Industry Days Bring Business World to Manning Classrooms

Manning School of Business students connected with executives, alumni and community leaders during the second annual Industry Days, a two-day event designed to bring real-world insight directly into the classroom.

With 86 sessions to choose from, including 47 led by alumni, students navigated the event like a professional conference, building personalized schedules around their interests and career goals. Sessions covered a wide range of topics, from career paths and personal storytelling to professional development and artificial intelligence.

“This is exactly what business education should look like — connected, engaged and grounded in the real world,” said Rist Family Endowed Dean of Business Bertie Greer. “These are the kinds of experiences that change students’ lives by giving them a chance to connect and network.” 

That emphasis on connection was echoed by returning speakers like Bonnie Bate ’02, a senior vice president at Natixis Investment Managers in Boston. She presented “AI in Action: A Wealth Management Perspective,” one of several sessions exploring how AI is reshaping the workplace.

“I like connecting with the younger generation and giving them tips on how they can be career-ready and have a competitive advantage,” said Bate, a finance alumna who recently joined the Manning School’s Advisory Board. “If they’re learning from real-world professionals, it puts an image in their mind of what they can become.”

The event featured keynote talks from Steve Meehan ’86, chief financial officer at Twenty One Capital; Bruce Lowthers ’88, chief executive officer at Paysafe; and Kelly Richmond Pope, a forensic accounting professor at DePaul University.

For Lowthers, it marked his return to campus for the first time in 38 years. Now based in Jacksonville, Florida, he said he was motivated to share his experience with students at his alma mater after speaking at other universities around the country.

“It’s nice to be back after such a long period,” said Lowthers, who began his career in accounting, working at Deloitte and Ernst & Young before launching several companies and eventually rising to lead a global fintech firm. “The students came prepared and asked really good questions.” 

Other alumni, like wealth advisor Paul Litchfield ’09, ’12, saw Industry Days as a reflection of how much the Manning School has evolved.

“We didn’t have nearly the amount of resources that students have today,” said Litchfield, who led a session on succeeding in finance, business and sales. “You come back and see this — it’s like a different school.”

Open to any UML student taking a business class, as well as those in the Honors College and River Hawk Scholars Academy, Industry Days offered both exposure and direction.

“I’ve been to networking events, but I’ve never been part of anything like this,” said Jonathan Jenkins, a senior accounting student from Lawrence who saw the sessions as an opportunity to work on his “industry game.”

“As an accountant, I want to pull skills from different aspects of business, like marketing and sales — even well-being and work-life balance. It makes you better overall,” he said.

Sophomore Lindsay Dennett, who attended Industry Days as a freshman last year, said she returned with a more intentional approach. In addition to speaker sessions, she took advantage of professional development resources offered by the Career and Co-Op Center, including résumé reviews and LinkedIn headshots.

“This year, I want to network more and take advantage of everything,” said Dennett, who is from Franklin. “All these professionals are here to help us.”

The first day’s lunch and networking session featured a country music performance by alumna Jilly Martin ’09, who returned to campus with musical partner Ryan Brooks Kelly. 

Industry Days concluded with a panel discussion, “Manning Leaders in Finance: Alumni Insights & Career Journeys,” featuring moderator Darcie Sunnerberg ’87 and panelists Doug Reader ’83, Annita Tanini ’92, ’00 and Amie Stevens ’07, as well as Bate and Lowthers. Drawing from their experiences across the finance industry, the group shared insights on career paths, leadership and navigating change.

Michael Rodriguez, a junior management student from Belmont, targeted sessions about sales to help him prepare for a sales internship this summer at ALKU. But he also enjoyed hearing about Ezra Benjamin’s journey from a geochemistry major to vice president of strategy and ecosystem at Dell Technologies.

“It’s amazing to see the different paths people take,” said Rodriguez, who was grateful that the Manning School paused classes for two days to host Industry Days.

“It reminds you how excellent the business school is,” he said.