March 12 Completion & Awards Ceremony - London

On Wednesday 6 March 2013, interns, alumni, staff and guests gathered for the March 12 Completion & Awards Ceremony - London at The Brewery in Moorgate. Guests were welcomed with a drinks reception, which was followed by the main ceremony. Dr Paul Beresford-Hill (Director General) presented the awards to candidates, while speeches were given by Gary Ball (Deputy Director General), Mark Goldfinger (MBA Participant) and Emine Ozgul Kilinc (Postgraduate Certificate Participant), who kept the whole audience amused and entertained during the ceremony with antecdotes of the highlights of their year. The special guest speaker was Mr David C. Stewart (U.S. Consul General in the UK). Mr Stewart has a particular interest in the programme, having spent much of his own career working abroad. Other guests included Brian Williams, Pippa Hobson and Paul Burleton from Barclays, Alex De Mierre from Thomson Reuters and David Thornbury from Citigroup.

A delicious dinner was then served in the spacious Queen Charlotte room towards the end of which was shown a slideshow of the March 12 intake's year. People were moved, buoyant, and sad at the prospect of the finishing of their internship year, but it seemed, full of optimism for what lay ahead.
Full details & photo album.

March 12 Completion & Awards Ceremony - New York

On a cold Tuesday eariler this month, the March 2012 New York intake attended their completion ceremony at the prestigious Union League Club, in Midtown Manhattan. The guest of honour, senator Paul Strauss was amazed by the speech writing capability-and delivery-of Tom Jones (Postgraduate Certificate Participant) who was voted by his intake to deliver the Valedicatorian address. Senator Strauss, was a student of Dr Paul Beresford-Hill when he was the head master of the Anglo-American International School, both gentlemen refused to comment on which year that actually was! The senator spoke of the advantages of international experience in the work place, adding a personal offer of a tour of the capital to any Mountbatten, current or Alumni.

Other guests included Fr George Rutler, George Rutler, Rodney Johnson MBE and his wife Jennifer, and St George Society President Bob Titley.

The evening was a huge success and fun was had by all, with a very tasteful 'Harlem Shake' rounding off the evening nicely!

Full details & photo album.

Entrepreneurial Alumni

In this new column, we aim to highlight 1 or 2 entrepreneurial alumni each month who wish to share their new or existing ventures with the alumni society, shedding some light on how they got started, what inspired them, and at what stage they are at present with their business venture. We hope you will find this interesting reading and welcome news about any ventures, big or small, and from all industries/professions that you would like to share with us.

Sarah O'Connell (January 2007 - New York) shares her latest venture...
"I currently work with The Irish Food Board in London helping Irish food producers to build their business in the UK, but have always been interested in setting up my own business too - an entrepreneur at heart!
This year I found the opportunity to start my own part-time business in partnership with Arbonne International, an award – winning Swiss health and wellness company that distributes its products via network marketing, or ‘word of mouth’ advertising. The company has a successful 30-year track record in the US, having won an Ernst & Young award in 2006, and has taken the UK by storm since launching here in 2008." Read full story.

Kubi Springer (September 2001 - New York) is a brand specialist and media personality. She is the CEO of the Kubi Springer company. The Company is a brand management agency in London. As an agency they specialise in developing brands within the fashion, entertainment and lifestyle industries. They deliver brand promotional and experiential marketing campaigns, as well as brand and marketing training via their website, TV show and podcasts. Read full story.

Alumni Discovering Philanthropy

Evan Spano, Amanda Adamcheck and Lauren Chan (August 2009 - London) with Nicole Maisonville, Amanda Ray and Christina Chang (August 2011 - London) have started a philanthropy and charity project for a non-profit organization called the Women's Refugee Commission (WRC). WRC researches and advocates for millions of refugees and displaced women and children around the world. They are very excited about this new project, and in Evan's words "We are looking to spread the word to rally family, friends and colleagues to help us reach our goals and support a great cause". Full details & How to support.

As part of their mission to help those in need, they have opened up a video journalist competition to seek out the best candidate to capture the reality that afflicts so many millions of refugees all around the world. A winner will be announced on April 9th at their Envision The Mission Happy Hour Fundraiser event at Hudson Common from 6pm onwards. Please bring $10 door donation for entry. Find Envision the Mission on facebook.

Fundraising Challenge

On 15-16 June 2013, Danielle Leisner (August 2012 - London) will be participating in the 54-mile, 24-hour hike through the hilly terrain of the Scottish Highlands for the annual Caledonian Challenge. Her team is made up of herself and 8 other co-workers. Their fundraising goal is set at £300 per person. Mountbatten has paid Danielle's individual registration fee. Her sponsor company has a community giveback that will match her donation at a £250 minimum. Help Danielle reaching her goal and find out about the charities helped by the Scottish Community Foundation.

The Caledonian Challenge/Hike has a proud history of raising money for charity. Over 15,000 people have helped us raise £12 million pounds for good causes. This money is given to the Scottish Community Foundation (SCF) which awards grants that make a difference to the lives of thousands of people.

Since SCF started in 1996, it has grown to be one of the largest private funders of the voluntary sector in Scotland. SCF are now distributing over £4million in grants each year, supporting community activities in every Scottish local authority area. Over the same period, the Caledonian Challenge has contributed £12.5 million to support the Foundation's important work.

Jobs

Check out all the current vacancies we have on our website, including some new opportunities for Citi in Budapest. Apparently, they are outsourcing a lot of the finance department to Budapest, so there will be a number of vacancies coming up in the next few weeks. We will keep you posted.

Alumni Committee Updates & Announcement

To get in contact with the Alumni Committee regarding newsletter content, events, or any other business we can help you with, please don't hesitate to contact us.

email: vmccordall@mountbatten.org
web: http://alumni.mountbatten.org