Canisius MBA

Canisius College MBA Alumni Association present:

“Running Erie County Like a Business”
By: Chris Collins, Erie County Executive

Buffalo Club- Millard Fillmore Room
388 Delaware Ave
Buffalo, NY 14202

January 27, 2009 — 8 a.m.

Cost: $10 for MBAA Members, $15 for non MBAA members
(continental breakfast)

Contact the MBA office to register (716)888-2140 gradubus@canisius.edu

BUFFALO, N.Y., January 6, 2009 – The Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s Buffalo Niagara 360 program, aimed at regional young professionals and employers, will host its Executives Unplugged event on Thursday, January 22, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the elegant Brierwood Country Club in Hamburg. The event features an evening of cocktails and conversation with some of the region’s leading executives from companies including AAA of Western & Central NY, Greatbatch, Goldberg Segalla LLP, infoTech Niagara, MOD-PAC Corp, Rich Baseball Operations and representatives from the Erie County Legislature, NYS Assembly and Erie County Industrial Development Agency.

Buffalo Niagara 360 is focused on developing the next generation of regional business leaders. The Executives Unplugged event offers key networking opportunities with leading executives who can offer a wider breadth of knowledge about working and living in Buffalo Niagara. The Buffalo Niagara 360 membership consists of a wide range of experiences, backgrounds and age levels and program events like Executives Unplugged provide young professionals the opportunity to learn about the great diversity of businesses right here in the region.

To get the dialogue going, Executives Unplugged attendees will compete to meet as many executives as they can. The person who talks to the most executives will win a delicious six course sushi tasting dinner from downtown Buffalo’s contemporary sushi restaurant SeaBar.

This Buffalo Niagara 360 young professionals event is open to all. Those interested in attending will need to activate a Buffalo Niagara 360 membership first to register. Please visit the program website to become a Buffalo Niagara 360 member today!

Cost:

• $10 - Mover (Partnership and Buffalo Niagara 360 Member)
• $20 - Shaker (Member of Buffalo Niagara 360 only)
• $40 - Thinker (Non-Buffalo Niagara 360 member)

The Advocacy Boot Camp Primer proved to be a very thought provoking presentation in my opinion.  The panel really focused in on the advocacy of the city of Buffalo and how business professionals can go about doing this.  The panel started off by discussing the differences between advocacy and lobbying with advocacy being more informal such as just discussing the positive aspects of Buffalo to people outside who may just think of lake effect snow when Buffalo comes to mind, and lobbying being more of a formal operation between a registered lobbyist and a politician. 

The panel stressed the importance of the growth of the city being a slow grinding process, yet it is one that has a positive outlook in the long run.  One panelist mentioned ten percent growth each year in Roswell Park Cancer Institute and how once she recruits cancer researchers and doctors to come and live in Buffalo and work at Roswell, they do not want to leave because they enjoy living here so much.

 I am from the Buffalo area and now that I have a future career in the city, I have a desire to live in the city as opposed to the suburbs where I can be closer to work as well as the entertainment district and HSBC arena of course!  (One day I will be a sabres season ticket holder!).  However, an argument was brought up that a suburb like Amherst has everything one can do in the city of Buffalo if not more.  I think that this argument is widely agreed upon especially among people that are married with kids.  It is one of the many problems that Buffalo is facing today.  Another major regional issue that was discussed was the peace bridge and its importance in our bi-national economy with Canada.  Several other regional topics were brought to light as well.  

  I believe that these issues are very important to people living in Western New York and I encourage others to share your thoughts on what can be done to improve the city here.  Advocacy is an important tool in producing change and it is educational institutions like Canisius that get the ball rolling by producing leaders to help build and maintain a strong infrastructure of culture, skills, and ideas to make Buffalo better.   Go to   http://buffaloniagara360.org/   to learn more about how you can get involved. 

Tim Schultz  - Canisius MBA Student

Buffalo Niagara 360 Event: Advocacy Boot Camp Primer

The next Buffalo Niagara 360 event will consist of a panel of young professionals discussing current economic issues that are affecting the local region and abroad as well as how advocacy plays a major role in solving these problems. There will be an opportunity to network with the panelists after the discussion concludes. The event starts at 8:30 am on December 5, 2008 at Shea’s Smith Theatre. The panelists are listed below:

• Kelly Brannen – Managing Director, Niacet Corporation
• Lisa Damiani – Executive Director for Governmental Affairs, Roswell Park Cancer Institute
• Hon. Jack Quinn – New York State Assemblyman
• Michael Wilton – Associate, Patricia Lynch Associates Inc.

Tim Schultz - Canisius College MBA Student Committee

Buffalo Niagara 360 is a program designed to aid young professional s in becoming the next generation of local business leaders.

I was one of the attendees sponsored by the Canisius MBA Program at the Buffalo Niagara 360’s Lunch and Learn event last Thursday, November 5^th, held at Shanghai Reds restaurant.  The event, packaged as an opportunity to “share lunch and insight with business executives” working in the area, proved to be just that. 

The lunch session consisted of 12 entrepreneurs/executives from different industries including banking, technology, and media just to name a few.  A dynamic combination of both young professionals as well as students, scoured the room ready to network.  The event was neatly organized with 30 minutes of mingling in the beginning, followed by lunch at a table with an executive of your choice, and another hour at the end for those people who were interested in additional networking.

I managed to sit at a table with Rich McCarthy, Senior Vice President in Alternative Banking at M&T.  Rich shared his perspective on his career as he climbed his was from a junior credit analyst to his current position. Alternatively, several of the attendees sitting at my table also shared their stories with regards to their career path.

These types of sessions are a great way to meet business leaders highlighted by Buffalo Niagara 360 but also a tremendous opportunity to network with other attendees.  I am looking forward to the next one.

For more information, visit http://www.buffaloniagara360.org/

Sangwani Mabhena   MBA ’10

AVP & Senior Auditor, Group Audit USA | HSBC BANK PLC