CULTIVATING CRITICAL THINKING IN FINANCE
Research for the Common Good RESERACH FOR COMMON GOOD
PAUL KIM, BOB MELLMAN, AND HANK NGUYEN
COLIN POWELL SCHOOL FOR CIVIC AND GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
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Paul Kim, Bob Mellman, and Hank Nguyen are in high demand at the Colin Powell School. As adjunct professors and, in Mellman’s case, a volunteer mentor, these members of the Economics and Business Department are teaching their students to think critically about finance. All three finished successful careers on Wall Street and now devote themselves to preparing the next generation of Colin Powell School students. Kim, who is the most recent addition to the trio, joined the Colin Powell School in 2018. After spending many years on Wall Street in investment management and global technology, he decided to turn his attention simultaneously to managing several companies and investment platforms
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and to using his investment skills in support of teaching the next generation about how to successfully build careers in the financial sector. His arrival at CCNY heralded an exciting addition to the adjunct faculty on several levels, as his leadership abilities and investment acumen are channeling new options for Colin Powell School students into finance career opportunities. Currently co-teaching some of Nguyen’s classes, Kim orchestrated two events in 2018-19 for “EcoBiz” students that offered them unique, first-hand experiences with top businesses. The first was for a financial economics class that was analyzing the securities of individual companies. On one occasion, the company in question was Tesla. Kim came up with the idea of giving the class hands-on knowledge of
These amazing members of the Economics and Business Department are teaching their students to think about and analyze problems, projects, theories from an applied perspective; to think of the “why” and “how” of how things work. All three have left successful careers on Wall Street by choice and are keen to give back to CCNY students from their experiences. what an investment analysis discussion looks like. He knew a senior investor relations officer at the company who in turn suggested including one of their biggest investors. Kim set up a private discussion event at Tesla’s office in New York City. He moderated the discussion and the students came away with knowledge they would never have been able to glean otherwise. The other event involved the Finance Capstone Class in spring 2019, the second fireside chat of the spring semester, which offered the entire
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