Wednesday, October 10, 2007

I had the opportunity to hear Mrs. Susan Morelli speak this morning. Of course, another stellar speaker whom I enjoyed immensely. Ms. Morelli is a CEO of the famous Au Bon Pain. I had guessed "Au Bon Pain" being from New England, no where specific to be exact, however, today I learned that is a local cafe started right here in the Bean town! Ms. Morelli specifically emphasized the topic of "BRAND" and how Au Bon Pain has been successful in creating a good brand. Ms. Morelli, who graduated from Yale and HBS was an excellent speaker. She had her audience captured in a joyful and interesting ride of Au Bon Pain. Even though it was too early for me, 7:00 in the morning, I really am happy about the fact that I made it. Listening to these leaders inspires me and encourages me to become like them.

Work was good.... Did Asset Allocation and Mutual fund comparison with all the S & P 500 indexes. Weather was gloomy. Happy that it did not rain.. I believe more rain is on the way.

Weekend was fun!! Foliage drive all the way up to the Vermont! Taken pics, I need to get my act together and update it!! :) will do!

Oh, I am very happy that "Kite Runner" is coming out in December. I cannot wait. Reading wise, these days, I have started reading some financial reports. Anita Roddick is done.. now, I need to finish, Kiran Desai at some point :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Deepti - you might be interested in this and feel free to pass along to others.


Dear Film Club Members,

I first learned about the situation in Darfur while working on the film Hotel Rwanda, about the Rwandan genocide. Soon after, I had the chance to travel to Darfur – once I saw the situation and the devastation with my own eyes and listened to people's stories, it was very hard to return to my comfortable life and not do anything when I had the opportunity to do a lot more.

I co-wrote a book, Not On Our Watch, with John Prendergast, Senior Advisor to the International Crisis Group and a leader of the ENOUGH Campaign, a project to stop mass atrocities and prevent genocide. I believe that genocide is the highest crime that humanity perpetrates. I think it sends a terrible signal to the world that these crimes can go unpunished.

But through my involvement with Darfur Now, writing Not On Our Watch and traveling through the region, I have seen that average, ordinary people are taking action in the name of justice.

Darfur Now is a story of hope in the midst of one of humanity's darkest hours. It is a call to action for people everywhere to end the catastrophe in Darfur, Sudan, through achievements of six different individuals who have brought light to the tragedy in Sudan – from a UCLA graduate, to a Darfurian woman who joins rebel forces, to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, to a United Nations humanitarian on the ground in Sudan, a community leader in a West Darfur refugee camp, and finally an actor and activist (me).

As you know, in the life of a film, the first weekend is extremely important. The performance of a film in its first week is really what studios base their continued support on. This film tells a very important story and people everywhere need to know about what’s happening in Darfur, and even more importantly, people need to believe they can make a difference.

It’s really important to get people to the theater – awareness is just the first step.

http://www.participate.net/darfurnow

Sincerely,
Don Cheadle