Columbia Business School Alumni Club of London
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Gala 2017

14 November, St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel
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Outstanding Alumni Award
Francesco Vanni d'Archirafi '83
CEO, Citi Holdings

Young Alumni Award
Faty Amir Soleimani '07
CEO and co-Founder, Koodakoo.com

Alumni Awards Presented By
Massimo Tosato '80
Chief Executive, Quaestio Holdings S.A.

Outstanding Alumni Award: Francesco Vanni d'Archirafi '83

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Francesco Vanni d'Archirafi is the Chief Executive Officer of Citi Holdings, which comprises Citi's non-core assets.
 
Prior to running Citi Holdings, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Citi Transaction Services (CTS) since April 2009. Prior to being promoted to CEO of CTS, Francesco was the Global Head for Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS), a major business division of Citi Transaction Services. He joined CTS in 2003 as the Region Head for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Francesco is former Chair of Citibank Europe plc. He serves on the Boards of the Citi Foundation, Citi Financial Credit Company, Associates First Capital Corporation, PEFCO (Private Export Funding Corporation), Mapfre International and Business in the Community (BiTC), where he is the Vice Chair of BiTC's International Leadership Team. In addition, Francesco serves on the International Advisory Board of IESE and the Advisory Council for The Kogod School of Business at American University. He is the Chairman of Junior Achievement Worldwide, a member of its Board of Governors, and a Board member of Junior Achievement-Young Enterprise Europe.
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Francesco is a finance graduate of the American University in Washington, D.C., where he received the Stanley I. Posner Award as the graduating senior with the highest overall academic average. He graduated from Columbia Business School in 1983.

Young Alumni Award: Faty Amir Soleimani '07

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​Faty is the co-founder and CEO of Koodakoo.com, Iran´s premier online baby product retailer and educational platform. This young startup has quickly grown to offer thousands of the finest baby care and nursery products and has become the favorite one-stop shop for moms in Iran. Its target is to expand into furniture and fashion accessories and become the destination mall for the Iranian women consumer.
 
Prior to Koodakoo, Faty was a Mergers & Acquisitions banker in the UK for Morgan Stanley. She advised Media and telecom companies in the Middle East, created a Joint Venture across 7 countries between two international telecom operators, and managed the tender bidding for the acquisition of the 2nd mobile operator license in Iran. 
 
Faty has an engineering undergraduate degree from ESME in Paris and a Masters in Telecom Engineering from Telecom Paris (Bouygues Telecom scholarship recipient). She also holds an MBA from Columbia University (Christian Viros fellowship recipient). Aside from Iran, she has lived and worked in France, the US, Brazil, the Netherlands, the UK, and Portugal.

Alumni Awards presented by: Massimo Tosato '80

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Massimo is the Chief Executive of Quaestio Holding S.A. and CEO and Managing Director of Quaestio Capital Management. 
Prior to running Quaestio, Massimo was Chief Executive for Schroder Investment Management Limited.  His extensive career includes also the founding of Cominvest S.p.A., Tonic-Ata-Ecom and Viasat Assistance S.p.A..

Massimo was educated at the University of Rome and received an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1980, and he was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award in 2015.

Program

7pm: Champagne Reception
Ladies Smoking Room

8pm: Dinner & Awards
Hansom Hall

​10pm: After Party
Hansom Hall

​Spouses & guests welcome
​Attire: Dress to Impress
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The Venue

St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel
​Euston Road, Kings Cross, NW1 2AR
VIEW PHOTOS
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​Previous Events

Gala 2015
Gala 2014
Gala 2013
Speakers


























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The Alumni Awards are given each year to an alumnus or alumna of Columbia Business School residing or doing business in the UK, for a distinguished career in any industry, for an outstanding personal achievement, or for a notable contribution to society. The award recipients are nominated by the alumni community in London.

Previous Award Recipients & Speakers | Gala 2014 | Gala 2013

Gala Chair: Sonia Mihelic '97
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  • HOME
  • JOIN
    • Membership
    • Reciprocal Membership
  • BOARD & COMMITTEES
    • CONTACTS
    • BOARD
    • SOCIAL EVENTS & GALA
    • PRIVATE EQUITY & VENTURE CAPITAL
    • INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
    • Real Estate Investment
    • LIFESTYLE
    • RENEWABLE & ENVIRONMENTAL
    • Networking & Mentorship >
      • Mentorship Program - Program Description
    • WOMEN'S NETWORK
    • OUTREACH & DEVELOPMENT
  • Gala 2019 Photos
  • Gala 2017 Photos
  • Gala 2014 Photos
  • Gala 2019 Video
  • Annual Gala Dinner 2020
  • JOINT FEBRUARY HAPPY HOUR