BGC Partners, Inc., a leading global full-service inter-dealer broker of financial instruments, announced today that the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors has appointed Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent auditors. Ernst & Young will replace Deloitte & Touche LLP as the independent auditors for the Company upon the completion by Deloitte & Touche of its review report on the financial statements of BGC Partners for the quarter ended June 30, 2008.

The appointment of Ernst & Young was made after careful consideration by its Audit Committee and by the management of BGC Partners, and concludes an extensive evaluation process. The decision to change auditors was not the result of any disagreement between the Company and Deloitte & Touche on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure.

“We appreciate the service Deloitte & Touche has provided.” said Albert M. Weis, who is a member of BGC Partners’ Board of Directors and also Chairman of the Audit Committee. “We look forward to our new relationship with Ernst & Young.”

About BGC Partners, Inc.

BGC Partners, Inc. is a leading global inter-dealer broker, specializing in the brokering of financial instruments and related derivatives products. BGC Partners provides integrated voice, hybrid, and fully electronic execution and other brokerage services to many of the world’s largest and most creditworthy banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, and investment firms for a broad range of global financial products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, futures, commodities, structured products, and other instruments.

Through its eSpeed and BGCantor Market Data brands, BGC Partners also offers financial technology solutions and market data and analytics related to select financial instruments and markets. Named after fixed income trading innovator B. Gerald Cantor, BGC Partners has offices in New York and London, as well as in Beijing (representative office), Chicago, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Nyon, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

Deloitte LLP announced today that it will invest approximately $300 million in the creation of a state-of-the-art learning and leadership development center in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area in Westlake, Texas. Construction on the new facility will begin in 2009 and the center is expected to open in 2011.

The facility will serve as a central destination for all of Deloitte's talent, including everyone from new hires to senior leadership to partners, principals and directors. The 750,000-square-foot campus will have 800 guest rooms.

"As our industry evolves faster than ever before, Deloitte's learning and leadership development center will enable our people to take the lead in shaping the future of our profession," said Barry Salzberg, chief executive officer, Deloitte LLP. "We expect this facility to become the heart of our organization -- the place where we meet, learn and develop our next generation of leaders."

The facility will feature multiple conference spaces and classrooms that will house thought leadership events; events with professors from nationally recognized universities and colleges; and networking events. All of the facilities' activities will enable people to develop and grow as a result of their connection with business and industry leaders, academia, mentors and colleagues.

The facility will also feature dining venues, a ballroom, a business center, recreational facilities and a fitness center. The campus will be constructed according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Green considerations are a top priority for all aspects of this project, including design, materials, engineering and supplies.

In addition to the direct benefit for Deloitte and its people, the facility is expected to provide economic benefits to Westlake and the Dallas/Fort Worth region. 

To browse the latest job openings with Deloitte, please visit our IT consulting job board. 

Charles Heeter, Managing Principal, Global Public Policy, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, has been re-elected to a two-year term as Chairman of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) executive board by the BIAC general assembly.

BIAC advises the working committees of the 30 member governments of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), aiming to bring a business perspective to their deliberations. Last year, more than 2,300 business representatives were actively involved in the work of the OECD through BIAC.

"BIAC provides a forum for Deloitte and other business leaders to positively contribute to the development of economic, financial, and business policies around the world," explains Heeter. "Deloitte’s leadership benefits our clients, our people, and our communities."

The Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Global Regulatory and Public Policy group, in conjunction with the regulatory partners of Deloitte member firms around the world, aim to positively influence public policy programs affecting capital markets and communities everywhere. The group helps to build awareness and support policies that promote business sustainability through good governance, transparency, and accountability.

BIAC was founded in 1962 as an independent organization. Its members are the major business associations in the 30 OECD member countries, and nine additional observer countries. BIAC’s 32 standing committees and working groups mirror all the economic policy issues addressed by the OECD, including its outreach activities with non-members such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

For more information on BIAC, please visit http://www.biac.org/.

For more information on Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Regulatory and Public Policy Group, please visit: www.deloitte.com/publicgovernance. 

About Deloitte

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss Verein, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and its member firms.

The Deloitte Foundation, the nonprofit arm of leading professional services firm Deloitte, has renewed its commitment to addressing the accounting Ph.D. faculty shortage by pledging $500,000 to the American Accounting Association(AAA)/Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium and to supporting educational programs for accounting professors by pledging $500,000 to the Robert M. Trueblood Seminars for Professors. The $1 million gift to the AAA will fund approximately four years of doctoral consortia as well as the 2009 and 2010 Trueblood Seminars. The 38th Annual AAA Doctoral Consortium, a week-long program on accounting research and education for more than 80 of the nation's top accounting Ph.D. students, kicks off on June 18, 2008, in Tahoe City, California.

With too few students choosing to pursue an accounting doctoral degree, there is a shortage of future Ph.D.s in the pipeline as well as in the current marketplace to replace the rising number of retirees. Several studies have shown that the shortage will become more severe in the coming years and could potentially threaten the sustainability of accounting degree programs. The shortage is particularly acute in the areas of audit and tax.

"It is widely recognized by members of the accounting profession that a shortage of qualified Ph.D. faculty will erode the quality of accounting education necessary to fill the pipeline with well-trained talent," said Shaun Budnik, president of the Deloitte Foundation. "It could force universities to cap accounting enrollments and limit program offerings at the institutions creating the profession's future leaders. By funding key Ph.D. education initiatives, such as our Doctoral Fellowship and Doctoral Consortium programs, we are helping to alleviate some of the issues contributing to the increased scarcity of accounting faculty."

Since 1971, the AAA/Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium has brought together leading accounting doctoral students and distinguished faculty from U.S. and select international universities to share their experiences and ideas on important issues in accounting research and education. The AAA selects a distinguished committee of accounting faculty to develop the program content and to provide a forum for stimulating the participants to pursue research in significant subject matter areas. During this year's conference, chaired by Professor Timothy Fogarty of Case Western Reserve University, attendees will hear from a diverse group of faculty who will present their perspectives on academic research and dissertation topic selection, among other areas of interest to doctoral students who are about to complete their Ph.D. programs and pursue academic careers.

The Robert M. Trueblood Seminars have been held annually since 1966. More than 2,000 professors have attended the Seminars since the program's inception. The Seminars are sponsored by the AAA, with program and financial assistance provided by the Deloitte Foundation. The Seminars enable approximately 70 financial accounting and auditing faculty each year to explore real-world accounting issues from the viewpoint of the auditor and the preparer of financial statements. Each seminar centers on Deloitte & Touche LLP case studies that are based on complex accounting issues. The seminar agenda features multiple case discussions, an open forum discussion of topical issues and developments in practice, as well as an update on the standard-setting activities of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Fifty of the cases used during recent seminars are also available online for faculty use in the accounting classroom.

About the Deloitte Foundation

The Deloitte Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that supports teaching, research and curriculum innovation in accounting, business and related fields within the United States.The Foundation, founded in 1928, supports an array of national programs, which are relevant to a variety of professional services and which benefit middle/high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. For more information, please visit the Deloitte Foundation web page at www.deloitte.com/us/df.

Deloitte and Cisco today announced a collaborative initiative that combines the intelligence in Cisco's network platform with Deloitte's broad array of business process and technology consulting capabilities. Deloitte and Cisco have entered into a go-to-market agreement focused on developing service offerings that take advantage of the intelligence of the network to enhance business processes. The Deloitte and Cisco collaboration will map business processes to network intelligent services, such as communication and collaboration, user identification, and wireless location detection, so businesses can achieve more visibility, control, and responsiveness across the enterprise while leveraging their existing business applications.

The go-to-market agreement between Cisco and Deloitte includes collaboration on service development, education, training, sales and delivery. Deloitte and Cisco will initially focus their efforts on the development and delivery of services aimed at risk, compliance and performance management challenges.

"Rapid response capability has increased dramatically with the heightened emphasis on risk management and the value of real-time information," said Lee Dittmar, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP. "The speed and consequence of adverse events require capabilities that can be delivered only when network services in the enterprise architecture are fully utilized. We agree with Cisco that the network can be the backbone for IT communications, and an important element in enabling better risk, compliance and performance management."

"The ubiquitous nature of the network offers our customers the opportunity to capture intelligence from every aspect of their organization and to take advantage of that intelligence in the continued innovation of the business. This go-to-market agreement with Deloitte will focus on practical solutions that help our customers respond faster to operational and market dynamics having an immediate impact on their business decisions," said Robert Lloyd, senior vice president of U.S., Canada, and Japan for Cisco.

Deloitte and Cisco will also work together with SAP AG to combine Deloitte's broad array of consulting, advisory and implementation related services with Cisco's Network and Advanced Services in support of SAP® enterprise business solutions to help joint customers in their efforts to address their needs for governance risk and performance management.

About Cisco

Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, visit http://newsroom.cisco.com.

SAP AG today announced multiple ground-breaking projects coming out of the SAP Co-Innovation Lab, located at the SAP campus in Palo Alto, California. Among the projects that are being created and developed in the lab are a private online collaboration workspace, support for enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA) management, a disaster recovery solution, a real-time reporting solution for manufacturers, and solutions that help companies improve business performance. Established in June 2007 with support from founding sponsors HP, Intel Corporation, NetApp and Cisco, the SAP Co-Innovation Lab is a hands-on working environment for SAP, its customers and partners to build and execute joint projects, enabling them to co-innovate new business applications and technology solutions to address specific customer needs.

SAP Fosters Co-Innovation Through Private Enterprise Collaboration

Today's social collaboration tools provide readily available and easily accessible platforms for shared communications, but do not provide the governance and layered access required for business communications. In an effort to address this need, one of the leading projects developed in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab is the collaboration workspace from SAP. The workspace provides Web 2.0 infrastructure -- such as blogs, wikis and online forums -- with built-in governance for all companies to participate and collaborate in real time within a secure business network community. The collaboration workspace from SAP provides customers, system integrators, technology partners and independent software partners within the SAP ecosystem a secure online environment to collaborate and foster virtual interaction, while protecting intellectual property assets and tightly managing access levels and authorized information sharing.

The collaboration workspace is enabling 13 different programs at SAP to be more effective and efficient, bringing together more than 3,700 expert users from more than 275 companies, participating in more than 200 unique workspaces. Users include partners and customers participating in SAP's communities of innovation, including the Enterprise Services Community, the Business Process Expert community and the SAP Co-Innovation Lab itself.

"The collaboration workspace from SAP is a powerful, new tool -- and has brought an important additional dimension to Procter & Gamble's engagement in SAP's ecosystem," said Dietmar Giljohann, initiative manager, Order Acquisition, Procter & Gamble. "We're happy to see SAP's leadership around projects like this in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab, producing tangible results that benefit the whole ecosystem."

SAP Ecosystem Tackles Opportunities in Enterprise SOA Management

Enterprise service-oriented architecture provides opportunities for customers to better align IT and business to achieve higher levels of business agility. SAP customers benefit from the visibility and control they achieve by managing the runtime aspects of their composite SOA applications. With an effective management infrastructure, these customers can enforce policies, manage service-level agreements and secure loosely coupled systems that span departments and extend to partners. Members of the SAP Co-Innovation Lab are working together to optimize these SOA runtime management capabilities for SAP enterprise services. To achieve this goal, customers and partners are working with SAP to define key real-world scenarios that are tested and evaluated in the lab. The results will enable the publishing of best practices for customers and partners around SOA-based policy management and enforcement, including in high-volume scenarios. Among the first technology firms supporting SOA management projects in the lab are AmberPoint and Sonoa Systems, both backed by SAP Ventures, and SOA Software.

"The SAP ecosystem, and the SAP Co-Innovation Lab in particular, have been a great asset as we shape our SOA adoption strategy," said Barney Sene, CTO, Ingram Micro. "Since SAP works directly with other companies whose products we've invested in, like SOA Software, we can get clearer, more aligned direction from both parties on topics like SOA management and operational governance. We also have access to implementation insights that have been thought through for the long haul in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab."

SAP Teams With VMware and NetApp to Simplify Disaster Recovery

Since SAP solutions are considered mission-critical to the daily operation of many businesses, these companies are constantly on the lookout for disaster recovery plans to ensure that their SAP solutions are back online quickly and reliably in the event of a system failure. However, many companies find that the formalized disaster recovery plans available today are expensive, time-intensive and difficult to implement. With a goal of addressing this business need, SAP teamed with VMware and NetApp in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab to work together on an automated and cost-effective disaster recovery offering for SAP implementations.

The goal of this project was to help companies lower the cost of maintaining a disaster recovery program, and to simplify the disaster recovery process and increase its reliability. Using VMware Site Recovery Manager and NetApp storage solutions, this project explored solutions for simplifying the previously complex disaster recovery steps by providing automated disaster recovery testing procedures and offering the option of automated daily disaster recovery tests. The results demonstrated the ability to improve recovery time from days to hours or minutes, and improve recovery point objectives from 24 hours to one hour or less.

Cisco and SAP Collaborate to Address "Borderless Manufacturing"

Today's manufacturers frequently operate across several different geographies, often in far-flung locations, and require instant and accurate visibility across their supply chains. SAP has teamed with Cisco in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab to explore solutions that help enable manufacturers to share and deliver with industry-leading security key performance indicators (KPIs) and production data across plants. Taking advantage of the SAP(R) Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (SAP MII) application and the Service-Oriented Network Architecture (SONA) from Cisco, the project simulated near-real-time reporting from a vendor or customer manufacturing facility.

The project included several different demonstration scenarios that support the vision of "borderless manufacturing" for inventory and KPI metric collaboration across a manufacturer's worldwide locations. The results of the project provided manufacturers with the ability to interact with vendors' inventory systems in a controlled environment, access to real-time messaging and collaboration with vendors -- all supported by Web-based entry that is accessible from anywhere within a manufacturer's network.

SAP, Business Objects and Deloitte Consulting LLP Help Businesses Improve Corporate Performance

Many companies today lack a comprehensive solution to manage corporate performance across the enterprise. They are often faced with information silos that prevent them from making informed business and execution decisions that can impact financial performance. To address this business need, SAP and Business Objects, an SAP company, are collaborating with Deloitte Consulting LLP (Deloitte Consulting) through the SAP Co-Innovation Lab to create industry and market-specific service offerings that help companies in their efforts to close the loop between strategy and execution. The collaboration will showcase service offerings that combine SAP solutions for governance, risk and compliance (GRC), enterprise performance management (EPM) and the Business Objects business intelligence (BI) platform with Deloitte Consulting's thought leadership in performance improvement applications and industry consulting experience, knowledge and skills. The companies are working together to demonstrate that customers can benefit from integrated GRC, EPM and BI solutions to enable more effective decision-making and to improve business performance across the enterprise.

The demonstrations hosted in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab will show how companies can adaptively change corporate strategy and launch campaigns dynamically in response to market and competitive risks. The advantage to customers is to be able to embed risk management into operational processes and to continually monitor and adjust a company's performance against strategy.

"Software vendors are relying more on their partner networks to expand into new markets and provide competitive advantage to their customers and partners," said Joshua Greenbaum, principal, Enterprise Applications Consulting. "SAP has clearly taken a leadership position in this regard by leveraging its ecosystem to collaborate and develop new solutions with its customers and partners. The interactions between customers and partners enabled by the SAP Co-Innovation Lab are proof that SAP understands the value of placing its customers at the center of innovation."

SAP Co-Innovation Lab Showcases the Power of the SAP Ecosystem

Along with the development of ground-breaking projects, the SAP Co-Innovation Lab also supports other collaboration-rich activities. The lab hosts a series of seminars and Webinars, thought leadership forums, and onsite and online collaborations with SAP and other industry leaders. The lab offers high-impact demonstrations and solution showcases with onsite and online access, providing a rich customer experience. The lab also helps to lower the cost of innovation by enabling close cooperation with partners and customers, and by providing a simulated heterogeneous and full-featured data center. (For comments from partners, see the addendum quote sheet.

"These examples show how the SAP Co-Innovation Lab is providing a completely new type of collaboration platform for the industry's top minds to work together on the most pressing business challenges our customers face today," said Zia Yusuf, executive vice president, Global Ecosystem and Partner Group, SAP. "Our mutual customers stand to gain substantial benefits, as the work done at the lab pulls together the SAP ecosystem to address the right problem at the right time with a real, tangible solution. The combined efforts of SAP and its customer-focused ecosystem are continuing to deliver on the promises of co-innovation, collaboration, and thought leadership."

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 47,800 customers (excludes customers from the acquisition of Business Objects) in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP."

 

Nearly one in five undergraduate students chose Google (17.1 percent) as their IDEAL (TM) Employer, the popularity of the leading search engine grew as only 13 percent of undergraduate students chose it as IDEAL (TM) in 2007.

Walt Disney (13 percent) comes in again at a close second followed by Apple Computer (10 percent), and Ernst & Young which jumped eight positions since 2007 to be No. 4, edging out the U.S. Department of State (9 percent).

Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, Peace Corps, NASA, and PricewaterhouseCoopers completed the top 10 list. This year, 43,313 students from 195 colleges and universities participated in the Undergraduate Edition of the Universum IDEAL(TM) Employer Survey, making it the largest survey of its kind in the U.S.

In it, students answered questions about their career expectations such as top industries, career goals, communication preferences, salary expectations, IDEAL(TM) employers and more.

The career goals of undergraduate respondents directly reflect attitudes about work and current economic and social events. An overwhelming 64 percent of students feel that a work-life balance is the most important career goal, job security and stability (45 percent) came second. Third on the list is being dedicated to a cause or to feel they are serving a greater good (44 percent) followed by being competitively or intellectually challenged (39 percent), and to be a leader or manager of people (33 percent).

"These savvy undergrads are thinking much more strategically than ever seen before," says Claudia Tattanelli, CEO of Universum USA. "They have seen massive layoffs first hand and are now looking beyond their top three companies to find more stable career choices that are inline with their career goals. In addition, they want to feel as though a work-life balance is achievable without letting it get in the way of their work. They ultimately want to work smarter not harder."

Working in an organization like the U.S Dept. of State allows undergraduate students to achieve top career goals like giving back to the community and their financial goals which is why government/public service remains the No. 1 industry. Healthcare came in second followed by accounting (public), education/teaching, and marketing/advertising. This year, undergraduate students are expecting, on average, $50,640 one year after graduation, and $96,438 after five years.

Deloitte has announced today an agreement to acquire Recombinant Capital, Inc. (Recap), a leading life sciences subscription database and advisory services firm. Included in the acquisition is Recap's unique database that provides more than 1,500 subscribers with access to over 20 years of historical data used to track significant publicly available information in the life sciences industry, ranging from alliance formations to intellectual property ownership and clinical trials data.

 

Deloitte's life sciences consulting practice was ranked number one by Kennedy Information in 2007 in terms of revenue and market share. Deloitte will further reinforce its market leadership position with the acquisition of Recap.

 

The transaction also extends Deloitte's portfolio of services to include subscription database services, further complementing the consulting, financial advisory, tax, audit and enterprise risk services currently offered to life sciences clients.

The addition of Recap's services will enhance Deloitte's litigation support, M&A, licensing and valuation capabilities.

"New business models are emerging that require life sciences companies to consider new strategies for growth, including forging alliances, entering emerging markets, executing mergers and acquisitions and developing new types of drugs," said Terry Hisey, vice chairman and US industry leader for Deloitte LLP's Life Sciences industry group. "With the addition of Recombinant Capital, Deloitte will be uniquely positioned to provide clients with unparalleled access to information and analyses critical to management in their development of future growth plans."

"The choice to integrate Recombinant Capital and Deloitte merges Recap's unique strategic data with Deloitte's scale, scope of services and client base, creating a powerful combination," said Mark Edwards, founder and managing director of Recombinant Capital. "Our clients will benefit from Deloitte's proven industry track record, and our people will benefit from the opportunity to continue to develop their careers with one of the world's leading professional services firms."

Recap's customers include approximately 90 percent of the top-tier biotech and pharmaceutical companies by market capitalization. The company also serves as a supplier of data to organizations, including venture capital firms, major law firms, universities and medical centers. The acquisition is expected to be completed within the next month. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

About Deloitte

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means one or more subsidiaries of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

About Recombinant Capital

Recombinant Capital (Recap) is a San Francisco Bay Area-based subscription database and advisory services firm. Recap's mission is to ensure availability of adequate resources for biotechnology enterprises by providing comprehensive and timely advice and analysis related to the environment for corporate and product development and alliance formation. Recap's clients include biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, plus several universities, investment banking and venture firms active in the biotechnology area.

 

To browse the latest job openings at Deloitte, please visit our IT consulting job board.   

Tom Captain, a 27-year industry veteran and a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP has been named vice chairman and global and US leader of Deloitte's Aerospace and Defense (A&D) industry group, which provides audit, tax, financial advisory and consulting services to commercial aerospace, military aircraft, defense electronics, missile defense, land & naval platforms and space companies, along with their suppliers, investors and customers.

He replaces Jim Schwendinger, who is retiring.

In his new role, Captain will provide industry specialization to client teams and spearhead initiatives to enhance Deloitte's position in the marketplace. He will continue to be actively involved in major client assignments within the industry, providing consulting services to Fortune 500 companies in the A&D industry.

He specializes in strategy, operational improvements, product development and program management across multiple functions.

"The A&D industry faces multiple challenges and Tom brings exceptional problem-solving capabilities to our clients," said Edward Carey, national managing principal, US Industries, Deloitte LLP. "He is one of our most experienced leaders in the A&D industry, and understands the importance of delivering industry insight and perspective to clients. Jim did an exceptional job guiding the strategic development of the practice, and we're confident that this sector will continue to prosper under Tom's leadership."

"Tom will be instrumental in strengthening our capabilities in strategic regions and markets across the globe as we continue to deliver services to help our A&D clients achieve sustainable profitable growth," added Hans Roehm, Deloitte Touche Tomatsu global Manufacturing industry leader.

"Over the past few years, A&D industry growth has been fueled by the global war on terrorism and the recovery in commercial aircraft," said Captain. "However, companies in this industry face a number of ongoing challenges in areas including increased emphasis on cost control, global supply chain complexities, the innovation imperative, regulatory compliance and a critical talent shortage. How well companies respond to these challenges will determine their success going forward."

Captain is a member of the Seattle University Business School Dean's Executive Advisory Board and participates in a number of professional, civic and community programs. He contributed to the Puget Sound Regional Council's Prosperity Partnership Aerospace Competitiveness Initiative, and is a member of the Patrons of Northwest Civic & Charitable Organizations Board of Directors, a former trustee of the Museum of History and Industry's Board and a past president of the Institute of Management Consultants, Pacific Northwest Chapter. He received an M.B.A. from Seattle University and a B.A. from the University of Washington. He also completed the executive education program at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.

More than 600 community and business leaders, philanthropists, elected and government officials and supporters of the YMCA of Greater New York gathered this week for the 34th annual Dodge Award dinner at Cipriani 42nd Street, and raised over $1.2 million to support the YMCA’s diverse platform of programs for youth and teens.

Janice Reals Ellig, Chair of the YMCA Board of Directors and co-CEO of Chadick Ellig, and Jack Lund, YMCA President & CEO, were on hand to honor this year’s Dodge Award recipient, Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte LLP.

“The long list of Barry’s charitable involvement speaks for itself, but it is his personal passion to lend his time and talent to help to build our organization as a leader among human services organizations in the city, not just in the breadth and quality of our programs, but in our strength in governance," said Lund. "His commitment to forging true partnership between the corporate and charitable sectors is a prime example of why we’re proud to recognize him with this highest honor."

The Dodge Award is presented each year to an individual who epitomizes the tradition of altruistic humanitarian service that New York’s Dodge family has demonstrated since helping to found New York City’s YMCA in 1852. Previous winners include Mary & Laurance S. Rockefeller (1974), Jack Kemp (1993), Jeffery S. Maurer (2002), Robert H. Silver (2006) and Seth Waugh (2007).

Under Salzberg’s leadership, Deloitte has been a tireless supporter of the YMCA and its program initiatives, annual and capital campaigns. Afterschool programs, Teen Action NYC and Black Achievers in Industry have been of particular significance to Salzberg and Deloitte, which underwrote the development of a new youth mentoring initiative at the Harlem YMCA.

In accepting the Dodge Award, Salzberg cited the source of his enthusiasm for supporting the YMCA. “The YMCA really gives hope to kids,” Salzberg said in accepting the award. “It provides the infrastructure and the community where they can learn, grow and become leaders. The impact the YMCA can have on the kids is fantastic.”

Salzberg’s vision for Deloitte’s corporate philanthropy program is focused on contributing the organization’s intellectual capital to nonprofit organizations. He and Deloitte challenged the business community to support the YMCA through the Dodge Award Dinner, by pledging to match cash contributions with pro bono services for the YMCA of Greater New York’s ongoing improvement of governance and operational efficiency.

Corporate leaders responded with contributions in excess of $250,000. During last week’s annual Deloitte IMPACT Day, more than 32,000 Deloitte volunteers participated in some 700 service projects across the country, including those in 14 different cities who invited hundreds of non-profit executives to their offices for day-long business seminars and workshops designed to help the charitable organizations operate more effectively.

“Deloitte is committed to making a difference in our communities and the greatest way we can do that is by using our skills and knowledge to help strengthen nonprofit organizations,” he said. “My message to corporate America is ‘Step up, give back to the community and the YMCA would be a great place to start,’” he said.

Salzberg chairs the YMCA’s Capital Steering Committee, which is planning for the Association’s long-term growth in serving the children, teens, adults and families of New York City’s neighborhoods. While Chair of the YMCA’s Board of Directors from 2004-07, Salzberg helped the YMCA transition to a new era of leadership, with an increased emphasis on strategic planning and volunteer engagement and a renewed commitment to fundraising, particularly through the annual YMCA Strong Kids Campaign.

Barry’s leadership has created a long list of accomplishments in further building a strong YMCA presence throughout New York City,” said Ellig. “His passion for the Y is alive in his commitment of time and support. He exemplifies what a leader should be; Barry is the Y!”

The YMCA of Greater New York also presented six scholarships to distinguished teens who will enroll as college freshmen this fall. Vanderbilt YMCA’s Kristen Nicole Frazier (Clark Atlanta University) and Camping Services YMCA’s Rashida Hull (Utica University) were awarded Vasey Leadership Scholarships, which are given to the YMCA Leaders Club participants who have demonstrated exemplary leadership skills and commitment to their communities by engaging in community service projects and volunteerism.

Long Island City YMCA’s Bruno Estrada (SUNY-Purchase), Chinatown YMCA’s Wai Ping Kan (SUNY-Albany), Long Island City YMCA’s Mady Malena Silva (Five Towns College) and Rashida Hull received von der Heyden Scholarships, awarded to high school seniors who demonstrate leadership, volunteerism and academic performance in and out of school.

“The YMCA gave me a chance to shine and I took it. The YMCA helped me grow from a boy to a young man, helped me prepare for college and have me even thinking grad school,” said Estrada, a senior at Information Technology High School in Queens. “My goal now is to take my knowledge and spread it—to work with the youth of our community to inspire others just like the YMCA has done for me.”

The event was planned and executed by Teen Dodge Dinner Committee members Flatbush YMCA’s Tyesha Allen (West Brooklyn Community High School), Flushing YMCA’s Pamela Castro (IS 125), Prospect Park YMCA’s Marisol DeMonte (Secondary School for Journalism) and Estrada.