Graduate School
Strengthening Global Connections
When Manfred Ferber ’97 MBA was building his career as an investment banker in London, it was not common among his colleagues to pursue an advanced degree in business. But Ferber, who grew up in Germany and worked for corporations in the United States and Europe, wanted to broaden his horizons as much as possible. He applied to Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management because it was ranked as one of the top business schools—and knew he’d made the right decision after meeting the people at Kellogg. Currently a managing partner for the Munich-based finance advisory firm Ferber & Co., he has two decades of experience in mergers and acquisition transactions for healthcare and consumer goods corporations.
In recent years, Ferber has reconnected with Northwestern and the Kellogg School of Management. Since becoming co-president of the Kellogg Alumni Club of Germany in 2023, he has been instrumental in revitalizing the club. When he decided to make a major gift to the Kellogg Fund this spring, Ferber leveraged Transnational Giving Europe (TGE) to maximize his gift. Since 2019, the University’s registered charity in the United Kingdom has worked with TGE, which is a network of philanthropic institutions that coordinates donations from select European countries and may enable donors to benefit from tax advantages. As an experienced banker and entrepreneur, Ferber said TGE was the most beneficial way to support Northwestern and its global impact.
What convinced you that Kellogg was the right place for your MBA?
The alumni interview process at Kellogg and the wonderful people I met during that journey convinced me that Kellogg was the right school for me. I have never looked back or regretted my decision.
What are some of your fondest experiences from your time at Northwestern?
I was overwhelmed by the diversity of people I met at Kellogg, including a presidential speech writer, an ex-professional baseball player, and someone who helped build a nuclear power plant. Having only worked in investment banking until that point, meeting all those people opened my views and exposed me to other facets of life. Most of those people have remained my friends today.
It was great to meet people from all over the world. I had been living in London, working for an investment bank called Robert Fleming & Co., and it was difficult to find a decent non-English restaurant at that time. If you look at London today, it is difficult to imagine! Being half-Peruvian, I connected again with my Latin American roots and all the Latinos who were at Kellogg. The University’s global feel nurtured me when I was a student and still nurtures me today.
Tell us more about your experience as a Kellogg graduate, increasing your alumni involvement in Germany.
I had been traveling to my Kellogg class Reunions in Evanston that are held every five years. However, I did not see much interaction between the Kellogg alumni in Germany. The alumni networks in the US are much stronger than in Europe. Most Europeans were not raised with that culture of school loyalty, but that is something the Kellogg Alumni Club of Germany is currently trying to change.
I decided to contact Kellogg to see whether I could help reactivate the German alumni network. We started with a Kellogg reception in Berlin, which coincided with a large group of Kellogg students visiting as part of a Global Initiatives in Management trip. We learned that Kellogg alums are willing to travel within Germany to a special event, especially when Kellogg faculty are in attendance.
Earlier this year, you were part of the host committee for an event that welcomed President Michael H. Schill to London, along with Kellogg Dean Francesca Cornelli. It was the president’s first international trip since taking the helm at Northwestern. Why was it significant for you?
We regarded President Schill’s trip a tremendous success because it gave the attendees an opportunity to catch up with deans, including Dean Cornelli, as well as senior administrators, and global alumni.
This spring, you made a major gift to Kellogg. Why did you choose to financially support Northwestern? What appealed to you about Transnational Giving Europe (TGE)?
I was invited to a Munich alumni event with President Morton Schapiro a couple of years back and reconnected with the University and the alumni network. These alumni initiatives gave me the opportunity to become more engaged. As a result, I decided to donate over a period of time to support Kellogg. TGE helps donors like me to structure the donation in a tax-efficient manner.
Giving Through TGE
Transnational Giving Europe (TGE) is a partnership of leading European philanthropic organizations that coordinates cross-border giving. TGE works with Northwestern’s registered charity in the United Kingdom, Northwestern University (USA) Foundation Limited, to facilitate gifts from our alumni, parents, and friends in Europe.
If you’re a taxpayer in one of a dozen European countries, you may benefit from the tax advantages provided by law in your country while helping to advance the University’s mission to bring the benefits of research, teaching, and service worldwide.