.  He resides in Westport CT.

Rich Sun ('72, Politics)

Since 1994, Mr. Sun has focused on start-up and high growth companies – both a as private equity investor and as a manager.  He has played a key role in starting nine companies.  From 1994 to 2001, he was a Director with Emerging Markets Partnership and led four successful private equity investments aggregating $230 million in startup and high growth companies in Asia and Africa.  During his tenure, EMP grew from a single $1 billion fund in Asia with under 10 employees to five funds with $4.7 billion and over 70 employees in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.  Principally through Sun & Co., has invested in eleven other companies, with eight currently in the portfolio. 

Mr. Sun was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs from 1976 to 1981, with The First Boston Corporation (now CSFB) from 1981 to 1989 and with his own firm from 1990 to 1991.  He founded and ran a project finance and private equity group at Union Bank of Switzerland from 1991 to 1993.    He started his business career with Bankers Trust Company (now part of Deutsche Bank) as an international corporate banker.  Since 1980, he has originated, structured, placed and negotiated over 70 transactions valued at over $4 billion and led over 30 advisory assignments valued at over $7 billion, including private equity, debt, and tax-oriented investments, venture capital, workouts and bankruptcies, mergers, project finance and leasing. 

Mr. Sun earned an MBA in finance and international business from New York University and a B.A. in politics from Princeton University in politics magna cum laude.

Jonathan Gordon  ('99, WWS) 

Jon is currently the first employee of EZ4U, an online medical products retailing start-up.  Prior to working for EZ4U, Jon spent two years at the New York City Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as manager of their annual bike tour fundraiser, helping to rebuild the $2 million annual event following its 2001 cancellation in the aftermath of 9/11.  Before joining the MS Society, Jon worked for a number of startups, both as an employee and as a consultant.  He helped startups develop and refine their business models, create investor presentations and financial models, and secure new clients.  Most notably, in 2000 he joined Kargo, a wireless internet startup, as the first employee, and managed operations and strategy as the company raised $3 million and grew to forty employees.  Prior to joining Kargo, Jon was an analyst for the Blackstone Real Estate Advisors.  Jon holds a BA cum laude from Princeton University in the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs, and an MBA from Columbia University.