Celebration of AEM business program's accreditation features alums

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

To celebrate the accreditation of the university's undergraduate business program, more than 400 Cornell students, alumni, faculty and friends of the Department of Applied Economics and Management (AEM) gathered on campus Nov. 16 for a symposium titled "Business."

Corporate executives and Cornell alums Winston Lo, M.S. '67, left, and Perry Odak '68 take part in the AEM "Business" symposium in Kennedy Hall, Nov. 16. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

During a panel discussion in the morning plenary session in Kennedy Hall led by Andrew Novakovic, chair of AEM, and Stephen Ashley '62, a Cornell trustee and chairman and chief executive of The Ashley Group, there was a discussion of the challenges facing today's business leaders. Topics addressed by the panelists included the role of corporate boards in today's investing climate, corporate globalization and the part that American companies play in it, and general public confidence in American corporations. Regarding Enron Corp., the panelists generally placed blame for the company's fall on its management rather than its board of directors.

Winston Lo, M.S. '67, executive chairman of Vitasoy International Holdings, remarked, "If management is hell-bent to cheat, the board cannot stop it."

In his remarks during the morning panel discussion, Perry Odak '68, president and chief executive of Wild Oats Markets, said, "I don't know why anyone would want to sit on a [corporate] board today, since we're in the age of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. The GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) rules are big enough to a drive a truck through and they make an art out of accounting rather than science. ... There is so much pressure on companies to go public, and after they go public, the management watches CNBC all day long and the pressure is enormous on these companies to push the limits of the [accounting] rules."

Afternoon sessions in Warren Hall were devoted to specific topics.

Edward McLaughlin, the Robert G. Tobin Professor of Marketing, moderated a panel on marketing that featured John Dyson '65, Cornell presidential councillor and chairman and chief executive of Pebble Ridge Vineyards & Wine Estates; Steve McMahon '83, chief marketing officer of Cinnabon; and Mark Tatum '91, senior director of marketing partnership for the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Dyson recounted how, in a state starving for tourism, he helped to create the now-famous "I Love New York" marketing campaign 25 years ago on a shoestring budget. McMahon said that his company's freshly baked cinnamon buns were America's favorite fast food, and he explained his plans for making those buns more accessible to consumers. Tatum explained how the NBA markets basketball to children and teens, in order to turn them into loyal, lifetime fans.

In another afternoon seminar, Robert Tobin '60, the retired chairman of Ahold USA; Beth Newlands Campbell '87, senior vice president of Hannaford Bros, and Robert Gravani, Cornell professor of food science, grappled with the issue of food security as it relates to food industry management.

Campbell described how industry is taking extraordinary steps to protect food as it moves from the farm, through distribution and into the grocery store. Her stores examine everything from health issues, employee training and improved knowledge of the distribution chain. "We have a new vocabulary since Sept. 11," she said.

Gravani outlined what actions should be taken by the food industry to protect consumers, "We need to increase people's awareness of food security. We need to provide more education and training, strengthen security throughout the food distribution system and develop food-security plans."

At the symposium's closing celebration, the department distributed a new ice cream, Executive Sweet, a coffee ice cream with a caramel swirl and brownie nougat, formulated by the department's food marketing fellows and produced by the Cornell Dairy.