Moving slowly to London

My first blogging ever... Thanks Lisa.

Disclaimer: no fancy picture of crazy holidays in here... Just plain boring whereabouts.

As many of you know (by the way, thank you for the great crowd who managed to come to the farewell drinks-it meant a lot to me), I spent the summer in NY doing an internship. On one hand it was an enjoyment because of the extraordinary experience of a summer in NY (God I love this city, its rooftop bars and its beaches), because I could see some of you and because I finally got to do something in line with my expectations for the MBA. On the other hand, it has been a pain because I did not see Maryne and the kids for two months and I was not even sure to lend an offer in the end. We had decided it was much better for Maryne and the kids to be in France with our family and more economical for us (after two years of supporting a family of 4 in NY, without income, and losing a fair share of savings in the greatest crash of the history).




Anyway, things turned out good in the end since I left NY around mid-August with a job offer to join a PE firm in London. I joined my family to spend 2 weeks in the Ile de Re - a small island in front of La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast. It is like the Hamptons but much smaller (30km long, 2 km wide) and in France. All my friends and family (mother/brother/ aunt/grand mother/...) were there so it was a short but an intense enjoyable time.
September has been intense as well and not much of a holiday. I have been running around going through more interviews before resigning from a well known consulting firm, looking for an apartment in London (40 visits of crapy apts - God it is expensive), working for a friend of mine who is building a consulting firm in Toulouse and taking up the offer in London. The worst is probably the moving: receiving a container from NY in Paris and sending it to London after some reshuffling...
In the end, I am camping in my brother's room in a flat share in London while Maryne & the kids are doing the same in France with friends/family. But we are seeing the end: We will move in a great apartment in London on the 1st of November. A well deserved rest for the family and the opportunity to get back to a more normal and peaceful life.

Once we are settled, we hope to see you in London.



The Berbesson's family

NY1 Minute: Omar's Post MBA Life

Hi Cluster G! Hope this posting finds you all doing well, enjoying life, not working too hard, and wistfully looking back at our three day weekends in CBS…

I’m doing well, living and working in NYC :)

I recently started with UBS in their private funds group, where I am focused on advising limited partners on monetizing their private equity interests. It’s a combination of investment banking and private equity, and should be exciting. I’m actually still in training (along with fellow G’s Mike Hollman and Juwon) and will be joining the group next week.

On the personal front, not too much has changed. Mehr and I spent the summer hanging out in the city, partaking in things that we never get around to doing (a combination of touristy activities as well as regular wining & dining). We also moved to a new location within Chelsea, a building that also hosts fellow G Julie and defacto G Shayan (the move was a pain in the @$$ Josh, distance doesn’t make a difference). Mehr and I also did a fair bit of continental traveling this summer. We spent a few days in Toronto for my sister-in-law's graduation. We also embarked on a much anticipated road trip up the California coast, marveling at the scenery while taking tons of photos (see below). Lastly, we spent a few days in Miami, visiting friends that recently relocated there from NYC.

I’m sure I’ll see the NYC-based G’s periodically, but would encourage the rest of you to get in touch if you’re passing through.

Chilling in Miami by the pool and the Bay

Somewhere between Hearst Castle and Big Sur along the Pacific Coast Highway

Rooftop party at our old building

Bev's dispatch from China

Fellow Gs…. greetings from Shanghai!!

Having lived in the States my whole life, I’ve just made the big move to China and am incredibly excited to be here!

I just started with EF Education, an MNC specializing in English training and study travel. They have a fantastic local + expat team, and are apparently the world’s largest private education company. I’m working on internal strategy with their China CEO and management team – assessing new product lines and sales strategies, turning around less profitable business units, and launching their global CSR strategy. I’m also planning to stay active in the social enterprise community, as I’m hoping the managerial experience I gain at EF will help me figure out how to run and scale my own (or someone else’s) social enterprise a couple years from now.

Prior to Shanghai, I spent my summer in Beijing half job searching and half spending time with family who also came out to visit. I met with a bunch of MBA alums and friends-of-friends to learn as much as I could about the social enterprise, healthcare, and education sectors in China. My conclusions? There are loads of exciting opportunities here, but they are largely industry-dependent. The business must be a priority area for the govt (ie. clean tech is booming), and the govt must also be open to private sector players (ie. healthcare remains limited while China undergoes a major overhaul).

Because I interned in China last summer, I'm not experiencing culture shock per se, but still adjusting to things. I’m not thrilled by throngs of people pushing into the subway as I try to get off, or the ever-present construction that is racing to modernize the city (at the expense of poor residents), but I *am* deeply moved when I see someone practicing calligraphy in the park or have a conversation with locals about life here (KFC is the most successful restaurant chain because Chinese people can't get enough fried chicken!)

I’ve happily seen a bunch of CBS friends out here (including 5 cluster G’s) and would LOVE to add you to that list. If you need target dates, Shanghai is hosting the Expo (world’s fair) May 1^st – Oct 31^st next year. Please reach out if you ever visit this side of the world!

So excited to hear your updates in the coming months.

Much love and hope all is well,

Bev

p.s. Some pictures:

My dad & me at Tiananmen (Beijing)

The Summer Palace (Beijing)

View of The Bund (Shanghai)

G's in SH: David (Yexi), me, Harry, Chuey, and Kelly :)