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Nearly 40,000 alumni and parents call the Greater New York region their home – here’s your opportunity to connect with them. The Rensselaer Greater New York Executive Council was created to better connect our Greater New York alumni to their alma mater and to each other.

Engagement in the council is designed around shared career and business interests, related topics that tie alumni back to campus through conversations and forums around pressing global challenges and opportunities that align with the Institute’s expertise in groundbreaking interdisciplinary research and innovative pedagogy. The council offers opportunities for engagement around business development, career advancement, graduate recruitment and student placement, and seeks to facilitate strategic partnerships among individuals, companies, foundations, government agencies and the Institute.

Greater New York Network

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EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

To succeed, the council needs an exemplary group of leaders and influencers to set the pace and light the way toward a more meaningful Rensselaer alumni experience. We are asking you to join the Executive Council to provide guidance and advisory expertise that will further harness the strength or our alumni in New York, New Jersey, and Southern Connecticut, and to pro-vide leadership in support of the Rensselaer Capital Campaign, Transformative: Campaign for Global Change.

As a council member you will have a front row seat to research insights from renowned Rensselaer faculty, access to the highest levels of Institute leadership, and opportunities to foster fruitful connections with other notable alumni in the Greater New York region. Member terms are for three years and there are two types of membership available. All membership dues are contributed to the Rensselaer Annual Fund to support scholarships and are fully tax deductible.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CO-CHAIRS

Marc Eignor Headshot

Marc Eigner ’97, ’99G, ’99MBA

Operating Partner, Berenson Capital

Mr. Eigner has more than 20 years of senior leadership experience with start-ups, growing the business he co-founded, Polaris, from its start to its eventual acquisition in 2017.

Additionally, he served as the Chief Commercial Officer of H1 and the Chief Executive Officer of Anju Software. Mr. Eigner has led companies to significant nine figure liquidity events, and has experience in self-funded, private equity and venture capital structures. He currently serves as an operating partner at Berenson Capital, a mid-market focused private equity group.

Mr. Eigner received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Systems Engineering, a Master of Science degree in Computer Systems Engineering, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rensselaer. He also attended the Executive Education program at the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Eigner serves as a Board Member of the Black Bear Youth Hockey Foundation, which removes financial barriers to youth hockey participation. He is also a sponsor of, and on the organizing committee for the Miracle Walk, which benefits the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, NJ.

Albert Lowenthal ’67

Chairman of the Board and CEO of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (Oppenheimer)

Albert Lowenthal is the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (Oppenheimer), respectively. Mr. Lowenthal has held these positions since 1985, and has grown the Firm through acquisition and organic growth – taking stockholders’ equity from $5 million to $544 million, as of 09/30/2018. His extensive experience gives him unique insights into Oppenheimer’s challenges, opportunities, and operations.

Mr. Lowenthal began his financial services career in 1967 at Cowen & Co. Within three years at Cowen he became the Managing Partner, and he worked there until 1985. After leaving Cowen, Mr. Lowenthal purchased a controlling interest in Edward A Viner & Co., and assumed the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the broker-dealer operating company and of the public holding company, Viner Holdings Inc. In 1987, this growing firm acquired Laidlaw Adams & Peck, and then Fahnestock & Co. In the following 15 years, Fahnestock acquired a number of regional companies including W.H Newbold’s, BC Christopher, First of Michigan, and Josephthal. In 2003, Mr. Lowenthal led the acquisition of two important businesses from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) that substantially grew the franchise.

Fahnestock acquired CIBC Oppenheimer’s Private Client and Asset Management divisions and changed its name to one of the most recognized names in financial services – Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. In 2008,
CIBC World Markets’ U.S. capital markets business was acquired, fully rounding out the business. This transaction included investment banking, an equities business in Israel, and related operations in the United Kingdom and in Asia.

On a personal note, Mr. Lowenthal is a Baltimore native, and earned his B.Sc. in Industrial Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. In 1967. He resides with his wife Carol in Scarsdale, NY and they are active in a number of local charities.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL VICE CHAIR

Jonathan S. Dordick, Ph.D.

Special Advisor to the President on Strategic Initiatives and Institute Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Jonathan S. Dordick is Special Advisor to the President on Strategic Initiatives and Institute Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Professor Dordick received his B.A. degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry from Brandeis University and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has held chemical engineering faculty appointments at the University of Iowa (1987–1998), where he also served Associate Director of the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing, and Rensselaer (1998–present) where he also holds joint appointments in the departments of Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Biology.

Professor Dordick’s research group includes chemical engineers, bioen-gineers, materials scientists, biologists, chemists and microbiologists all focused on gaining a quantitative understanding of biological principles and applying them to advance bioengineering, nanobiotechnology, drug discovery, and biomanufacturing.

He presently serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards for several biotech-nology companies and venture capital firms, and has cofounded a number of companies, including EnzyMed (now part of Albany Molecular Research, Inc.), Solidus Biosciences, and The Paper Battery Company. Dr. Dordick has published over 370 papers and is an inventor/co-inventor on nearly 43 patents and patent applications. Most recently, Dr. Dordick was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), which is among the highest professional honors bestowed upon an engineer.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS

William H. Abrams ’58

Former Managing Partner, Stern Brothers; Former Director, New York Stock Exchange

William H. Abrams ’58 has had a distinguished career on Wall Street. After graduation from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in mechanical engineering, Mr. Abrams earned his MBA in banking and finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  He then went to Wall Street as a security analyst, and after being called up by the military, and served during the Berlin Crisis. He decided to go to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, after military service.

In 1965, Mr. Abrams joined the specialist firm of Stern Brothers, where he eventually became the managing partner. The firm merged with Bear Hunter; Mr. Abrams retired in 2002. During his tenure at the New York Stock Exchange, he served on numerous committees and eventually became a member of the board directors.

Carl de Stefanis '76

President, de Stefanis & Associates, Incorporated

Carl de Stefanis ’76 is president of de Stefanis & Associates Incorporated, established in 1990, and has served president and chief executive officer of Inspection & Valuation International, Incorporated (IVI) since 1987. Mr. de Stefanis also presides as president or managing director over the six companies affiliated with IVI that focus on providing real estate advisory services on behalf of private and institutional mortgagees and equity investors. These companies have six offices based throughout the U.S. as well as affiliates in London and Paris.

Mr. de Stefanis has served as a director of Dekania Corporation since August 2006. Mr. de Stefanis is a member of the Public Affairs Committee of the London-headquartered Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the world’s oldest and largest consortium of real estate professionals with over 120,000 members located in over 100 countries. He received his Master of Science in real estate finance from New York University and his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Rodger Desai ‘91

Co-founder & CEO of Prove

Rodger Desai is the co-founder & CEO of Prove. After beginning his career in engineering management positions at ExxonMobil and GE, Rodger served as an executive at Accenture’s telecom practice before becoming CEO of Rave Wireless, a mobile service that protects thousands of universities, colleges and cities.A mobile and digital identity authentication expert who has been quoted by publications such as the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, TIME, and MIT Technology Review, Rodger has assisted in initiatives that leverage the use of mobile phones in solving societal issues, such as disease surveillance in Iraq, and micro-finance lending programs in Asia. Rodger graduated from RPI and attended the Harvard Business School.

Andres Gonzalez ‘99

Managing Director, XIG

Andres Gonzalez is a Managing Director in the External Investment Group (“XIG”) within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he has served as the deputy COO. XIG provides global investment solutions across traditional strategies (public equity and fixed income) and alternatives (hedge funds, private equity, private credit, and real estate). Mr. Gonzalez has been responsible for the management of key portfolio implementation functions (including liquidity and risk management, investment structuring, trading and hedging strategies, deal closing, performance analytics), implementation of business strategies (including platform development and expansion, and integration of strategic acquisitions), and management of the operating business infrastructure (including business applications, control environment, financial planning and reporting, and business continuity planning).

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs in 2006, Mr. Gonzalez was an engagement manager within the capital markets practice at Accenture PLC, where he specialized on business strategy implementation, business process re-engineering and infrastructure integration.

Mr. Gonzalez received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999.

Michael Miller ‘79

Managing Director, Ziff Brothers Investments

Michael J. Miller is a managing director (chief information officer) at Ziff Brothers Investments and a popular writer and blogger for PCMag.com. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of PC Magazine from 1991-2005; and Editorial Director and Chief Content Officer of Ziff Davis from 1997-2006.

Miller joined Ziff Brothers Investments, a private investment firm, in 2006 . He joined ZBI in 2006 as senior vice president of technology strategy, and continues to oversee a technology analysis and industry research teams. In 2013, he became CIO and now also oversees IT. From 1991 to 2005, Miller was editor-in-chief of PC Magazine, responsible for the editorial direction, quality, and presentation of the world’s largest computer publication. He continues to write his popular Forward Thinking blog for PCMag at https://www.pcmag.com/series/forward-thinking

Until late 2006, Miller was the Chief Content Officer for Ziff Davis Media, responsible for overseeing the editorial positions of Ziff Davis’s magazines, websites, and events.  As Editorial Director for Ziff Davis Publishing from 1997 to 2006, Miller took an active role in helping to identify new editorial needs in the marketplace and in shaping the editorial positioning of every Ziff Davis title.

As an accomplished journalist, well versed in product testing and evaluating and writing about software issues, and as an experienced public speaker, Miller has become a leading commentator on the computer industry. He has participated as a speaker and panelist in industry conferences, has appeared on numerous business television and radio programs discussing technology issues, and is frequently quoted in major newspapers. His areas of special expertise include the Internet and its applications, desktop productivity tools, and the use of PCs in business applications. Prior to joining PC Magazine, Miller was editor-in-chief of InfoWorld, which he joined as executive editor in 1985. At InfoWorld, he was responsible for development of the magazine’s comparative reviews and oversaw the establishment of the InfoWorld Test Center. Previously, he was the west coast bureau chief for Popular Computing, and senior editor for Building Design & Construction. Miller earned a BS in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and an MS in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois

Todd Mitty ’86, ’87G, Ph.D.

Chief Technology Officer, LionTree LLC

Todd Mitty ’86, ’87G, Ph.D., is chief technology officer at LionTree LLC, a global investment and merchant banking firm focused on media, technology, and telecommunications, with offices in New York, San Francisco, London, and Paris. Previously, Todd held positions in global equities and financing products at Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley.

Prior to these positions, he was an Internet entrepreneur, having started NetDox, an early entrant in cryptography-enabled secure document delivery, and InVenGen, a technology incubator and commercialization engine, which he merged with U.S. Interactive. Mr. Mitty also was a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting. He began his career as an engineering consultant.

Mr. Mitty received his Ph.D. and Master of Science from Princeton University in mechanical & aerospace engineering with a focus on computational fluid dynamics, and his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Mitty has held various volunteer leadership positions at Princeton University, where he is currently a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council for the Princeton University Graduate School. He also serves as board president of his high-rise residential condominium in Tribeca, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Michael O’Connor ’00 G

Michael T. O’Connor is a seasoned healthcare technology expert with over 30 years of experience. His career includes leading internal IT organizations, consulting firms, and companies that deliver strategic technology solutions to the life sciences industry.

In the Life Sciences commercial compliance space, Michael has developed innovative products that have become industry leaders. He has held executive leadership roles at organizations like RLDATIX Life Sciences, Alexion , and Boehringer Ingelheim, where he spearheaded the development and implementation of compliance solutions.

As a consultant with firms such as PwC and CSC, Michael provided strategic guidance on compliance and technology solutions. His expertise spans risk assessment, data analytics, and applied AI, with a proven track record of delivering solutions that meet regulatory requirements while driving business growth.

Currently, Michael focuses on advisory work, fractional executive roles, and angel investing.

Michael Richter ’68

Chief Compliance Officer, Omega Point

Michael Richter ’68 is the chief compliance officer at Omega Point, a platform that harnesses vast computational power, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence to help active and passive investment managers accelerate their strategy development and be adaptive to changing market conditions.

Previously, Mr. Richter served as chief financial officer and executive vice president of Lime Capital Management LLC. Prior to joining Lime Capital Management LLC, Mr. Richter served as the chief financial officer at Tower Research Capital LLC. Before joining Tower Research Capital LLC, Mr. Richter was the president of Citicorp Securities Services and, prior to Citicorp, served in senior financial and operational management roles at Citibank, Lehman Brothers, E.F. Hutton, American Express International Bank, and Arthur Andersen.

Mr. Richter served as independent director of BATS Global Markets, Inc. from 2008 to 2017.  He has been a member of the board of directors at Cboe Global Markets since 2017, a fintech advisor for Estee Capital since 2013, and a member of the Quantitative Finance and Risk Analytics Advisory Board at the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since 2013.

Mr. Richter received his Master of Science from the MIT Sloan School of Management and his Bachelor of Science in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Lewis B. Stone ’58

Retired Judge and Former Partner, Rogers and Wells

The Honorable Lewis B. Stone ’58 served as a Supreme Court Justice on the New York County Supreme Court, Criminal Term in the 1stJudicial District of New York from 2009 until his retirement on December 31, 2012. Prior to his appointment as a Supreme Court Justice, Judge Stone served as an acting justice for the court from 2000 to 2008.

From 1983 to 1999, Judge Lewis was a partner of Roger & Wells. Prior to Roger & Wells, he was a partner of Carb Luria Glassner Cook & Kufeld, having joined the firm after serving as Assistant Council to Governor Rockefeller until 1970. Before his time serving Governor Rockefeller, Judge Stone was a member of Valicenti, Leighton, Reid & Pine.  He began his legal career as an associate of the law firm Strasser, Spiegelberg, Fried & Frank.

Judge Stone received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, and his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Gregory Waters ‘97

Managing Director, JPMorgan Chase & Co

Gregory H. Waters ‘97 is a managing director at JPMorgan Chase & Co, since May 2023. Previous to that, he was executive director from 2012 until 2023.

Before working at JP Morgan Chase, Mr. Waters was executive director for the IDEAS practice area (information technology services) for Morgan Stanley, one of the world’s premier investment banks. He was with Morgan Stanley from 2006 to 2012. Mr. Water’s was responsible for the delivery of testing services for the middle and back-office systems at Morgan Stanley. He was responsible for the stability of a system that processes over 45 million messages daily representing the core equity business of the firm. He managed a global team of resources located in North America, Europe, and offshore consultants in India.

Greg received his BS from Rensselaer in 1997. Greg was elected to the RAA board in 2023. An active young alumnus, Mr. Waters served on the board of the Rensselaer Alumni Association from 2002 to 2006. He also served on the Hall of Fame Balloting Committee in the early 2000s. He served on the Rensselaer Annual Fund Leadership Committee from 2000 to 2004.

Brandon Win '15 '16G

Brandon Win ’15, G’16 is a financial professional and product specialist with a focus on alternative investments in real estate and energy. He has built a diverse career spanning tech and finance, holding roles in product development, management, and marketing at innovative companies such as Tata Communications, Philips Lighting, and Sterling. Brandon has also contributed to the success of startups and small businesses, including Fyllo (Semasio), Nebula, and his current firm, Wealthhouse Advisors. A passionate advocate for financial literacy and community building – both literally and figuratively. Brandon has played a key role in fostering connections through the NYC RPI Alumni Chapter as well as developing attainable housing across the US. He holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Brandon is the president of the NYC Chapter of the Rensselaer Alumni Association

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joan F. Clarke

Regional Director of Development, Metro New York City
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Institute Advancement
Cell/Text: (518) 477-3967 E-mail: clarkj12@rpi.edu

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