September/October 2010
Around the Quads
Alumni in the News
Michael Dwork ’00, ’07 Business won the first annual Crain’s New York Business Perfect Pitch Competition, impressing the judges with the successful story of the eco-friendly dinnerware company he founded, VerTerra. He came up with the idea for a company that makes biodegradable dinnerware while interning in India during business school and seeing the resourcefulness of local people. VerTerra products now are sold in more than 1,000 stores and used in the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium. Dwork “wowed the judges with his ability to tell the story of his business in clear, colorful anecdotes,” according to an article in Crain’s published on June 2. CCT profiled Dwork in its March/April 2008 issue.
George Shea ’86 revs up the crowd at the 2010 Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. PHOTO: Matt RobertsHungry? George Shea ’86 has a cure for that. Along with his brother, Richard, Shea is responsible for creating a sport out of stuffing one’s face. The brothers, who head Shea Communications, created Major League Eating, the governing body of dozens of professional eating contests, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest that is nationally televised by ESPN. But it’s not just hot dogs that these athletes devour in massive quantities. In an article about the Shea brothers published in The New York Times on July 2, they get credit for more than 80 annual eating contests where 150 records, including “those for cow brains, cheese steaks, candy bars, cabbage, cannoli, crab cakes, corn dogs, cranberry sauce, crawfish and calamari — to name some starting with ‘C,’ ” have been created.
Julia Stiles ’05 will appear in 10 episodes of the upcoming season of the Emmy-nominated Showtime series Dexter. Stiles will play a mysterious woman who forms a relationship with the main character, Dexter, after his wife dies. In March, Stiles was honored with a John Jay Award for distinguished professional achievement.
Li Lu ’96, ’96L, ’96 Business was featured in a Wall Street Journal article on July 30 headlined, “From Tiananmen Square to Possible Buffett Successor.” The article describes how Li went from being a student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests to earning three degrees at Columbia, building a successful career as a hedge fund manager and earning a place “in line to become a successor to Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.” The Journal quotes Berkshire vice chair Charlie Munger as saying “It’s a foregone conclusion” that Li would become one of the top Berkshire investment officials. Buffett turned 80 on August 30 and says he has no current plans to step down, but is open to “bringing on other investment managers while I’m still here.”
Ethan Rouen ’04J