Business and Entrepreneurship Re-Launches American Marketing Association Chapter

Students gather to participate in a discussion with AMA CEO Bennie Johnson, Board Chair of AMA and Columbia alumna Lisa Bowman, and Vanessa Torres, Columbia alumna and member of the AMA Professional Chapters Council. Students gather to participate in a discussion with AMA CEO Bennie Johnson, Board Chair of AMA and Lisa Bowman '90, and Vanessa Torres '06, Columbia alumnae and member of the AMA Professional Chapters Council.
On October 9, the Business and Entrepreneurship department at Columbia College Chicago hosted the Marketing Mix(er), a panel discussion and networking event in collaboration with the American Marketing Association (AMA). AMA CEO Bennie Johnson, AMA Board Chair Lisa Bowman '90, and Vanessa Torres '06 led the discussion.

On Monday, October 9, Business and Entrepreneurship hosted the Marketing Mix(er), a panel discussion and networking event developed in collaboration with the American Marketing Association (AMA). The panel included AMA CEO Bennie Johnson, Board Chair of AMA, Lisa Bowman '90, and Vanessa Torres '06, Columbia alumnae and members of the AMA Professional Chapters Council.

Associate Professor of Instruction Clayton Smith was instrumental in organizing this partnership. According to Smith, the objective of the Marketing Mix(er) was to celebrate the upcoming relaunch of the Columbia College Chicago chapter of the AMA, an initiative that will benefit Columbia’s Marketing students in a number of ways.

It was also a meaningful opportunity to welcome back several alumni to the college, including the two alumnae on the panel and Elise Melendez '17, an alumna of the Master of Arts Management program, who helped organize the event from the AMA side.

Topics discussed included the future of marketing, panelists’ experiences in the industry, and the benefits of connecting with the AMA. “The students who attended the event walked away with actionable tactics that will help them stand out in job interviews, and they also left with a sense of optimism about their professional futures,” says Smith. As noted on a LinkedIn post by attendee and Marketing major Angela Valladares, “If there's one thing that I solidly remember from this panel discussion, that is, "It's the best time to be a marketer!"

Smith added that it was also great to hear how much the two alumnae truly loved their Columbia experience, and how well it prepared them for leadership positions in marketing.

Johnson plans to visit Columbia on future trips to Chicago, and the department will be planning programming around those visits. “The AMA chapter will give Columbia students unparalleled access to the most well-connected professionals in the marketing industry and allow them to network with marketing students across the country,” says Smith. “The chapter also opens the door to AMA’s annual International Collegiate Conference (April 11-13, 2024) in New Orleans, a marketing conference designed specifically to help equip students to find marketing jobs in the current professional environment.”

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Michelle Aiello
Communications Manager, School of Fine and Performing Arts
maiello@colum.edu

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