Breakfast at Tiffany's

Walking through the 5th Avenue Tiffany's store at 7 am, I felt like I was in the movie Sweet Home Alabama when Patrick Dempsey tells Reese Witherspoon, "pick one." The beautiful sparkling diamonds and jewels teased the 40 Gabelli School of Business students as we passed by to the elevators. We were going to meet the COO of Tiffany and Co, a Graduate School of Business alum. The CEO Breakfast series provides student the opportunity to attend breakfast meetings hosted by executives of major firms in NYC as well as the chance to personally interact with successful business leaders. Most of these executives are Fordham alumni.

Inside of the elegant conference room, there were signature "Tiffany blue" folders set out for us. The famous blue book was inside, which is only sent out to 3,000 of Tiffany's most lost loyal customers, as well as a booklet on sustainability and financial information for investors. The COO, Mr. Jim Fernandez, began to inform our group about the company background, expansion plans throughout Europe and Asia, policies on gold and silver mining, new products for the Holiday Season, and financial data. Tiffany & Co is an industry gem because it emphasizes working off of tradition and class while maintaining fair trade practices in all of its work. Mr. Fernandez also provided us with a valuable question and answer session. This was a truly unique experience that I will always remember, demonstrating that the Gabelli School of Business truly goes out of its way to take full advantage of opportunities in NYC. This was a remarkable way to meet a Fordham alumni and hear his first hand perspective and advice for young business students. I plan on participating in many more Gabelli events because I know they are all worth my time and provide valuable insight. The CEO Breakfast series also has events at Goldman Sachs, UBS Financial, KPMP, Good Morning America, and Bloomberg.