Chicago Business

Last Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of the DuSable Conference. Hosted by the African American MBA Association the annual conference brings together students, faculty, staff, alumni and various titans of industry in honor of Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable, African-American and founder of the city of Chicago. Held at the University Club in downtown Chicago the event was attended by about one hundred members and friends of AAMBA - from first year members of the Class of 2011 to the alumni who founded the conference back in 1984.

After a continental breakfast, the event kicked off with remarks from Chicago Booth Dean Ted Snyder. He noted that not only was this an important anniversary for the conference but also highlighted several other important milestones: 100 years ago the NAACP was founded, 40 years ago the National Black MBA Association was conceptualized at Chicago Booth and 1 year ago (to the day) The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business became the Booth School of Business in honor of David Booth.

He concluded by congratulating the African American community and the entire Booth community for its accomplishments and its long standing commitment to the hierarchy of ideas versus people.

Shortly following Dean Snyder's opening remarks conference attendees transitioned into one of two panels; "Life After Plan A" or "The Brand Called You." The former panel dealt with the question of how to move forward professionally and personally when faced with various challenges, while the latter dealt with the importance of establishing and maintaining a strong personal brand. Following these panels attendees reconvened for a third and final panel "Rising to the Top: What Does It Take to Climb the Ladder" which was facilitated by Booth alum Tyrone Rachal,. This panel offered insight into how to build a lasting legacy within a corporation. Panelists included the former owner of the Denver Nuggets, a managing director at J.P. Morgan and the president and CEO of Potbelly Sandwich Works.

Sponsors of the conference, including platinum sponsor Credit Suisse, and gold sponsors Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citi, hosted a corporate meet and greet giving students and alums alike the opportunity to network with representatives from each firm.

Following the corporate reception, keynote speaker Tom Baltimore was introduced and spoke about his unique experiences and accomplishments over lunch. Mr. Baltimore is President of RLJ Development a privately held real estate investment company founded and led by Mr. Baltimore and Robert L. Johnson, also founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET.) Mr. Baltimore described the ups and downs of building a $2 billion business from the ground up and also described in detail the challenges (and opportunities) associated with entrepreneurship. He shared a particularly touching story with the audience about giving several hundreds of thousands of dollars of profits from his investment fund to the unsung heroes who helped make his company a success: the secretaries, janitors and other support staff who help his firm function on a daily basis. As the final capstone, the AAMBA co-chairs awarded various alumni and institutions the Arthur N. Turnbull Award in honor of both their collective achieveents and of Arthur Turnbull the first African American graduate of Chicago Booth. Awardees included Eric Leveritt Chatman, Bufus Outlaw, Jr., Steven D. Tolbert and Kevin Anthony Walker the original founders of the DuSable Conference for their pioneering spirit and contributions to AAMBA and the wider world. Ghian Foreman was awarded the Arthur N. Turnbull Distinguished Contribution Award for his commitment and dedication to the Chicago Booth African American community. And finally, Credit Suisse was awarded the Arthur N. Turnbull Platinum Sponsor Award for its support of the organization and the conference.

According to conference organizers and AAMBA co-chairs Adrissha Wimberly and Mauresa Pittman the objectives of the conference is to "foster meaningful and lasting relationships between attendees and provide a forum to inspire members of AAMBAA." More broadly AAMBA's aim is to help build lasting institutions and forge strong relationships wherever its members are present - the success of the 25th DuSable Conference and the support it received from AAMBA members and alumni and friends as well as corporate sponsors prove that the organization is well on its way.

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