SAVE THE DATE - Brandeis International Business School Sixth Annual New Year's Celebration in NYC! 

A conversation with

Bernard Schwartz, industrialist, philanthropist and progressive public policy advocate.

Moderated by Louis Perlmutter '56, Senior Partner, Lazard (retired); Senior Advisor, Corporate Partners

With introductory remarks by our new Brandeis President Frederick M. Lawrence. 

The event will also take place at a new location:

The Michelangelo Hotel

152 West 51st Street

RSVP to Karen Bergstresser or call 781.736.8634 by Jan 5.

We look forward to seeing you in New York in early January 2011!

Bernard L. Schwartz is chairman and CEO of BLS Investments, LLC, a private investment firm. He also manages the investments of the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation, which mainly supports higher education, medical research and New York City-based cultural organizations. He promotes the development of U.S. economic policy initiatives through investment in think tanks, universities and advocacy organizations. Mr. Schwartz is also an active supporter of the Democratic Party.

Prior to establishing BLS Investments in March 2006, Mr. Schwartz served for 34 years as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Loral Space & Communications and its predecessor company, Loral Corporation. In 1972, Mr. Schwartz took the helm at Loral, which became, under his leadership, a Fortune 200 designer and manufacturer of advanced, state-of-the-art systems and hardware and a systems integrator for the defense and aerospace industries. Through its successful strategy of acquisition and internal development, Loral achieved extraordinary growth, posting 96 consecutive quarters of increased earnings from 1972 to 1996. Over that period, Loral made more than 40 acquisitions and its market value rose from $7.5 million to $15 billion. At its height, the company employed nearly 40,000 employees around the world. In 1996, Mr. Schwartz directed the divestment of Loral's defense businesses and formed Loral Space & Communications, one of the world's largest satellite manufacturing and satellite services companies. In connection with this transaction, Loral collectively paid a dividend to its shareholders of more than $9 billion, primarily in cash and the balance in stock of the new Loral Space & Communications. At the close of the transaction, Mr. Schwartz personally established a fund of more than $18 million for distribution to Loral employees to mitigate any negative effects on those employees from the sale of Loral's defense businesses.

In recognition of his achievements and extensive experience in industry and global finance, Mr. Schwartz is often called upon to express his views or provide counsel on matters ranging from U.S. economic growth and competitiveness to technology and infrastructure investment. At a number of institutions, he has initiated programs that rigorously examine current U.S. economic performance, and challenge current orthodoxy to arrive at innovative policy proposals that will further U.S. economic and technological preeminence. The programs employ lectures, position papers, conferences and debates, and tap the expertise of leading economists, business people and policy makers. The policy proposals that emerge from these programs are broadly distributed to government officials, members of Congress, educators, researchers, the media and the general public.