Sanford Weill, chairman emeritus of Citigroup Inc., spoke about the current international financial crisis, the future leadership that is needed to restore America’s financial system as well as our relationship with other countries, and the importance of giving back and working toward the greater good as part of the annual Charles F. Dolan Lecture series.
Weill began by giving a brief history of the events leading up to the present collapse of the financial world. In part, he blamed excessive leveraging, unethical business practices and unsound investing in unknown instruments for the crisis.
Weill discussed regulations that the next presidential administration will need to implement and enforce in order to regain confidence the American financial system. Without that the capital which funds most government programs would wane, crippling all aspects of the country.
‘The financial services industry is at the fulcrum of what makes this world tick,’ he said.
This is because the world is becoming increasingly connected, and currently, the majority of United States debt is owned by foreign countries. Lack of confidence in our financial infrastructure and strained relationships with foreign countries, as Weill explained, could create major problems in the future.
Speaking on the eve of Election Day, Weill’s daughter, Jessica Bibliowicz, asked Weill his predictions of the outcome of the presidential race as well as whom he intended to vote.
Weill stated that he would be voting for Obama, and that he believed he would clinch the presidency.
If Obama were elected, Weill said he would say to him, ‘You are the president of the entire country, and the country wants to be governed in the center, not from the left or the right.”
His advice to students interested in pursuing a career in the financial services sector, Weill said, ‘There is no substitute for hard work,’ and also stressed the importance of looking at change as something that creates opportunity, as opposed to something of which to be fearful.
In addition, Weill advised students on a trait which his friend, President Gerald Ford, was an advocate: To not to be afraid to hire or work with people who are smarter than you.
Weill has said that it is ‘fun to give away money and see the results of it while you’re still alive,’ but life involves much more than money. He noted that philanthropy is most effective when people put the same amount of zeal and innovative thinking into their non-profit enterprises as they would for their for-profit companies.
Weill’s involvement in numerous philanthropic endeavors has been unyielding.’ In addition to serving on the boards of the White Nights Foundation of America, Carnegie Hall and the National Academy Foundation, Weill, his wife Joan, and the Weill Family Foundation have given more than $500 million to the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University.
Since its inception in 2001, The Charles F. Dolan Lecture Series has featured distinguished guest speakers including Jack Welch, renowned former chairman and CEO of General Electric, AT’amp;T Chairman and CEO C. Michael Armstrong and current General Electric chairman and CEO, Jeffrey R. Immelt.’
The lecture series was named for University trustee Charles F. Dolan who, with his wife Helen, donated $25 million to benefit Fairfield University’s School of Business.’ ‘
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