Alumni Events
北京大学大纽约地区校友会成功举办2009年会
为庆祝北京大学建校111周年和美国亚裔传统月(五月)、并纪念五四运动90周年，北京大学大纽约地区校友会于五月二日在纽约曼哈顿中城的洛克菲勒大学卡斯伯瑞礼堂隆重举行了2009年会。这次年会的主题为“变挑战为机会”，重点探讨如何应对全球金融和经济危机，变挑战为机会。本次大会邀请了在各行各业取得卓越成就的北大校友和北大之友为演讲人，吸引了大纽约地区北大(含北医)校友及社会各界人士三百余人参加会议。新华社、廿一世纪经济报导、中国国际广播电台和美国中文电视等众多新闻媒体与会并为大会做广泛报道。
世界银行资深副行长、首席经济学家、北大中国经济研究中心创办人林毅夫教授应邀与会并作了题为“全球金融危机和中国的反应”的主题演讲。他指出这次的金融危机始于发达国家，但对发展中国家的危害更大，而且不像以前的大多数金融危机，仅限于个别国家和地区，已波及全球，并且已经从金融行业波及实体经济。目前整个危机的根本问题已经是全球产能过剩问题，需要各国政府协调一致行动，共同努力才能克服，在具体的应对策略上，需要超越传统的“凯恩斯主义”，不仅需要动用财政金融手段，而且要有更多治本措施才能奏效。知名度及"被关注度"都很高的林毅夫在演讲之后被与会的众多媒体"包围"，并简要地回答了记者们提出的问题。
耶鲁大学管理学院金融经济学教授、北京大学光华管理学院特聘教授陈志武接着以“五四运动反思：金融发展与个人自由”为题发表演讲，探讨了五四以来的金融发展对个人自由发展所产生的影响，特别提到木子美等现象在中国的出现及其社会意义。他的演讲声情并茂，妙趣横生，引起了观众席上不断的笑声和掌声。针对全球金融和经济危机，他在演讲之后接受廿一世纪经济报导时认为，中国今后应加强对民生方面的投入，而不能一味注重基础建设。
针对大多数校友仍然以在大公司就业为主的现实，这次会议特别邀请了目前担任美国财富百强企业之一纽约人寿保险公司副总裁和公司亚裔职工联盟主席的陈小卿专门就如何在美国大公司发展为题发表演讲。她在演讲中探讨了包括华人在内的亚裔专业人士在美国主流职场上存在的普遍问题，例如工作不够积极主动、口头与书面沟通能力培养方面注重不够，并提出了一系列改进之道，引起热烈回响。曾在北大担任英语教职、已为华尔街公司物色人才多年的重心集团创办人兼总经理裔锦声也现身说法，特别强调华人在美国大企业发展，要注意寻找可以为自己撑腰的头面人物的支持。她同时也表示，目前中国提供的发展机会很多，海外专业人士要抓住时机，作好准备。
为了鼓励引导更多海外校友创业，这次会议还邀请了在香港主板和上海A股市场同时上市的中软国际全球首席技术官及中软国际美国营运总裁吴刚、FREE WHEEL共同 创始人兼首席技术官于晶纯，DIEREPHARMA创始人兼长岛犹太医疗中心乳腺癌研究主任史跃年以及柯氏国际顾问公司创始人及董事总经理柯映红就创业的经验和教训发表了自己精采的见解，并现场回答了其他校友的相关提问。
会议以“资本市场和新创企业的投资机遇”专题讨论为压轴好戏，邀请到了高伦集团董事总经理郭胜北、摩尔资本管理公司金融工程部总监周斐、对冲组合基金K2顾问公司创始人及董事总经理威廉道格拉斯三世、及从事动物排泄废物处理的盟约概念公司总裁理查瓦格纳发表了各自的见解，他们并对当前金融危机提供了独特的看法。
这次会议由北京大学大纽约地区校友会副会长兼秘书长张苏华担任主持，现任会长楼新跃致开幕词和闭幕词，现任理事会理事长邓琨为主题演讲嘉宾林毅夫教授的引言人和“资本市场和创新企业投资”专题的主持人，副会长赵睿担任演讲嘉宾陈志武教授的引言人，美国职场发展专题则由前任会长石新平担任主持人，创业专题由北京医科大学大纽约地区校友会共同会长王融主持。楼新跃会长并代表大纽约校友会向石新平前会长和北医大纽约地区校友会创会会长吴旭增颁发了“优秀北大人奖”。
这次会议除了得到大纽约地区广大校友和朋友们的支持、校友会骨干团队的齐心合作和众多义工的共同努力外，还得到清华、复旦等兄弟校友会和大纽约地区一些专业社团的支持。会场中发言者和与会者互动热烈，观众争先恐后地举手提问，会场中充满着自由，活跃的气氛。许多与会者都表示获益匪浅，并认为此次年会是近年大纽约地区少见的高水平研讨会，充分体现了北大传统和精神。
北京大学大纽约地区校友会2009年会会场一角
A scene of the conference at the Caspary Auditorium at the Rockefeller University
楼新跃会长(左一)向参加创业专题讨论的各位校友讲员和主持人赠送来自北大的 会议礼品。右起，创业专题讨论策划协调负责人王志华、主持人王融、主讲人史跃年、吴刚、于晶纯、柯映红
Daniel Lou, Current President of PKUAAGNY, presents gifts from Peking University to panelists of the entrepreneurship panel. First from right, James Wang, director of the entrepreneurship program of PKUAAGNY, Rong Wang, Moderator of the panel and speakers Eric Shi, George Wu, Diane Yu and Coco Kee
会议圆满结束后部分演讲人、主持人和会议工作团队与义工们合影
A group picture of conference organizers, moderators, speakers, staff and volunteers
Peking University Alumni Association of Greater New York Held Successful Conference 2009
To celebrate the 111th birthday of Peking University, the Asian Heritage Month, and the 90th anniversary of the May 4th Movement , Peking University Alumni Association of Greater New York (PKUAAGNY) held Conference 2009 at the Caspary Auditorium of Rockefeller University, located mid-town Manhattan, on Saturday May 2nd.
The conference, themed “Turning Challenges Into Opportunities”, focused on how to survive and even prosper in the current global financial and economic crises. It also showcased the accomplishments of Peking University (PKU) alumni in various professions. In total, the conference attracted more than 300 alumni (including alumni graduated from former Beijing Medical University) and friends. More than a dozen journalists from media and news agencies such as Xinhua, 21st Century Business Herald, China Radio International (CRI), and SinoVision came to report this conference.
World Bank senior vice president and chief economist and founder of PKU China Center for Economic Research Justin Yifu Lin made the keynote address titled “Global Financial Crisis and China ’s Response.” He pointed out that, while originated in the developed world, the crisis has incurred greater damage to the developing countries. Contrary to previous financial crises, this particular one is not restricted to a number of countries or regions. Instead, its impact is global and the crisis has spread from the financial industry to real economy. The fundamental problem of the crisis is excess in global capacity and hence requires coordinated efforts from various nations. The actions need to go beyond the traditional Keynesian economics and must address the fundamental causes. After his keynote address, the famous economist was surrounded by the journalists covering this event and briefly answered a few key questions.
Professor Chen Zhiwu from Yale School of Management then spoke on the topic “Reflections on the May 4th Movement: How does financial development liberate the individual?” His speech was both insightful and humorous, generated many laughters and applauses. After the address, he was interviewed by 21st Century Business Herald on the global financial and economic crises. He emphasized that China needs to strengthen its investment in improving the living standards for the average people, rather than purely pursuing infrastructural constructions.
To help the majority of the alumni whose careers are with major US corporations, PKUAAGNY invited Mary Dean, Vice President and Head of Asian Employee Network of New York Life, a Fortune 100 company, to discuss how to navigate and thrive in corporate America. She discussed a number of common issues that Asians typically face, such as being passive, lack of strong oral and written communication skills, etc. and provided recommendations on how to improve on these critically important skills. Jeannie Yi, a former PKU English teacher and Founder/Managing Director of Wall Street executive search firm CG Group, used her own experience to emphasize the importance of finding a high level career advocate. She also commented on the many career opportunities in China and urged professionals here in the US to be open minded and prepared.
To help alumni pursue entrepreneurship dreams, this conference also featured Gang (George) Wu, Global CTO and President of US Operations of China Soft International and President & CEO of DoubleBridge Technologies Inc., Diane Yu, former Vice President of DoubleClick/Google and CTO/Co-Founder of FreeWheel, Eric Y. Shi, Founder of DierePharma and Director of Breast Cancer Research at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and Coco Kee, Founder and Managing Partner of Kee Global Advisors LLC to share their experiences and insights in how to successful create and manage new ventures. They also answered many questions from the audience.
The conference ended on a high note with the “Investment Opportunities in Capital Markets and Ventures” panel discussion. Among the invited speakers are Shengbei Guo, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Galleon Group, Fei Zhou, Head of Financial Engineering of hedge fund company Moore Capital Management, William A. Douglass III, Founding Managing Director of K2 Advisors, and Richard Wagner, CEO of Covenant Concepts LLC, a company focusing on waste management.
This conference was chaired by PKUAAGNY vice president and secretary general Sam Zhang. PKUAAGNY president Daniel Lou made the opening and closing remarks. Chairman of the Board Deng Kung introduced keynote speaker Justin Yifu Lin and chaired the “Investment Opportunities in Capital Markets and Ventures” panel discussion. PKUAAGNY vice president Zhao Rui introduced professor Chen Zhiwu. Former president Scott Shi chaired the “Career Development in Corporate America” session. Wang Rong, rotating president of Beijing Medical University Alumni Association, chaired the Entrepreneurship panel discussion session. PKUAAGNY president Daniel Lou presented Outstanding Beidaren Award to former PKUAAGNY president Scott Shi and the founding president of Beijing Medical University Alumni Association Wu Xu-Zen.
This conference was supported by many alumni, friends, volunteers, and would not be possible without the dedication and teamwork from the core members of PKUAAGNY executive team. This conference was also supported by sister organizations such as alumni associations of Tsinghua, Fudan, etc. as well as professional associations located in the Greater New York area. There were many interactions between the speakers and the audience, with many questions answered. Many attendees feel that they benefited tremendously from this conference and regard this conference a high level discussion rarely seen in recent years and that it fully embodies the heritage and the spirit of Beida.