Winter/Spring 2024
London Speaker Series

view of the Palace of Westminster from across the River Thames
view of the Palace of Westminster from across the River Thames
This past winter and spring, through its London Speaker Series, the Gabelli School of Business presented rich and informative content that touched upon a broad range of subject matter—from a panel discussion on AI and the future of work and finance to a conversation on leadership in feminist publishing.
February 5, 2024

Leadership Panel on AI and the Future of Work and Finance

Always on the cutting edge of business and technology, the Gabelli School’s panel on AI and finance explored the deepening relationship between artificial intelligence and the financial sector. Industry experts emphasized AI’s potential in enhancing efficiency, risk management, and overall decision-making processes within financial institutions. They also discussed the importance of including employees in the AI integration process.

  • Didem Un Ates, Operating Advisor, Goldman Sachs Asset Management & AI/Generative AI Council
  • Andrew McLennan, Ph.D., Managing Director, Global Head of Technology & Product Management – Private Alternative, Nuveen, a TIAA company
  • Greg Minson, FCRH ’98, Vice Chair, Fordham London Advisory Board; Global COO, MBD Real Estate, Goldman Sachs
  • Jamie Woodcock, Ph.D., Fordham Faculty Member, Ethics in Business

Listen to a podcast: https://apple.co/3IWR8al

February 21, 2024 | James Holland
Business Development Specialist, NSP Cases Ltd; Director, Autocase

“Turning Interest into Career: Journey of a Successful Entrepreneur”

During this engaging discussion, entrepreneur and investor James Holland talked about his remarkable career journey. Originally a sound engineer, Holland co-founded NSP Cases, which produces protective cases for music bands, the TV industry, and even Formula 1. Over the last 20 years, he has grown the company into a thriving business. Three years ago, Holland ventured into the software sector, co-founding a new company that recently launched a software program. In addition to his many entrepreneurial pursuits, he shares his experience and insights by mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Listen to a podcast: https://apple.co/3xfsIX4

March 20, 2024 | Sidney Henne
Strategy Director, Wieden + Kennedy

“Advertising Today: Purpose, Sustainability, and Brands”

Those interested in careers in advertising were treated to a fascinating discussion on the professional trajectory of Sidney Henne, GABELLI ’11, who has spent nearly 15 years in the advertising industry, and currently leads strategic development at Wieden + Kennedy (W+K), where she has worked on campaigns for Nike, including the Colin Kaepernick “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” campaign. Prior to W+K, she led the first fully integrated Olympics campaign for Comcast in the U.S., helped turn share loss into growth for Trojan condoms by focusing on sex-positivity, and played a role in building the brand recognition of Busch Light through a Super Bowl spot.
March 21, 2024 | Ginger F. Zaimis
Author, Poet, and Fordham London Advisory Board Member

“Myth, Choice, and Destiny: Leveraging Language and Archetypes for Thought Leadership”

It’s always a delight when Fordham London Advisory Board Member Ginger F. Zaimis presents at the London Speaker Series. An American poet, essayist, polymath, literary translator, and advisor who specializes in Hellenism, architectural, and perennial forms, she shared her thoughts with a captivated audience while challenging them to recognize and embrace the unseen connections between literature, science, and philosophy. Zaimis’s vision and grammatology explore the intersections of contemporary modernisms and comparative literature through her progressed mythologies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and other dramatic works while reuniting the arts, humanities, and sciences as one.
March 25, 2024 | Lennie Goodings
Chair, Virago Press, in conversation with Varsha Panjwani, Ph.D., Faculty Member, Fordham University London

Leadership Panel on Feminist Publishing

During this interview, Lennie Goodings discussed her incredible career in feminist publishing. She joined Virago Press, a British publisher of women’s writings and books on feminine topics, in 1978. She rose from a freelance publicist to publishing director, then to publisher and editorial director, and currently serves as chair of Virago Press. Over the decades, Goodings and her colleagues launched the careers of British up-and-coming female authors and expanded the audiences for others. With its Modern Classics series, Virago attained the rights to works published in other countries and those published in other eras. Margaret Atwood was one of these Modern Classics authors. Goodings and her colleagues also built Virago’s nonfiction catalogue, which ranges from a reprint of the 1914 autobiography of suffragette Emmaline Pankhurst to the works of Maya Angelou.
March 27, 2024 | Diva Moriani
Executive Vice Chairman and Chief of Transformation Officer, KME

“Importance of Female Leadership in the Corporate World and Board Rooms”

Diva Moriani’s London Speaker Series talk provided inspiration for all women who hope to lead in the business world and beyond. Since 2007, she has served as executive vice chairwoman of Intek S.p.A., the holding company of a group of diversified industrial and financial participations. At KME AG, Moriani was a member of the management board, became CEO, and subsequently held the office of vice-chairman of the supervisory board. She then took on the current office of executive vice-chairman of the board of directors and chief transformation officer. Since 2020, she has served as chairman of KME Mansfeld GmbH and KME Germany GmbH. She also has served as a member of the board of directors of KME S.r.l. since 2013. From 2007 to 2012, she held the office of chief executive officer of I2Capital Partners, a private equity fund sponsored by Intek S.p.A., focused on special situations.
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