Report on 3rd Annual Gay/Lesbian MBA Conference

UMBS to co-Host Next Year’s Conference

By: Don Deliz, MBA1 delizdon@umich.edu

Posted: 4/23/01

Before the warm weather first hit Ann Arbor, several of your fellow classmates had the opportunity to attend the Third Annual Gay/Lesbian MBA Conference in San Francisco, held on March 30 and 31. This was an outstanding experience for me, as over 450 attendees came together to discuss gay issues in the workplace and business school, network with companies who actively support gay/lesbian causes, and meet their peers from dozens of other MBA programs.

This year’s conference was hosted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Anderson School at UCLA, and Thunderbird. The conference was held at the historic Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco with the themed title “Reaching Out”. This year’s theme focused on the rising prominence of gay and lesbian executives and how they can help the gay and lesbian community. In its three years of existence the evolution of the conference’s theme has mirrored changes that have occurred in the business world. The first conference, sponsored by Harvard and Yale in Boston, had the theme “From the Closets to the Boardroom,” with stories of gay executives coming out in the workplace. Last year’s event, organized by Columbia and Wharton, was entitled “Working Out” and included discussions on how to form employee workgroups.

Three keynote speakers offered their thoughts in terms of “Reaching Out.” Kathy Levinson was the president and COO of E-Trade before retiring to pursue philanthropic interests (Good timing, eh?). Kathy shared several insights gained from her experiences at E-Trade and her surrounding community. Cynthia Martin, recently retired Vice President of Kodak, spoke of her experiences raising awareness of gay/lesbian issues within the company. Andrew Tobias, popular financial advice guru (author of such books as “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need”) and Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, spoke of his experiences growing up “in the closet” and how things have changed since that time. In addition to these speakers, participants had the choice to attend many different panel discussions led by some of the nation’s leading gay and lesbian business professionals.

Representatives from some of the top firms in consulting, finance, media, and high-tech participated in the weekend’s activities. Sponsors represented prestigious firms from across the country. The founding sponsor, McKinsey and Company, was joined by lead sponsors Deloitte Consulting and Salomon Smith Barney in supporting the conference while event sponsors Boston Consulting Group, Booz·Allen & Hamilton, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers hosted some of the major events of the conference. These companies, as well as many others including American Express, Goldman Sachs, Bain & Company, and Ford, held a career fair as one of the scheduled events. Representatives from these companies were present throughout the weekend, providing attendees with numerous networking opportunities. While I knew that many companies have become supportive of their gay and lesbian employees, I was overwhelmed to see their interest and attention focused in one location.

A record number of MBAs attended this year’s conference. Over 45 schools were represented, including most of the “top 25”. Hopefully the momentum will continue: next year, the event will take place in Chicago led by some of the Midwest’s leading schools. I am excited to announce that UMBS will be co-hosting the next conference with Kellogg and Chicago. Confirming UMBS’ commitment to diversity, this news has actually sparked the interest of a couple of admitted gay students who are "on the fence" about which school to enter in the fall. I hope that this announcement will further convince them (and future applicants) that diversity is embraced at Michigan and that they would be welcome here. I hope that you will support Open for Business as we gear up to take part in leading next year’s conference. If you’d like to help us in this endeavor, feel free to contact me (delizdon@umich.edu) or Wade Warren (wadew@umich.edu).