March 21 2009
Alpern Award Winner
Braunstein '83 recognized for service and achievement
Doug Braunstein '83 will receive ILR's Alpern Award at the Groat & Alpern Award Celebration on March 26 in New York City.
The Jerome Alpern Award was established in 1997 in honor of Jerome Alpern '49. It honors individuals whose contributions of service and support to ILR are reflective of Alpern’s commitment.
The award also recognizes professional accomplishment outside the field of industrial and labor relations. More information about the March 26 event at which Braunstein will receive the Alpern Award is available at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/alumni/events/Groat_Alpern_111708.html.
Braunstein, whose career has focused on merger and acquisitions, is head of J.P. Morgan's Investment Banking business. He oversees the work of thousands of employees.
He is a member of J.P. Morgan's Executive Committee and the firm's Investment Bank Management Committee.
As a strategic adviser, Braunstein has worked on transactions totaling more than $850 billion.
In addition to advisory work for clients of the firm, he also led the advisory team for JPMorgan Chase's merger with Bank One and the recent acquisitions of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.
Braunstein, who won the Ives Award when he was a senior at ILR, received his bachelor's degree from ILR in 1983 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1986.
A member of the ILR Dean's Advisory Council since 2003, Braunstein completed a four-year term on Cornell's Advisory Council in 2008.
He is a member of the Major Gifts Committee of "Far Above...The Campaign for Cornell" and has been a Workplace Colloquium Series speaker.
Braunstein is a board member of the YMCA of Greater New York, the Dalton School and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
In a question-and-answer session, he talked about his ILR experiences.
What motivated you to apply to the ILR School?
One of my close friends attended Cornell the year before I graduated from high school. He loved the school. I visited him and also fell in love with Cornell and was excited about a social sciences program. I especially liked ILR’s coursework in economics and statistics -- which were the subjects I ended up focused on. In fact, I ended up being a teaching assistant for stats.
What was particularly important for me at ILR was having all the benefits of a big university with a small, close-knit college. You got to know all of your classmates very well
What memories of your time at ILR stand out today?
Sam Bacharach -- he was a true mentor for me. He stands out as one of those professors who was influential in my life in terms of critical thought, hard work and intellectual curiosity.
He took a real interest in me and did a wonderful job of, quite frankly, getting the best out of me as a student and generating a critical approach to thinking. I really did have a special relationship with him as a student.
Statistics was probably my favorite class. What made it more fun at ILR was that it was generally a class people didn’t do well in—so it made me a very popular student. I actually considered becoming a professor, partly because of Sam and partly because of my experience as a statistics teaching assistant.
At ILR, what were the most important things you learned?
ILR was very intriguing academically. I learned how to approach and work through and solve a problem in a focused and disciplined way. I have used those skills throughout my professional career.
What you do professionally – can you describe it?
I run J.P. Morgan's investment banking business. Investment banking helps companies in three main areas: strategic advice, commonly referred to mergers and acquisitions, raising capital and managing risk. I have responsibility for managing the organization that helps facilitate this for our clients and for J.P. Morgan.
What are the principles that have guided your career?
First and foremost, you always ask yourself 'what's in the best interest of your client.' That’s sort of a guiding post. Second, banking is a business that is built on trust and reputation. You can never go wrong giving direct and honest advice. Finally, remain calm and thoughtful, regardless of the turbulence in the market.
What advice would you have for today's ILR students?
My advice would be to enjoy the experience. What you take away from Cornell and from ILR will stay with you forever. I am certainly an example of taking the skills I learned in college and applying them broadly. Students should not limit the opportunities opened by the education ILR provides.
Much of what I took away from ILR and Cornell has served me well over a long career in difficult cycles and in strong environments. Enjoy the privilege of being in a place like ILR and Cornell.
The Alpern Award recognizes not only professional success, but
contributions to ILR and Cornell. Why did you choose to give back to the school and the university?
It was a privilege to be at ILR and at Cornell. The school helped me become successful and I think it's a responsibility to give back to those organizations that have been instrumental in your life.
I also view it as just a wonderful thing to stay connected to a place you felt so strongly about. I love being around the university, that's really exciting to me.
I've had the privilege of developing a wonderful relationship with Dean Katz. I have an enormous amount of confidence in the leadership he has provided to the school and in the direction that school is taking. It remains a pre-eminent institution in the world.
I feel great about the school and it is an honor to have been selected for the Alpern Award. It is exciting for both me and for my children.