“I Want to Play a Part in Columbia’s Future”

Ben Hughes ’96BUS didn’t take the usual route to business school.

Unlike most of his classmates, Ben was 34 years old when he enrolled at Columbia Business School and already well established in a job he enjoyed.  

“I was working for a global telecommunications company,” he said. “It was extremely satisfying—we were delivering advanced telecom services to the leading financial service firms on Wall Street. I was supervising some of the most strategic projects for the company and traveling between our Paris, London, and New York offices.”

But after six years, he had reached a plateau.

“I lacked the knowledge I thought I needed in finance, strategy, and corporate operations to pursue leadership roles,” he said. “At that point, it was clear to me that I needed a graduate degree.” Columbia’s academic reputation, excellence in finance, and teaching style, which combined case studies and group projects, made it Ben’s first choice.

He was not disappointed. “Even though I came with high expectations, I was thoroughly impressed with my professors and the quality of the coursework,” he said. “From a practical standpoint, the most important thing I gained was the academic problem-solving framework by which I could tackle business problems. This has allowed me to provide value quickly and make a greater impact.”

One thing Ben didn’t expect was to learn so much from his classmates. “I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity of backgrounds and experiences my classmates brought to my education,” he said.

The cluster system, which builds community by assigning 60-65 students to cohorts that take first-year MBA classes together, turned classmates into lifelong friends. Ben also forged connections through campus organizations and extracurricular activities.

“The most rewarding extracurricular activity was traveling during breaks between semesters,” he said. “One trip covered the major cities in Russia and Eastern Europe. It was truly a unique opportunity to engage in academic travel and meet alumni and business leaders.”

After graduation, Ben went to work for a technology startup. The company did not survive, but it launched his career in technology consulting. Eventually he moved into corporate strategies positions for leading global technology companies. Today, he serves in corporate strategy at IBM—"precisely the role I envisioned when I first decided to go to Columbia,” he said.

“Columbia opened doors for me that would not have been opened otherwise,” he continued. “A Columbia education offers both foundational knowledge and the impetus to excel. In the competitive business world, that combination can make a significant difference over the course of a career.”

Ben’s appreciation for the opportunities Columbia made possible also made it easy for him to reciprocate. “I’ve always believed in the importance of giving back,” he said. “Our higher education system depends on it.”

For several years after graduation, he volunteered his time by interviewing prospective students for the Business School. He has made regular annual gifts, and his estate plan includes an unrestricted bequest intention to the Business School.

“My hope is that Columbia Business School will use my gift toward research and advancing the curriculum,” he said. “While Columbia’s stature in the academic world is very well established, I’m impressed at how the University has continued to grow and evolve.

“I’m proud to say that I was educated at Columbia, and I want to play a part in its future,” he continued. “This is one of the best ways I can do it.”