CTBK and UB Corp Champs Join Forces

For its second year in a row, CTBK and UB worked together for the Corporate Champions program. Each fall, a small group of MBA students get together and work with a local business to understand the ins and outs of operations, procedures, and management practices. CTBK participated in this program in 2020 and reenlisted for this Fall semester with a new group of MBA students.

“What the Heck is EOS” by Tom Bouwer and Gino Wickman

Six students shadowed separate professionals at the firm, all of whom ranged in management levels, including partners, principals, and senior managers. This provided personal one-on-one interaction with a pro at the firm, allowing time for questions, in-depth conversations, and close attention to detail in a professionals’ tasks. After shadow day(s), CTBK opens its doors for an open house for these students, providing tours, spotlight speakers, Q&A sessions, and more.

The Open House began with coffee and conversation and led into meet and greets and icebreaker activities. From there, Bob Travis, a founding partner, and Jon Pellish, partner, discussed the history and background of CTBK and touched on our Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). This set the tone for the duration of the day, including office tours, industry talks, our scope of services and client care, and community & culture.

A big part of the day was discussing social responsibility of a corporation and the importance of this within our firm. We reflect this through our internal committee’s efforts, Helping Hands. Helping Hands is a small committee which organizes and coordinates externally-facing volunteer efforts through local non-profits and other initiatives for those in need. Oftentimes, this includes volunteering through our non-profit clients or organizations that a colleague is personally involved with. Volunteering efforts have included fundraisers, toy/food/clothing/diaper drives, planting at Elmlawn Cemetery, and projects through Habitat for Humanity, the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park, Victory Sports Global Outreach (VSGO), the PUNT Foundation, and many more.

Helping Hands volunteer events in 2021.

As part of the UB Corporate Champions program, CTBK assists the students with planning their own volunteer efforts, whether that’s with a specific organization or organizing a certain effort to reach a goal.

The Program has been taking place through September and October, putting us currently in the planning stages of the Corporate Champions’ community service project. Stay tuned to see what we plan with them!