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Check out the 2021 ROMBA agenda below! The 2022 ROMBA agenda will be posted in May.

ROMBA 2021 Agenda (The 2022 Agenda will be posted in May)

3:30 pm Duration 60 min

Breakout Sessions

Let's Connect At ROMBA

Make the most out of ROMBA! Past attendees share how they landed an internship, a job, and made valuable connections. Get pro tips on growing your professional network, refining job targets, and maximizing your interactions with recruiters.

Road to Consulting: An Essential Guide to Recruiting for Consulting through ROMBA

A must-attend for those recruiting for consulting! This session will provide a roadmap to early recruiting that will serve you well during the conference and beyond. Consultants explain what management consulting really is, the types of work they do, and an overview of the recruiting process including case interview prep and networking. You’ll leave with a foundational understanding of the recruiting process, tips & tricks to using ROMBA to your advantage, as well as resources for on-campus and independent recruiting efforts.

Presented by:bcg

Get to Know Breakthru Beverage Group: Curators of the Beverage Alcohol Industry

Breakthru Beverage Group is one of the beverage industry’s top-performing distributors by market, and suppliers’ and customers’ choice for best-in-class partnerships.
Join us to learn how we apply analytics, engaging digital marketing campaigns, and a culture of inclusivity to navigate the dynamic and highly regulated alcohol distribution space.
Presented by:

Working in male-dominated industries

What happens when you are the only woman, trans, or nonbinary working on the team? Hear about the experiences and challenges of a diverse group of professionals working in occupations and industries where they are in the minority.

Presented by:Wells Fargo
4:45 pm Duration 60 min

Breakout Sessions

Reimagining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Many organizations are seizing this moment to fundamentally rewrite the rules of the workplace and transform company culture, A step change in diversity, equity, and inclusion requires looking beyond broad categories of race, gender, and sexual orientation to discover what truly shapes employees’ experiences at work. Learn more about our survey of 20,000 global employees and how to unlock next-gen diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Presented by:bcg

Advice for Career Switchers

How do you apply your previous work experience and transferable skills toward a new career path? Hear from those who’ve navigated successfully from finance to consulting, from marketing to tech – and how you can do the same!

Presented by:

Fine-tuning your Technical skills: Investment Banking

If you’re pursuing a career in investment banking, there’s one component of the interview process that you’re dreading the most – the TECHNICAL interview. Fine-tune your technical interviewing skills by learning how to apply the competencies you’ve acquired in class to clearly and succinctly answer the most common first-round technical interview questions in a manner that is satisfactory to experienced investment bankers.

A New Era for Retail: Online, In Store…Anywhere

Hear from Walmart leadership across e-commerce, merchandising, and our customer organization about how Walmart is changing the retail game, forever. With a focus on technology, product assortment, and the ever-important customer, get first-hand insight into the innovative technologies and omnichannel strategy driving change at the Fortune 1.

Presented by:
4:45 pm Duration 90 min

Ace the Case Workshop

Are you interested in becoming a consultant? The case interview is an integral portion of the interview process for both the internship and full-time position. In one of our most popular sessions, experts leading the Ace the Case workshop provide frameworks and best practices to help you get a leg up and ask any and all questions so you leave prepared for your upcoming interviews.

Presented by:
7:00 pm Duration 75 min

Welcome Plenary – Get ready to ROMBA!

At this year’s Welcome Plenary, Susie Scher, Chair of Global Financing Group at Goldman Sachs, and ROMBA Board Member Joaquín Aviñó will discuss lifting up the next generation of LGBT+ business leaders followed by a live Q&A. In the session closing, Susie and Joaquin will join Queer Eye’s food maestro, Antoni Porowski, for a cooking demonstration from his latest cookbook!

Presented by:discover
11:00 am Duration 60 min

Breakout Sessions

Day in the Life: Consulting

You’ll have the chance to break into small groups with current consultants to ask questions and hear about the ins and outs of a day on the job – and how that has changed in 2021!

Presented by:

Beyond the Binary

How can you support those who live outside of the gender binary? What is the difference between gender expression and gender identity? How do you refer to someone who uses two or more pronouns? Gender-neutral language, clothing, and everything in between will be discussed in this session that will shed light on how one can navigate the fluidity of identifying as neither male or female.

Renewable Energy and Corporate Environmentalism

Renewable Energy is a growing industry alongside Corporate Social Responsibility. Clean energy demand continues to accelerate with government incentives and new startups in the field. This session will focus on trends in the renewable energy industry, how companies are including environmentalism into their CSR goals, and the government’s role in scaling up the industry.

12:30 pm Duration 75 min

Friday Lunch Plenary, presented by McKinsey & Co.

We know representation matters, but how do we move beyond the public announcements and commitments to ensure leaders are building thriving and inclusive teams? Join Robert Perkins, Chief Global Diversity Officer at Mondelēz, and Monne Williams, Partner at McKinsey & Company for an intimate conversation on the importance of advancing a diverse and inclusive workforce around the world. Participants are encouraged to join the discussion by asking questions and sharing their experiences.

Presented by:McKinsey & Co.
2:00 pm Duration 60 min

Breakout Sessions

Day in the Life: Finance

Learn about the variety of finance careers available to meeting with professionals that span the industry including investment banking, corporate finance, and risk management.

Data in Marketing

Marketers are under increasing pressure to make data-driven decisions that shape consumer behavior and drive results with a finite amount of resources. Join our marketing experts as they share best practices for gathering data, conducting marketing experiments, and creating data visualizations to make the right decisions.

Telehealth, AI, and Automatization in Healthcare

This session confronts the future of the healthcare system with the introduction of new technologies powered by AI. Telehealth, Mobile Health, and Digital Health strategies take the stage in this session that will allow you to explore how the healthcare industry is being revolutionized inside-out.

Trans* Issues in the Business Community

Despite incredible progress in the adoption of workplace policies and benefits, transgender and nonbinary people face barriers to full inclusion at work as well as society at large. A sharp increase in anti-transgender legislation in the U.S. is reflective of the bias and discrimination this community continues to face. This session will explore challenges faced by the transgender and nonbinary communities at work and provide tools to better support and advocate for trans* and gender-diverse people. From team cohesion to ensuring an inclusive work environment, learn how to leverage your MBA skills to support these communities.

Start Your Start-Up

Transforming an idea into a viable company requires dedication and grit. Gain insight on essential startup topics from our brilliant panel of entrepreneurs, angel investors, and venture capitalists. Topics include: What investors really want to see in pitch decks and team dynamics; A tactical view of funding your startup from bootstrapping through venture capital; The resources you can leverage along your journey; and first-hand war stories from those who have already walked the path.

Presented by:start out
3:30 pm Duration 60 min

Breakout Sessions

Day in the Life: Tech

This session explores the wide range of career opportunities in technology, based on the insights and experience of professionals across the industry. Join us for an overview of roles, companies, and resources available to those exploring careers in technology and see what an average day in the life could look like!

Non-Traditional Paths for MBAs

Hear from professionals who took the road less traveled in achieving their MBA, and those who have applied their degree to less traditional career paths.

Day in the Life of a Product Marketing Manager

Find out what it means to be a Product Marketing Manager (PMM). In this session, you’ll hear from PMMs across industries and organizations and learn what cores skills drive success in these roles.

Environmental Sustainability in Supply Chains

Global supply chains have been devastated by COVID-19 and worldwide economic shutdowns. This session looks at what roles should the Operations function and social impact organizations play in rebuilding and strengthening supply chains in environmentally sustainable and resilient ways.

McKinsey Presented Workshop: Meaning in the Workplace

McKinsey believes employees perform at their best when their passion and skills are aligned. In other words, meaningful work motivates and inspires us. But finding that meaning can be difficult. We will lead and facilitate attendees to: 1)Identify personal definitions of “meaning”; 2)Share where they’ve found meaning in work, and 3)Brainstorm ideas for expanding opportunities to find meaning in work. This will be an interactive session, combining small group discussions led by McKinsey consultants with plenary components led by some of our senior leaders.

Presented by:McKinsey & Co.
5:30 pm Duration 60 min

Veterans Reception

The Veterans Reception brings together all who’ve served their country in the military to celebrate their commitment and other Veterans.

Presented by:
7:00 pm Duration 60 min

Women's Reception

For anyone who identifies as a woman, we invite you to join the Women’s Reception and meet folks from across the globe! Whether you’re talking about careers, special interests, or pop culture, this is a great time to connect with others IRL and start conversations that can be continued once the conference is over.

Presented by:Deloitte
11:00 am Duration 60 min

Breakout Sessions

So you want to start an ERG...

Employee Resource Groups are becoming a mainstay in large organizations to provide employees with identify affirmation, resources, space, and support towards a goal. This session will provide tools and strategies to create successful ERGs at any organization, regardless of size or industry, and to then scale up to become transformational through intersectional activities and advocacy.

Design Thinking and Iterative Product Development

Learn what awaits you in a career at the nexus of design thinking and product development. For well over a decade, design thinking has been an essential practice within startups to achieve superior product-market fit — and in light of that success, mainstream companies increasingly adopt the same strategies by hiring that expertise in-house and via design consulting firms to gain the same competitive advantage.
Our panel of serial entrepreneurs, product designers, and design consultants share their real experiences in the world of design thinking and iterative product development.
Presented by:start out
12:30 pm Duration 60 min

Breakout Sessions

AI and the Future of Work: Where do we stand?

Recent advancements in AI have revolutionized the working world. Coupled with the need to innovate the workplace in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of work is quickly changing. How are companies integrating AI into their everyday operations and where do humans stand? How is AI shaping the future of work? What is on the horizon for human innovation? This session will answer many of these key questions as we explore AI’s impact on the workplace of the future.

Taking the Leap from 9-to-5 to Startup

Considering a change from corporate life to a start-up, or the other way around? Is the grass greener on the other side? Join our panelists, who’ve been on both sides, to learn about the key differences between startup and corporate life.

The Q&A format strives to expose insights on the following topics: How to judge the quality of startup employment offers; Achieving and maintaining work-life balance in either role; Contrasting startup roles against those at established firms; Addressing the clichés of both work environments; and what it takes to be successful in a startup environment.

Presented by:start out

A Day in the life: Healthcare

The healthcare industry is increasingly diverse, offering a range of opportunities for MBAs from pharmaceuticals to providers. Join our roundtable to meet people working across the industry and learn where you might find your fit!

2:00 pm Duration 60 min

Drop-In Networking

Trans* and Nonbinary Affinity Group

Join this session to meet other trans* and nonbinary students and alumni. Casual conversations will be facilitated by a leader, and you can also break off into smaller groups or 1-on-1 conversations.

Bisexual Affinity Group

Join this session to meet other bisexual students and alumni. Casual conversations will be facilitated by a leader, and you can also break off into smaller groups or 1-on-1 conversations.

MBAs in Media & Entertainment

Join this session to meet others pursuing and interested in pursuing careers in Media, Entertainment, & Communications. Casual conversations will be facilitated by a leader, and you can also break off into smaller groups or 1-on-1 conversations.

3:30 pm Duration 60 min

Breakout Sessions

Using Your MBA toward Social Impact

How can you, as an MBA, utilize your education and experience to increase your impact on causes you care about? This panel will highlight various ways that MBAs leading in social impact and how their MBAs help make them valuable, impactful members of their organizations.

Globetrotters, Inc.

Does working in a foreign country for a global company sound intriguing? What types of experiences can help facilitate this path? Hear first-hand stories from professionals who have successfully navigated the world of international business and built global careers. Topics such as cultural differences, language proficiencies, international laws, and other global business challenges will be covered.

4:30 pm Duration 60 min

Prospective Student Organizer Meeting

Much of Reaching Out’s content, including the ROMBA Conference, is developed by LGBT+ MBA students and alumni in our community just like you! If you are interested in being on the steering committees for the 2022 ROMBA Conference, Out Women in Business Conference (students & alumni), or the Student Leadership Summit (students only), come to this session to hear from this year’s leadership team.

Being a student organizer is a unique opportunity to build your professional network, gain valuable experience, and give back to the next generation of LGBT+ business leaders!

Presented by:
5:30 pm Duration 60 min

MBAs of Color Reception

Did you know that more than half of ROMBA student attendees identify as persons of color? This reception celebrates the growing diversity of our conference and welcomes those of diverse backgrounds and anyone committed to increasing diversity in the LGBT+ and business communities.

Presented by:Deloitte
7:00 pm Duration 90 min

Finale Plenary

The Grand Finale! Join us for a conference wrap-up and personal chat and audience Q&A with none other than Grammy and Emmy nominated comedian, writer, and podcaster, Tig Notaro! Tig has a hilarious weekly advice podcast called, “Don’t Ask Tig!”

If you have a question for Tig, email it to info@reachingoutmba.org with LET’S ASK TIG in the title.

Presented by:bcg