Pitt Business e-newsletter Issue 12, November 2008
Case Study Comes to Life at Katz
From left to right: University of Pittsburgh Chancellor and Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Board Member Mark Nordenberg; Pitt Associate Professor of Business Administration Ravi Madhavan; Dean, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration John T. Delaney; Mike Bryson, former chief financial officer of Mellon Financial Services; Jan Bamford, first vice president of global client management, Bank of New York Mellon; William T. Valenta, Jr., assistant dean of MBA Programs in the Katz School
Case studies have long been valuable tools for business learning. It's extremely beneficial to speculate on past decisions and their value. But, what if you could take this hands-on learning experience a step further and discuss the case with the people who were directly involved?
December 2006 was a time of big decisions for the Bank of New York and Mellon Financial Corporation as the two agreed to a merger.
On September 26, Associate Professor Ravi Madhavan skillfully presented the case published for the Harvard Business Review (HBR) in May 2008. Ordinarily, newly published cases are not available to the public for at least one year, but, due to the nature of this case and the impact that the merger had on the greater Pittsburgh community, Katz was able to obtain advance copies. Interaction and experiential learning were at their peak as students queried participants directly involved in the case.
Mike Bryson, former chief financial officer of Mellon Financial, provided unique insight into the case as he answered questions and presented his part in the monumental merger. University Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, provided his perspective as a past Mellon Financial board member and current Bank of New York Mellon Corporation board member as well as a friend of major participants. Also contributing to the discussion of the case were Dean John Delaney and Bill Valenta, assistant dean for MBA programs. Instrumental in the six months of planning necessary for this first-time event was Alumni Board member Jan Bamford, first vice president for global client management at Bank of New York Mellon. Sally Ann D. Sells, senior vice president for global client management was an honored guest.
The lunch reception that followed the discussion allowed for further one-on-one interaction between students and participants in the HBR live case study and fostered continued insight into the complexities involved in such an enormous merger.
Hiring continues for the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation headquarters here in Pittsburgh. Dean Delaney promised that Katz will continue to provide capable candidates for tomorrow's positions. With hands-on learning experiences such as this one, it is certain tomorrow's Katz MBAs will be ready to hit the ground running.
Written by Lauren L. Gogal, communication manager, MBA Programs
