The Art of the Management Interview

Fenimore Asset Management Hosts Annual Financial Forum

The second annual event took place in the Massry Center for Business last Friday. Photo by Patrick Dodson.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 16, 2018) -- Representatives from Fenimore Asset Management, a local investment firm, interviewed leadership from medical-device maker AngioDynamics last Friday for the firm’s annual Fenimore Talks.

The event, which took place in the Massry Center for Business on Oct. 12, was meant to demonstrate to students both the purpose and process of conducting management interviews, according to David Smith, professor of business and one of the event organizers.

“Fenimore investment analysts were able to show in real-time the art of the management interview, which will likely be a key aspect of many students’ future jobs,” said Smith, the director of the Center for Institutional Investment Management. “Managers can give insight into not just their own companies, but also industry and economic trends and overall market intelligence that you might not be able to get from press releases or other media.”

James Clemmer, president and chief executive officer of AngioDynamics, and Michael Greiner, executive vice president and chief financial officer of AngioDynamics, served as the event’s panelists. Students were able to ask questions to both Fenimore and AngioDynamics staff following the formal interview.

Fenimore also presented a $10,000 gift that will support student programming at the School of Business.

Fenimore is a long-term donor to the School, and has given scholarships and supported other areas of the University for the past twenty years. Gifts have supported student scholarships as well as the Center for Women in Government, the Annual President’s Breakfast and the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, among other initiatives. In addition, Fenimore’s president and chief operating officer, Debra Pollard, serves on the School’s advisory council.

A Commitment to Education

Kevin Gioia, an investment research analyst at Fenimore, said that the firm’s strong relationship with the Department of Finance through David Smith made the event possible.

“Education is a huge part of who we are culturally [at Fenimore],” Gioia said. “UAlbany has provided us with some amazing interns and full-time employees, and it’s important for us to give back to that relationship.”

In 2016, the company hired William Preston, a 2011 alum from the University’s School of Business and a former Fenimore investment research intern, as a junior analyst. Joe Schnetzler, a junior in the School’s Financial Analyst Honors Program, is interning with Fenimore this semester.

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