News Schwarzenegger Addresses D.C. Business Community at Gala
Phil humnicky
I Robert Reynolds
know how to increase revenue, penetrate new markets, and have a global reach and perspective.” He also emphasized the impor tance of developing a deep ver tical expertise in the industries private equity firms invest in. The fundraising environment will be “brutally difficult” in the near term, Clare noted, but he assured the audience that the rumors of demise in private equity are exaggerated, and that the industry will survive and thrive in the future. Larry Kochard, chief invest ment officer at Georgetown University, discussed lessons learned from the last couple of years and also talked about the socalled endowment approach to investing. “It became con ventional wisdom that high allocation to alternative assets was the secret sauce,” Kochard said. “But it’s just not as simple as that. “It’s ultimately about execu tion,” he continued. “The value of the private investments is that [the managers] can be
handson with their companies, energyproducing properties, and real estate properties and add real value, which a public company may be incapable of doing because of various prin cipal agent problems.” With too much money allocated to alternative assets, such as hedge funds, private buyout firms, real estate, energy, and timber, investors substituted fairly well under stood returnrisk characteristics for additional liquidity risk and complexity risk, and the investments became harder to execute. The major les son learned, Kochard told the audience, is to better manage liquidity risk, perform thor ough asset liability analysis, and ensure that you have sufficient liquidity to capitalize on good investment opportunities. — Jill Lindstrom
n a gala event to mark the opening of the new Rafik B. Hariri Building at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the Washington, D.C., business community. Schwarzenegger, who holds a business degree from the University of Wisconsin, said he learned the value of business when he realized the people running bodybuilding competitions were the ones making all the money. “While I was pumping my muscles, they were pumping their wal lets,” he said. Using his business skills, he began promoting bodybuild ing competitions in America, which have become the Arnold’s Classic. He also started a mailorder business to sell bodybuilding products and, eventually, books and films. Since then, he has woven a business mindset through all of his ventures. Schwarzeneg ger said he actively built his
success as an actor by becom ing one of the first to promote his films internationally. He also has invested his money wisely, he said. Schwarzeneg ger said he has applied the same business models to his role as governor of California. “One thing I have been try ing to do ever since I’ve gotten into government is the same thing businesses do, which corporate CEOs must address all the time, and that is to create a vision — a vision for where you want to take your organization. And it’s the same when you run a state,” he said. Part of his vision is to move California forward in eco nomic growth and environ mentalism. During his tenure, California has become a leader in the number of cleanenergy businesses in the United States, with more than 10,000. After the address, Dean George Daly presented the governor with the school’s Dean’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the dean.
View a webcast of this event at msb.georgetown.edu
Check out the new Web site for Georgetown Business magazine, featuring blogging capabilities, social networking integration, and an advanced search function. Visit msb.georgetown.edu/newsroom/magazine
Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
Phil humnicky
Web Site Launches for Georgetown Business Magazine
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
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