NYU Shanghai - NYU Stern Programs Summer 2022 Company Visit Recap

As part of NYU Stern and NYU Shanghai’s commitment to experiential learning, each semester students in the four joint MS programs visit local companies to learn about the local business culture as well as gain insights into companies and job functions related to their study and future careers. This summer students had the opportunity to visit the following companies based in New York City:

• ​Meta (Facebook)
• Bowery Farming
• Citi Bike (Lyft) 
• Citi Ventures (Citibank) 
• Nasdaq
• American Express
• Amazon

Meta (Facebook)

Students from the MS in Data Analytics and Business Computing (MSDABC) program and MS in Marketing and Retail Science (MSMRS) program joined a virtual company visit to Meta on June 22. The Director of Global Clients & Categories for the eCommerce & FMCG at Meta discussed the mission and values of the company and shared how they focus on projects that deliver long-term impacts. Having witnessed Meta’s rapid growth over the past decade, he encouraged students who are interested in working in tech companies to dream big and set longterm professional goals for the next 10 years. He advised students to be inclusive builders when developing a product as working alone can be very challenging. A few weeks later, MSMRS students had the opportunity to visit the Meta office (formerly Facebook) in New York City (located just 5 minutes by foot from Stern) for a guided tour to learn more about their office culture and company history. Jerry Fang, MSMRS Class of 2023, was especially impressed by Meta’s artist in residency project in which artists and employees are able to decorate their office spaces during their residency. “This is probably the ideal form of an office space. It’s more like an employee activity hub,” remarked Jerry. 

MSMRS students in the Meta office learning about Instagram, the popular social network service founded in 2010 and acquired by Meta in 2012

Bowery Farming

Led by Professor Christina Fang and Professor Joe Porac, co-academic directors for the MS in Organization Management and Strategy (MSOMS) Program, MSOMS students visited Bowery Farming, an indoor urban farm company that provides delicious produce for the local community. Leaders from the program management, strategy and product development teams each introduced their business units and shared their professional trajectory. After the presentation, students actively engaged with speakers in a Q&A session and had a better understanding of Bowery’s strategic goals, specific products, and organizational structure. The students received fresh salad and herbs from the company as gifts.

MSOMS students in the Bowery office

Citi Bike (Lyft)

On July 12, students from the MSDABC and MSOMS programs joined a virtual company visit to Citi Bike. A senior leader for Citi Bike discussed how the company provides solutions to reduce urban emission and congestion. She specifically addressed how the company utilizes management and analytics in the transportation sector. Students learned more about the pain points of urban mobility and Citi Bike’s role in solving these challenges. 

Citi Ventures

On July 26, MS Quantitative Finance (MSQF) students visited Citi Ventures, a venture capital firm through Citibank that seeks investments in the fintech sector. After touring the office, students met with members from the venture investing, racial equity design and data initiative (REDDI), and blockchain/crypto teams to gain insights into their roles and functions. Emily Yu, MSQF Class of 2023, was especially impressed by the newly formed REDDI team: “The best takeaway was learning about innovative teams and positions in a traditional financial firm and it was interesting to learn that they are built up by professionals of diverse backgrounds. They use technology, psychology, and data analysis to fix all kinds of problems at Citi.”

MSQF students on the patio of the Citi Ventures office building

Nasdaq

MSQF students also visited Nasdaq, an American stock exchange located in Times Square. The Director of the Market Intelligence Desk shared a comprehensive overview about Nasdaq and led the students on a site tour. Afterwards, students were very excited to have the opportunity to watch the opening bell ceremony. According to Emily Yu (MSQF ‘23), who previously only saw the ceremony on TV or in movies, the Nasdaq visit is a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” for a finance student.

MSQF students in the Nasdaq studio where the Opening Bell ceremony was held

American Express 

Students from the MSOMS and MSDABC programs visited American Express (AmEx) on August 3. They learned about the company’s extensive use of data analytics and their business strategy for expansion into China. A senior executive at AmEx, who is also an active Stern alum, shared his perspective on what it means to be a global business leader expanding boundaries and working across borders. Hongming Wang, MSOMS Class of 2023, particularly appreciated the various speakers’ detail on the company’s Chinese expansion in terms of product lines, distribution channels, and the logic and strategy of running the business in China, which requires a high level of cross-cultural collaboration and management. He shared that the visit provided “clear insight into running a global business, allowing me to explore the prestige and long-lasting financial service industry while understanding the management and strategy in different cultural contexts as a global company.”

Speakers from American Express answering questions from the MSOMS and MSDABC students

Amazon

The summer company visits concluded with a virtual session with Amazon’s Director of the Worldwide Marketing of the Online and Physical Stores. Based on her near decade of experience at Amazon, she introduced MSDABC and MSMRS students to the grocery delivery business and discussed how the company approaches marketing analytics to analyze customers’ behavior and scale their brand. Cyrus Guo, MSMRS Class of 2023, emphasized the speaker’s rare industry insights that illuminated the inner workings of a giant company like Amazon, including their strategy for developing new ventures. Cyrus explained, ”It is easy to think that big companies such as Amazon know exactly what they are doing at all times, but we learned from the speaker that even Amazon is constantly conducting small business experiments to figure out which businesses and market segments can be successful. She also helped to reiterate how crucial data analysis is for budding businesses, along with the importance of data security.“

Following a month long break after the end of the summer semester in New York City, experiential learning will continue in the fall and spring semesters in Shanghai, providing students with Chinese perspectives and insights into the local business culture. Guo (MSMRS ‘23) emphasized the importance of such insights, which add context and meaning to the classroom learning: “Of course, building a strong foundation through academic learning is very important, but applying these concepts to the real world can be challenging sometimes. The speakers really helped us to understand some of the complexities and nuances of the real world, including unpredictable factors such as the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020.”