Wells Fargo Unveils Mural in its SoHo store

NYC, NY, March 28, 2012 – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) –To celebrate the 160^th anniversary of its founding in Manhattan, Wells Fargo unveiled a mural today at its store on Broadway and Grand depicting its historical ties to the SoHo neighborhood.

According to Joe Kirk, Wells Fargo’s regional president for New York and Connecticut, “we selected this store because it is closest to the Astor House hotel where Henry Wells and William G. Fargo signed the papers to form Wells Fargo on March 18, 1852.”

Kirk continued, “As we converted from Wachovia to Wells Fargo last year, we created and installed murals in many of our retail stores to reinforce our ties to the local community.  We thought it would be especially appropriate to create one for our SoHo store as part of the celebration of our 160^th anniversary because it all started right here.”

Wells Fargo partnered with local historical societies, museums and libraries to research and design the mural, including the Museum of Chinese in America, the Italian-American Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, New York Public Library, New York City Fire Museum, Lord & Taylor and Otis Elevator, and representatives from most of those organizations participated in the unveiling.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets.  Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com) and other distribution channels across North America and internationally.  With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America.  Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortune’s 2011 rankings of America’s largest corporations.  Wells Fargo vision is to satisfy all of our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. 

(from L to R) Laura Bucko, VP Manhattan Chamber of Commerce; June Jee, Museum of Chinese in America Trustee; Eleanor Willets, Wells Fargo Senior VP; Matthew Stewart, Wells Fargo Mural Designer; Beth Currie, Wells Fargo Store Formats & Design Manager; Joseph Kirk, Wells Fargo Executive VP; Mark Morgan, Wells Fargo Archivist & Researcher

Soho Mural (front view)

Soho Mural (back view)

Joseph Kirk, Wells Fargo Executive VP in front of Soho Mural

Wells Fargo Team at Soho Mural Unveiling

All photos taken by Nan Melville.

NYC Lemonade Day on June 3rd: Teach Kids Entrepreneurship!

This article was supplied by MCC member: Claudia Fox, City Manager, NYC Lemonade Day

For the first time, New York City, will participate in Lemonade Day, a free, community-wide program dedicated to teaching children how to start, own and operate their own business through the simple and time-honored act of building and running a lemonade stand. Lemonade Day takes place every year around the country and this year, it will take place in New York City on June 3rd, 2012. The goal is to have new entrepreneurs set up their lemonade stands strategic locations throughout the city to learn a valuable lesson for business success in their youth: don’t wait to find a job, create one! Locations to be announced.

Lemonade Day provides youth with many life lessons, including saving for the future, and this year the lead supporters will help teach these lessons across New York City.

Through the program, New York City youth learn real life skills that teach them experiential learning by owning and operating their own business. They also gain the opportunity to “spend a little, save a little and share a little,” by donating a portion of their profits to a local charity of their choice. After covering expenses and paying back their investors, the children are encouraged to open a youth savings account.

Lemonade Day is a part of Prepared 4 Life, a non-profit that provides fun, proactive and experiential programs infused with life skills, character education and entrepreneurship. Lemonade Day was born in Houston in 2007, and was inspired by the lessons local entrepreneur and philanthropist, Michael Holthouse, taught his young daughter and her friend when they set-up their own lemonade stand. Since then it has grown to a nationwide program, and this year Lemonade Day will expand to over 41 cities.

If you know of a school, organization or an individual child that you think would benefit from this program, please register on the website: http://www.nyc.lemonadeday.org/ or call Claudia Fox, City Manager at 914 210 0729.

MCC Sponsorship Opportunity: Transportation Transformation Global Summit, April 26, 2012

As you know, MCC’s Transportation Transformation Global Summit is coming up on April 26, 2012. The event will be held at New York Institute of Technology. We want to update you on this very special event. Please see our current list of speakers and companies involved. Please let me know if you are interested in sponsoring this event and taking part in this dynamic discussion of emerging technologies and the future of transportation! Sponsorship levels and benefits are attached. Please pass on to any clients/associates who may be interested.

EXPERT PANELS

The Future of Cities

-          Hon. David Miller, former mayor of Toronto and former head of the C40.

-          *Tom Glendening, E3Think

Smart Transport, Smart Cities

-          Ulrich Quay, BMW I-Ventures

-          Kelly Schwager, Chief Marketing Officer, Streetline (smart parking)

-          Peter Torrellas, Chief Scientific Advisor, Siemens

EVs – Where are You, Joe Schumpeter?

-          Rich Steinberg, BMW

-          Rebecca Hough, COO and co-founder of Plugless Power (leading wireless EV charging company, pilot with Google)

-          Dr Hikyu Lee, Chairman, OlevTechnology, Dynamic Induction Charging (pilot in McAllen TX)

-          Alex Mashinsky, CEO Governing Dynamics (smart transit systems)

Trucks, Taxis and Rickshaws, Fleets.

-          Ethan Garber, CEO IdleAir (fleet servicing)

-          Gregg Zuman, CEO Revolution Rickshaws (innovative transport fleet)

-          Rob Bergamini, CEO Action Carting (fleet)

-          Kevin Brooks, CEO Think Green (investment banking)

-          *Willem Houck, CEO ParkPod (Corded EV Charging)

If not Autos, Bikes?

-          Caroline Samporano, Director of Bicycle Advocacy, Transportation Alternatives

-          *Rob Weitzner, Partner, TransTrans

The Blue Network

-          Maria Aiolova, Partner Terreform One (on planet green, green channel)

SPECIAL SPEAKERS

Charlie Komanoff, Komanoff Energy Associates (congestion pricing)

Philip Kiracofe, MTB Ayati (bikes as economic engines in Haiti)

SPECIAL COMPETITION

In keeping with our effort to promote transportation innovation, and based on similar efforts in previous TransTrans events, we are holding a micro-presentation competition.  Past participants include some of the best in NYC including http://www.roadify.com/, http://www.weeels.com/, http://www.cabcorner.com/, http://www.atlanticcup.org/, http://www.ezeebike.us/ and http://www.sobi.com/.

Event description:

Over the past year, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, E3Think and ConEdison have hosted the highly successful Transportation Transformation series.  The first event was at Tesla Motors, the second, third and fourth at ConEdison.  All four sold out.  The fifth (and finale for the MCC) will be a Global Summit on cities and transportation innovation and due to popularity will be at a larger venue at NYIT. 

TransTrans participants have included Siemens, Tesla Motors, Plugless Power (in a pilot with Google), Bcycle/Trek, and Alta (winner of NYC’s bikeshare program), and many more.  TransTrans success is partly due to the fact that cities which are growing at break neck speed need transportation solutions.  The current global population of 7 billion people is expected to grow to over 9 billion by 2050, with 75% of all people living in cities.

The market numbers are stunning.  In 2011 nearly $1.5 trillion autos and light trucks were sold worldwide.  Add the growth of bikes as well as wealth of smart transportation systems and the transportation is even larger.  Most interesting is the fact that Cisco, IBM, Qualcomm and other hitherto non-transportation companies have entered the transportation space. 

The Global Summit will feature a keynote from a prominent transportation specialist, panel discussions addressing fleets, waterways, mass transit, bikes, electric vehicles, smart systems and cities as well as remarks from local politicians. Sponsor tables will be open throughout the day and during the evening cocktail reception. In addition to a capacity of 250 people, the event will be webcast to China and other key markets. Over 15,000 people will receive information on the summit. 

Take advantage of this high profile event.  Sponsors will be able to showcase their leadership in the transportation space and innovative technologies. Sponsors will also have the potential to be included as panelists in the event.

Please let me know if you’d like to participate in this special event!

MCC Marketing & Advertising Opportunities

Become a Partner of MCC: Join MCC at the Partnership rate and work with MCC staff to develop a comprehensive plan for your company.

Sponsor an MCC event: Sponsor an MCC event and receive visibility for your company. MCC holds many events throughout the year ranging from 50-200 attendees. MCC Event Sponsors receive a table at the event, ability for signage and distribution of material and exposure in pre-event promotion and post-event coverage.

Market Your Event with MCC: Post your event for free as part of your membership. For an additional fee, MCC will consider co-sponsoring (based on our criteria) your event and promote it with a highlighted listing on the events calendar and inclusion in MCC weekly Events e-mails.  

Website Banner Ads: Purchase a banner ad on MCC’s homepage and receive exposure locally, nationally and globally. Your ad will be seen throughout the website and will rotate with other ads. Banner ads are also available for MCC’s Green, LGBT or Young Professionals sub-sites.

Sponsor MCC E-Mails: Be a sponsor for the weekly President’s Business Matters e-mail to all members and associates which is emailed to members every Friday and your logo will accompany the newsletter with a link to your site (sent to 2,000 businesses). You may also sponsor the weekly MCC Events e-mail (sent to approx. 10,000 contacts).

Sponsor MCC Social Media: Sponsor an MCC Social Media page and connect with MCC members and NYC business people in the social media space. Opportunities are available on MCC’s blog and Meetup Group.

  

www.manhattancc.tv: Take ads on MCC’s video website which features video clips from MCC events.

MCC Blog Radio: Be a sponsor for the weekly The Voice of Manhattan Business (more information coming soon).

Online Classifieds: Purchase an online classified on the MCC website and advertise your product, service, employment or other opportunities.

MCC Print Advertising: Purchase an ad in MCC’s Annual Year in Review printed every spring. 2,500 copies are given out at MCC Chairman’s Breakfasts, high level events and distributed throughout the year.

Press Opportunities: Talk to reporters and receive free exposure for your business. Reporters from around the city contact MCC to talk with business owners and executives for their stories. MCC’s President sends out emails alerting members to the reporters’ needs and member businesses are often featured in the stories. Free publicity for MCC members.

MCC 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue Community Benefit Festivals: Take a booth in two of the oldest street fairs in NYC an MCC street fair and promote your business to the 1 million attendees who frequent these fairs. Held every June and September respectively on 3^rd Avenue from 66^th-86^th Sts. (one mile long!).

ARPA-E Issues Open Call for Transformational Energy Technologies

The following is a press release issued by the Department of Energy today on a $150 million funding opportunity open to all transformational energy technologies. For questions regarding this announcement, please contact the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) at ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov.

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Office of Public Affairs For Immediate Release: March 2, 2012

ARPA-E Issues Open Call for Transformational Energy Technologies

Releases $150 Million Funding Opportunity Announcement

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) issued a $150 million funding opportunity open to all transformational energy technologies to support the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above approach to solving our nation’s most pressing energy challenges. This Open Funding Opportunity Announcement is a call to our country’s brightest scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to propose early-stage research projects that would not otherwise be able to attract private investment, but could lead to breakthrough energy technologies. This is the second open funding opportunity released under ARPA-E.  The first was in 2009.

“Today we are calling on our nation’s best and brightest to catalyze energy breakthroughs in all areas imaginable through this Open Funding Opportunity Announcement, which illustrates the true purpose of ARPA-E,” said Director Majumdar.  “Innovation is our nation’s sweet spot, and it is critically important that we look at every possible energy solution in order to ensure America’s future prosperity and security.”

This Open Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) joins ARPA-E’s other recently issued FOA – Methane Opportunities for Vehicular Energy (MOVE) – which will make $30 million available to find ways to harness our abundant supplies of domestic natural gas for vehicles and was announced by President Obama last week at the University of Miami.

More details on all of ARPA-E’s Funding Opportunities and Requests For Information are available HERE. Individual awards under the Open FOA will range between $250,000 and $10 million.

President Obama launched the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) in 2009 to seek out transformational, breakthrough technologies that are too risky for private sector investment but have the potential to translate science into quantum leaps in energy technology, form the foundation for entirely new industries, and in the future have large commercial impact.

Including its most recent round of selections, ARPA-E has funded a total of more than 180 projects, for $521.7 million in awards across 12 program areas. Demonstrating the success ARPA-E has already seen, the Agency announced last year that eleven of its projects that received $40 million from ARPA-E for innovative research, were able to use this funding to demonstrate results, which allowed these teams to secure more than $200 million in outside private capital investment.

ARPA-E’s third annual Energy Innovation Summit featured 107 speakers, including: President Bill Clinton; Microsoft Founder and Chairman, Bill Gates; Xerox CEO, Ursula Burns; FedEx CEO, Fred Smith; BDT Capital Chairman, Lee Scott; Deputy Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter; MIT President, Susan Hockfield; U.S. Energy Secretary, Steven Chu; and ARPA-E Director, Arun Majumdar.  The Summit attracted 2,440 attendees from 49 states and 26 countries and featured a Technology Showcase displaying over 240 breakthrough energy developments from ARPA-E’s awardees, finalists and other teams.

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For questions regarding this announcement, please contact ARPA-E at ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov

Hedgeweek Names Anchin Best North American Accounting Firm

MCC congratulates MCC Bronze Partner Anchin, Block & Anchin!

LONDON – Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP has been named the Best North American Accounting Firm for the second year in a row in the annual Hedgeweek Awards announced this week.

Winners were selected based upon votes by Hedgeweek’s nearly 41,000 subscribers, who include individual and institutional investors as well as managers and other industry professionals. Awards were presented at a March 2 event in London; Anchin is one of only three honorees to have been recognized for two consecutive years.

“Anchin is certainly pleased to be recognized by the readers of Hedgeweek as the Best Accounting Firm in North America,” said Jeffrey I. Rosenthal, CPA, Partner-in-Charge of the Firm’s Financial Services practice. “This recognition is a testament to the outstanding personal service we deliver to our clients combined with the highest levels of technical expertise. The value added service that we provide motivated the financial services industry to select us for this award. We appreciate their vote of confidence.”

With more than 35 years of experience supporting the Financial Services community, Anchin’s Financial Services practice currently serves investment partnerships, hedge funds, funds-of-funds, family offices, private equity funds, off-shore funds, master-feeder structures, broker/dealers, mutual funds, investment advisers, commodity advisers, securities specialists, and traders. Anchin has also established an affiliate in the Cayman Islands, Anchin, Block & Anchin (Cayman) Ltd., to provide audit services to funds registered in the Cayman Islands.

This honor from Hedgeweek mirrors numerous other honors Anchin has recently received, including being named a Best Place to Work in New York City and New York State as well as a Best Accounting Firm to Work For in the United States.

The full-service firm, with a staff of 350, serves primarily investment companies, privately-held businesses and high net worth individuals with a wide range of traditional and non-traditional advisory services, including financial statement preparation; tax planning and compliance services; economic development and tax incentives; management and succession advisory services; litigation support, forensic accounting and valuation services; merger and acquisition services; and wealth management. Additional information is available at http://echo4.bluehornet.com/ct/15060645:18039992991:m:1:1999449486:F025DB535798FB844A3D120CDFAD5F64:r.