My New Priority: Taking Advantage of Access to the C-Suite

Hello everyone!

My name is Jimmy Richardson and I am a second-year MBA student specializing in both marketing and finance. I interned last summer at Unilever as a Brand Management Intern and have officially accepted my offer to go back there next fall. Aside from manning my post as a Graduate Ambassador in the Admissions Office here at NYU Stern, I am also very involved in several clubs on campus. I am the VP of Corporate Relations for the GMA (Graduate Marketing Association) and one of the Co-Presidents of Stern Follies, a massive on-campus production that is part live variety show and part video submissions.

Needless to say I have a lot of interests, which is a problem when you come to Stern and realize just how much there is to do. Between clubs, recruiting, Treks, Stern Consulting Core, and a full course-load I filled my schedule quickly. This meant making sacrifices – specifically when it came to choosing between my numerous commitments and taking an opportunity to sit in on one of the many speaker series provided to students by classes, clubs, and faculty.

Given the location of Stern in New York City there are leaders of business constantly in town and coming to Stern to speak to students. Last year I saw Dick Costolo (CEO of Twitter) speak, but missed out on Larry Fink (CEO of Blackrock), Ann Moore (former CEO of Time Inc.), Millard Drexler (CEO of J. Crew), and Jim Dolan (CEO of Cablevision, Owner New York Rangers & New York Knicks).

As an NYU student I have constant access to business leaders of this caliber, but that window is closing fast. This year I have made seeing these speakers a priority and I am so glad that I did. I have seen Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn CEO), Kevin Byrnes (former 4-Star General), Fred Wilson (Co-Founder Union Square Ventures), Eric Schmidt (Google Executive Chairman, former CEO), and David Maddocks (CMO Cole Haan) speak. All 5 of these speakers were engaging, spoke on interesting subjects, and stayed after to answer questions from the audience.

So finally, a few common threads to come out of these discussions:
1. Culture matters. It’s important that everyone believes in what the organization wants to achieve. If employees stop believing and begin questioning the strategy or motivation of senior management all is lost
2. Innovate! People who take risks will be rewarded
3. One of the most important traits you can have as a leader is to be a good listener.

Thanks for reading and have a happy holiday season! I look forward to blogging again when I get back next year.