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February 2004 Toigo Fellows Expand Finance NetworksIf he were to appoint a personal board of directors for a lifetime of advice, first-year MBA student James Gutierrez believes it would be dominated by other, slightly older Toigo fellows—business school graduates who have signed a contract to be lifetime mentors and friends to other Toigo fellows. "These are people who don't just want to be successful in finance but also on boards as community leaders," says Gutierrez, 26, a Yale graduate who started a student organization and then a business helping technology startups and Hispanic students match their interests and skills. Toigo fellowships are competitive, partial-tuition awards for business students representing ethnic groups that are nearly absent from the decision-making levels of the finance industry. Founded by a respected husband and wife team in equity fund management, the Robert Toigo Foundation solicits financial support, summer internships, mentoring, and job opportunities from large financial institutions. Toigo fellows are selected from business school applicants nominated by the schools. They must demonstrate an interest in community involvement and careers in finance. So far Toigo has selected nearly 500 fellows, 51 of whom are or were GSB students. The organization's networking, which includes workshops, conferences, and mentoring, is more important to minority business students at this level than the financial assistance, Gutierrez says. Philip Alphonse, MBA '99, a senior associate who structures and monitors private equity investments at Sterling Capital Partners in Chicago, agrees. "I come from a middle-class family which values education, but that doesn't translate into a successful career in finance," says the African American son of a Methodist minister and a librarian. "It wasn't that I was a neophyte in finance, but Toigo provided me with people slightly older who provided introductions and helped me understand the nuances and culture of the business. Without that, the person sitting in my chair would be the nephew of a guy who ran a venture firm 20 years ago." |
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