30th Anniversary Gala Celebrations

They were long in the planning but at the end of last month we were finally there - the two most eagerly anticipated global celebrations in New York and London, marking the 30th Anniversary of the Mountbatten Institute!

Both the New York and the London Gala were attended by some 240 Alumni, sponsors, staff and guests. We were delighted that both events drew alumni from a really wide variety of intakes, the New York Gala had alumni going back to January 2001, and the London Gala going back to 1997 intakes. Several alumni attended both events who were celebrating their 10 year Mountbatten reunion. It was fantastic to connect with so many of our alumni and them with one another.

We were extremely grateful to our sponsors for the events, Liquidnet, Thomson Reuters, Barclays, and GreenbergTraurig who added an additional flair to the evenings, as well as former directors in attendance: Michael Billett, Robert Thornhill, Pauline Harvey and Isobel Hedges

We are currently going through the photos to include in the anniversary book, which is nearing production. If you want to be added to the book you still have time (just) to fill in the anniversary form.

Both events were whirlwind evenings, in two very impressive venues, starting with cocktail receptions, and then followed by the gala dinners. Attendees were welcomed by Dr Paul Beresford-Hill and his reflections on the 30 years since he founded the Institute. The New York Gala attendees were treated to musical performance by the United States Military Academy Woodwind Quintet, West Point Band. We then had two special guest speakers, Lord Ivar Mountbatten at the New York Gala and Honorable Timothy Knatchbull at the London Gala. Both special guests were thrilled with the energy and fun of both evenings and you will hear more from them in the December newsletter issue. Read Full Details.

Alumni Wedding

We are delighted to announce that Annabel Stevenson and Tom Naisbitt (May 2008 - New York) got married in July earlier this year. Apparently, they are the fourth couple out of their intake to wed - that has to be a record!

In Annabel's words, "We met the day after orientation when we were among the lucky ones to have a few days free before starting our placement. A group of us ventured onto the Staten Island Ferry, Tom and I hit it off and spent the rest of the week (and year!) together. Tom proposed at the top of the Rockfeller Center on our 5th anniversary, so we chose a subtle NY theme to our wedding. We love going back to New York as we have so many happy memories there and the city is constantly evolving. Amazingly we're the fourth couple to marry from our intake and we got married at Wasing Park, a beautiful barn conversion near Reading in July, joined by close friends and family including two fellow Mountbattens who were with us from the beginning!".

We would like to congratulate both Annabel and Tom, and thank them for sharing their super wedding photo, complete with New York themed wedding cake!

Entrepreneurial Alumni

Stephanie Dale (May 2008 - New York):

What your company does, and your role in it?
Every family has stories to tell. My company Robyn Media helps families tell those tales & legends through professional biographical film & photography services. My role at the moment is everything: Founder, Camerawoman, PR, Editor and Designer- though I am forming cooperative alliances with other professionals to enhance those services, e.g. non-digital artists and also superior printing and data transfer operators.

What inspired you to set it up?
After four years working at a creative media company, I made the big & scary decision to go freelance, and after a few months I took an even bigger decision to set up my own company dealing with family histories through photography & film. Family is so important to knowing who you are & where you came from & after talking to friends & family I realised so many of them wished they had asked their parents or grandparents about their lives. My year with Mountbatten in New York was one of the biggest and impactful experiences of my life to date. It has helped shape who I am today & without spending a year in New York & overcoming both personal & professional obstacles, I doubt I would even have contemplated starting my own company. My placement at a Post Production company specialising in television adverts, really helped me focus on my desire to stay in the industry & find a niche market of my own to focus on. Read full story.

Corey Francis (August 2012 - New York) is the founder of Brunch It - "London's newest and coolest brunch day party. Channelling the daytime debauchery of St. Tropez, Dubai and New York brunch parties, Brunch it is for those who appreciate good music, free flowing cocktails and exquisite food in exclusive company".

Corey explains his inspiration for setting up Brunch It: "During my time on Mountbatten, even though it was something I had never previously heard of, the concept of a brunch day party very quickly became an integral part of my New York social experience. My friends and I frequently wondered, incredulously, why there wasn't an equivalent experience back home in England.

Upon returning to London, we noticed a few different brunch parties popping up and decided to try them out. None of them measured up to the brunch parties we had enjoyed so much in NYC. Eventually, I decided to look into trying to host an event which combined the best elements of my favourite New York brunches the food and speed of service from Yotel, the sophistication of Garage, and the music and general liveliness of Pranna and Il Bastardo." Read full story.

The next Brunch It event will be taking place in Spring 2015. To keep up with the latest Brunch It news, like their Facebook page.

Host Company Reunion

One of our New York host organizations, Reavis Parent Lehrer LLP, with whom Mountbatten has worked for 20 years, recently held a reunion in London for all their Mountbatten alumni. Helend D (Heidi) Revis, esg, is one of the partners of the firm, and has kept in touch with all of their alumni. Heidi sent us this account of the joyous occasion.

"We're not in London every day and hence seized the opportunity to reach out to all of our former Mountbatten Interns from over the past 20+ years and had a 100% response as well as a pretty good pics featuring our very own Corey Francis, Ellen Keenan-O'Malley, Rebecca Lake (Lynch), Nicola Birney, Charlotte Hastings, Sophie Argent, and Carly Chadwick. Claire Nilson, Colin Beattie and Robert Rosenberg may be somewhere around off screen... Nice for history and continuity as well as global friendship and business development. All of our former Interns are now in touch with each other as well." Read full story.

Jobs

A new position has just become available at London & Partners in San Francisco, CA. They are currently looking to recruit a Territory Associate to join their team, which already boasts another of our alumni. London & Partners is the official promotional company for London and is well known to Mountbatten, having employed several alumni over the past few years. In addition, UBS London has 3 vacancies for Regulatory Reporting Analysts and 2 Trade Support Analysts. For full details of these positions and all other available postings, please go to our alumni website.

Jo Harvey: jharvey@mountbatten.org
Vicki McCordall: vmccordall@mountbatten.org
web: http://alumni.mountbatten.org