About | Columbia Business School

The Lang Center aims to catalyze best-in-class startups and investors that are shaping the future. Through world-class curriculum, programming, funding opportunities, and a robust alumni network, student learn to identify opportunity, engage in global conversations, and drive value throughout the business world. The Center offers three areas of focus:

Launch: For students planning to start their own business during or after business school
Invest: For students looking to learn about investing in startups through venture capital (early stage and growth) and angel investing
Scale: For alumni and graduating students who have launched a startup and are looking to accelerate growth

Building on a rich tradition of teaching and research in the field of entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School established the Center in 2000 with a gift from Eugene M. Lang, MS ’40. A member of the Columbia Business School Board, Mr. Lang was both a successful entrepreneur and a distinguished philanthropist.

Lang Team

Angela Lee

Senior Associate Director: Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate

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Lara Hejtmanek

Managing Director: Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center

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Gabriel Mejia

Director: Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center

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Lulu Bird

Associate Director: Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center

Lulu Bird is a communications leader, creative strategist, and digital marketing expert. They joined the Lang Center in 2023, bringing years of experience in analytical marketing, public relations strategy, operations management, and community engagement. Lulu began their career performing market research on venture capital funding strategies and helped transform SelfDecode, a DNA based health-tech wellness app, from a tiny startup to a 100+ employee venture.

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Hussein Najafee

Accounts Payable Manager: Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center

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Diego Cabaleiro

Coordinator: Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center

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Faculty Advisory Board

Jorge Guzman

Gantcher Associate Professor of Business: Management Division

Jorge Guzman

Gantcher Associate Professor of Business: Management Division

Dr. Jorge Guzman is an associate professor at the Management Division in Columbia Business School. Jorge received his PhD from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and was previously a postdoc at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a lecturer at MIT Sloan.

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Olivier Toubia

Glaubinger Professor of Business: Marketing Division

Olivier Toubia is the Glaubinger Professor of Business at Columbia Business School. His research focuses primarily on innovation, customer insights, and creative industries. Specifically, he combines methods from social sciences and data science in order to study human processes such as motivation, choice, and creativity. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief at the journal Marketing Science. He teaches Foundations of Innovation, Generative AI for Business and the core marketing course. He received his MS in Operations Research and PhD in Marketing from MIT.

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Stephen Zeldes

Frank R. Lautenberg Professor of Economics and Public Policy: Economics Division

Co-director: Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy at Columbia University

Stephen Zeldes

Frank R. Lautenberg Professor of Economics and Public Policy

Economics Division

Co-director

Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy at Columbia University

Stephen P. Zeldes is the Frank R. Lautenberg Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He serves as co-director of the Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy at Columbia University. He served as chair of the school’s Finance and Economics division from 2014-17.

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Lang Center Advisory Board and Lang Fund Investment Committee

Consisting of thought leaders with expertise spanning every industry and business stage, our Board members exemplify the diversity and entrepreneurial spirit of the Lang Center.

The Lang Center Advisory Board members provide valuable input into the development of programming, curricula, and resources for our students and alumni, while also serving as brand ambassadors in their respective ecosystems. The Investment Committee members, as part of the Advisory Board, also make investment decisions for the Eugene M. Lang Entrepreneurial Initiative Fund, which makes early-stage investments in a small number of qualifying Columbia Business School student and alumni businesses each year.

Donnel Baird '13
Founder, BlocPower

Brian Berger '03
Founder, Mack Weldon

Selma Bueno '05
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Group

Austin Cohen '16
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, FlexIt Fitness

Kristina Perkin Davison '94
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, iEurope
Lang Fund Investment Committee Member

Michael Diamant '93
Principal, Diamant Holdings
Founder, Skip Hop

Gunjan Doshi '09
Founder & CEO, InRhythm

Ross Goldenberg '07
Co-Founder, Synco

Inger Dewey Golob ’95
Owner, Star Innovations

Siggi Hilmarsson '04
Founder & Chairman, siggi’s

Habib Kairouz '90
Managing Partner, Rho Capital Partners, Inc.
Lang Fund Investment Committee Member

Elizabeth Leahy '96
Founding Partner, Purple Sage Ventures
Lang Fund Investment Committee Member

Jeremy Miller '10
Chairman & Founder, Health-E Commerce (parent company of FSAstore.com)

Stephanie Palmeri '11
Partner, NextView Ventures
Lang Fund Investment Committee Member

Ian Sigalow '06
Co-Founder & Partner, Greycroft Partners
Lang Fund Investment Committee Member

Lang Team

Angela Lee

Angela Lee

Lara Hejtmanek

Lara Hejtmanek

Gabriel Mejia

Gabriel Mejia

Lulu Bird

Lulu Bird

Hussein Najafee

Hussein Najafee

Diego Cabaleiro

Diego Cabaleiro

Faculty Advisory Board

Jorge Guzman

Jorge Guzman

Olivier Toubia

Olivier Toubia

Stephen Zeldes

Stephen Zeldes

Lang Center Advisory Board and Lang Fund Investment Committee

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