The UB School of Management Alumni Association has recently elected a number of new members to its board. Leading the pack is the new president of the association, Sujata Yalamanchili of Williamsville.
"I am so excited and thrilled," Yalamanchili said. "It is a very nice honor and I feel I have come full circle from when I graduated."
The alumni association is heavily involved with the School of Management, organizing events for current students as well as alumni. The group focuses largely on networking, which has proven to be vital to its members.
The Network Buffalo event, which kicks off Feb. 20, will be the first in what Yalamanchili hopes to be many ways to raise awareness and provide networking opportunities for students.
"Network Buffalo is one of several events. They've been extremely well received in conjunction with career services," Yalamanchili said. "We help fund it and it's part of our mission to help students and alums."
The association serves many other purposes throughout the management field as well.
"We try to reach out quite a bit to the students to help out with career choices and job search," she said. "We offer two scholarships. We have a program that asks alums to contribute money, and then we invite students to events for low costs."
Yalamanchili began a two-year term as president, as opposed to many other members who decided on serving a three-year term.
"In years past, they were one-year terms. Presidents should be there long enough because there is a learning curve," Yalamanchili said. "They also need to make sure there is fresh blood coming in regularly."
For this reason, the association has made a recent attempt to recruit more recent graduates. Yalamanchili believes that the school is undergoing a great change, and is very impressed.
"It is a very exciting time at UB in general. Through overseas programs and innovative curriculum, the school is becoming very relevant in the business world," she said.
As an alumna herself, the current status of the school holds great importance.
"As the profile of the school grows, so does that of the alumni," she said.
Besides the management field, Yalamanchili will also be serving on School of Management Dean Thomas' advisory council. She will assist in general matters involving UB and the school.
Yalamanchili graduated from the School of Management summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in 1988, then with an MBA in 1989. She has gone on to develop a very successful real estate career, describing her main tasks as advising clients, leasing and development projects.
In 2005 Yalamanchili was named to Buffalo Business First's annual "Forty under 40 list," which recognizes honorees in a variety of fields for achievements and involvement in the Western New York community. The spectrum of recipients is quite wide, but Yalamanchili was honored at the celebration luncheon.
"I was the last person called because my name is the last in the alphabet, so I was very humbled. I remember thinking wow we have this kind of talent in Western New York. I was personally impressed," Yalamanchili said.
Currently Yalamanchili is a partner at Hodgson Russ LLP, one of the 200 largest law firms in the country. Sujata remains heavily involved in her community - she has found time to serve on the Amherst Youth Board, which provides services for 3000 families yearly.
"I think our alumni association has always tried to bring value to the school, both to students, administration, and alumni" Yalamanchili said. "My role is to bring value to the school, mostly through trying to keep people engaged."
"Network Buffalo" will take place at 6 p.m. on Feb. 20 at the Jacobs Executive Development Center, 672 Delaware Ave. at the corner of North. See the UB SOM website for specific event times.
