Summer 2021 Newsletter

Please join us in congratulating our sixth cohort of IFC–Milken Institute Capital Market Scholars, who completed their academic certificates at The George Washington University (GW) at the end of last month. This has been an intensive and rigorous semester for everyone. To celebrate the end of exams (and taking advantage of the fact that all scholars are now fully vaccinated), the class had a private gathering with Mike Milken on June 12, followed by interactive closing workshops and a faculty luncheon on June 18.

IFC-MI Scholars meet with Mike Milken on June 12 in Washington, DC

Pre-internship workshops on June 18 in Washington, DC

After a short, well-deserved break, our scholars have begun their work placements with companies across the US financial industry. We look forward to working with our internship providers and scholars on several exciting projects throughout the coming four months.

Highlights from the Spring 2021 Speaker Series & Workshops

In addition to their coursework, throughout the spring semester, the scholars have heard from a wide range of policy leaders, regulators, and investors on practical topics applied to capital markets. These virtual supplementary sessions have included:

  • Weekly IFC–MI Speaker Series with practitioners on topics ranging from the mechanics of capital market infrastructure to blended finance, sustainable capital markets, and impact investing. The recorded sessions are all featured on our password-protected online alumni portal for ease of access by program alumni worldwide.
  • Regulatory Modules with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on topics ranging from enforcement and examinations to international collaboration and whistleblower protection. The sessions also included deep dives on self-regulatory organizations (led by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and derivatives regulation (led by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission).
  • IFC Technical Workshops, kicked off by a session with John Gandolfo, IFC vice president and treasurer, and IFC Treasury’s senior leadership team. The team discussed their professional journeys and shared career advice. Subsequent workshops covered IFC’s mandate and objectives, the business of syndication and mobilization, important functions played by Treasury’s quantitative analysis department, and how IFC provides market practitioner expertise both internally and to external partners developing their local capital markets.

Kick-off of IFC workshops in March 2021 with IFC Treasury Senior Leadership Team (John Gandolfo, IFC vice president & treasurer; Couro Kane-Janus, senior manager; Tom Ceuster, director, Treasury Markets Operation Department; Keshav Gaur, director, Treasury Client Solutions Department; Takehisa Eguchi, director, Quantitative Analysis Department; and Sabrina Borlini, director, Syndicated Loans and Management Department)

Together with Sir Paul Collier, Dr. Youssef Boutros-Ghali shares his experiences and insights as former Minister of Finance of Egypt (IFC-MI Speaker Series, April 2021)

Keshav Gaur, director of IFC Treasury’s Client Solutions Department, participates as a guest speaker in GW’s corporate finance class to discuss IFC onshore and offshore bond issuances and to present a case study on debt financing, April 2021

Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence, unpacks the promise and challenges of the blended finance investing space (IFC-MI Speaker Series, May 2021)

Launch of the IFC–Europlace–Dauphine Executive Master on Capital Markets for Francophone Countries

We are excited to announce that the IFC is launching an Executive Master’s program on capital markets for mid-career regulators and policymakers from francophone developing and emerging markets. The program will be conducted in French and will include a strong focus on FinTech and green finance. The first cohort will start in September 2021 in Paris, comprising 15 scholars from 12 countries with an average of 10 years of work experience. The program will be structured similarly to the IFC–Milken Institute Capital Markets Program, with opportunities for interaction across scholars and alumni from both programs. Please reach out to cmep@ifc.org for more information.

The IFC-MI Capital Markets Program counts on a wide range of companies to participate as speakers, internship hosts, and sponsors. To get involved as a partner company, please contact Carole Biau (cbiau@milkeninstitute.org).

The following intake of the IFC-MI Capital Markets Program will begin classes in Washington, DC, in August 2021. Applications for the program’s Spring and Fall 2022 intakes are open until July 30, 2021. To find out more, please contact Kateryna Timina (ktimina@ifc.org) or visit ifcmilkencmp.org.

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