OppenheimerFunds’ support funded two teams for the 2009 Youth About Business (YAB) “Summer Business Camp” at Columbia University in New York City. Joining nearly 400 high school students at camps in Chicago, Houston, Memphis, Nashville and New York City, the teams engaged in an intense business competition. They researched and analyzed public companies, learned complex financial terminology and ultimately created a feasible mock mergers and acquisitions transaction. The top winning teams from each region advanced to the National Summer Business Camp competition, also held at Columbia University where they competed to win shares of stock in a publicly traded company. A number of OppenheimerFunds executives were among the 650 executive volunteers across the country who shared their real world experiences with camp participants in serving as coaches or advisors. Jerry Webman, Chief Economist, served as a final round judge for the week-long competition.
Held annually in late July, the Wall Street Conference for Teens is a week-long trip to New York City that allows top YAB students to network as well as visit and learn more about a number of YAB’s corporate partners. As a Key Sponsor, OppenheimerFunds had the opportunity to host a “Career Lunch” for students interested in learning more about our business. Tom Keffer, SVP, Director of Investment Brand Management and Ben Stewart, VP, Investment Brand Management, hosted this hour-long luncheon where they presented an overview of OppenheimerFunds, their personal career paths and answered questions from the student audience.
Additionally, OppenheimerFunds co-sponsored, with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld, LLP, the second annual YAB Executive Volunteer Networking Event held at their law offices near Bryant Park, New York City. As both a thank you to volunteers and a program highlights showcase, the event gave an opportunity for all volunteers to mix and mingle with their peers at other sponsoring companies.
For more information on Youth About Business, visit their website at: www.youthaboutbusiness.org.
Founded in 1992, Youth About Business (YAB) is currently operating programs in New York, Nashville, Chicago and Houston. YAB, a non-profit organization dedicated to entrepreneurial training, prepares students with the mechanics to run a successful business. It also provides business competitions teaching merger and acquisition transactions, giving students a theoretical and simulated experience of real-life events in the business world.
