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Contact: David Stawasz, Beth Barszcz or Barbara Moffat (formerly Campanella)
Venture Capitalist to Discuss Global Entrepreneurship and the Credit Crunch at International Business Breakfast February 18
Posted January 5, 2009
The College will host an International Business Breakfast Series event on Wednesday, February 18 at 7:30 a.m. in Rivers Memorial Hall. Matt Harris, cofounder and managing general partner of Village Ventures, will discuss “Supporting Global Entrepreneurship in Trying Times: Venture Capital and the Credit Crunch.”
Harris is the cofounder and managing general partner of Village Ventures, an early stage capital firm with $150 million under management. Village Ventures partners with up-and-coming entrepreneurs to create innovative products and solve complicated problems in the fields of consumer media and retail, healthcare, and financial services. The breakfast is open to the public, with tickets available for $15 each (no charge for Western New England College students). To reserve a seat, call 413-782-1231 or email ibbseries@wne.edu.
After beginning his career as a consultant with Bain & Company in Boston, Harris quickly moved to Bain Capital in 1995, where he secured the $1.1 billion acquisition and subsequent sale of a credit-reporting agency and a $90 million purchase of a medical products distributor. In 1997, he became the founding managing director of The Berkshires Capital Investors (BCI), a venture capital fund associated with Williams College. Under Harris' direction, BCI, now a Village Ventures affiliate, has raised more than $60 million since joining the Village Ventures network.
The International Business Breakfast Series is designed to educate the College’s student population and members of the local business community about a range of international issues. Each session features one or more successful business leaders offering insight into the challenges and opportunities of global business. The series is sponsored by the Western New England College School of Business International Programs Committee.
Breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. The speaker’s presentation will be delivered from 8:00 a.m. to 8:50 a.m.
Western New England University is a private, independent, coeducational institution founded in 1919. Located on an attractive 215-acre suburban campus in Springfield, Massachusetts, Western New England University serves 3,700 students, including 2,550 full-time undergraduate students. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs are offered through Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Pharmacy, and School of Law.
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