thedrifter
06-01-09, 07:57 AM
ESPRIT DE CORP.
By ANDY SOLTIS
June 1, 2009 --
Lydia Cristobal was an Army nurse, treating wounded Iraq war GIs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, when she had a dream: becoming a hospital CEO and reforming the nation's health-care system.
To help her toward her goal, she signed up with American Corporate Partners, a nonprofit group that brings together former servicemen and women with mentors from the business world.
"What I wanted is to see how the corporate world runs," said Cristobal, who came to New York from the Philippines at age 18 and just graduated from NYU. "I wanted to know how to be a leader."
This week, the year-old ACP launches its second phase with the help of 13 firms and universities, including News Corp. -- the parent company of The New York Post -- and General Electric, IBM and PepsiCo.
Sidney Goodfriend, who benefited from mentors during a career at Merrill Lynch, founded the organization to help veterans gain business skills through a one-on-one relationship with an executive.
After Cristobal, 36, was evaluated by the New York-based organization, she was matched up with Rene Madden, a vice president at Morgan Stanley. Since their first meeting last fall, Cristobal has had weekly contact with Madden, even following her around one day, "learning the nitty-gritty of managing finances," she said.
Among those in the first class was Chris Isola, 29, who served with the Marines in Baghdad in 2003 and Afghanistan in 2004.
Isola managed to get a job in finance after he left active duty and now works for UBS in Manhattan. He wanted advice on career advancement.
His mentor, Robert Allaire, a vice president in Morgan Stanley's fixed-income department, "is a great sounding board and has become a friend," Isola said. He called ACP "a phenomenal program."
andy.soltis@nypost.com
Ellie
By ANDY SOLTIS
June 1, 2009 --
Lydia Cristobal was an Army nurse, treating wounded Iraq war GIs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, when she had a dream: becoming a hospital CEO and reforming the nation's health-care system.
To help her toward her goal, she signed up with American Corporate Partners, a nonprofit group that brings together former servicemen and women with mentors from the business world.
"What I wanted is to see how the corporate world runs," said Cristobal, who came to New York from the Philippines at age 18 and just graduated from NYU. "I wanted to know how to be a leader."
This week, the year-old ACP launches its second phase with the help of 13 firms and universities, including News Corp. -- the parent company of The New York Post -- and General Electric, IBM and PepsiCo.
Sidney Goodfriend, who benefited from mentors during a career at Merrill Lynch, founded the organization to help veterans gain business skills through a one-on-one relationship with an executive.
After Cristobal, 36, was evaluated by the New York-based organization, she was matched up with Rene Madden, a vice president at Morgan Stanley. Since their first meeting last fall, Cristobal has had weekly contact with Madden, even following her around one day, "learning the nitty-gritty of managing finances," she said.
Among those in the first class was Chris Isola, 29, who served with the Marines in Baghdad in 2003 and Afghanistan in 2004.
Isola managed to get a job in finance after he left active duty and now works for UBS in Manhattan. He wanted advice on career advancement.
His mentor, Robert Allaire, a vice president in Morgan Stanley's fixed-income department, "is a great sounding board and has become a friend," Isola said. He called ACP "a phenomenal program."
andy.soltis@nypost.com
Ellie