Debra Schwartz '88
Social impact has been a driving force for Marc Sznajderman ‘93 since junior high. From providing care for individuals with mental disabilities to volunteering for the local school district with children learning to read, he has consistently been active with organizations focused on community outreach.
Sznajderman is currently the Managing Partner of RM Capital Management LLC, a real estate investment bank he co-founded. Even while working in a for-profit company, he has made it a priority to impact change in a variety of ways.
According to Sznajderman, Kellogg not only helped him hone the skills that he would use in his firm, but many of those same skills apply to making a social impact organization successful.
“My MBA has allowed me to utilize skills related to finance, strategic planning and even mergers & acquisitions in a setting focused on social impact,” says Sznajderman. When I joined Vital Strategies, they had a $2 million budget. Through organic growth and a merger with a sister organization, Vital Strategies now has a budget of close to $70 million with activities on five continents and partnerships with groups as diverse as the World Health Organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies and USAID. We are on a trajectory of continued growth in the future.”
Sznajderman is still in touch with his Kellogg colleagues and views the network as a vital resource in both his for-profit and nonprofit work.
“The people I met at Kellogg continue to be a resource and provide guidance to me in ways that allow me to be more effective in my role with Vital Strategies. Engagement can happen in unexpected ways,” says Sznajderman. “While attending my most recent reunion I found out that one of my classmates was active in public health work in India. I scheduled a call the following week with him and the CEO of Vital Strategies and we have been working on ways to collaborate. That’s a perfect example of how Kellogg relationships can evolve in ways that effect positive change.”
Marc Sznajderman ‘93
Based in:
New York, NY
Campus attended:
Evanston