Ron Pressman ’80 recently spoke to Hamilton College’s Real Estate Club. A charter trustee of Hamilton, Pressman spoke about his career and experiences as an executive at GE and now TIAA.
As current CEO of Institutional Financial Services at TIAA, Pressman runs the firm’s core business, which has secure the retirement savings of millions of nonprofit employees, including those who work at Hamilton.
Beyond gaining business and real estate knowledge, I learned a lot about leadership and how to apply my knowledge after graduation.
At the talk, Pressman shared lessons from his experiences as a leader in the financial services and real estate industries. He answered questions from students on a broad range of related topics. “Ron had a lot to share, having him come was a great experience,” said Charlie Lynn ’18. “We all left the talk with a lot of good lessons and things to think about,” he added.
Major: Biology
Fraternity: Delta Upsilon
Volunteer Roles: Trustee, Hamilton Alumni Recruitment Team (HART)
Career: Chief Operating Officer, TIAA-CREF; former President and CEO, GE Real Estate
Pressman began his talk by explaining the TIAA’s mission and his work there. He then spoke about his career path, sharing valuable knowledge about what he has learned along the way. Particularly, Pressman said that, after quickly rising through the ranks at GE, he was given the choice of a big CFO role, or assuming an equally important but lower-profile finance position in Europe. Pressman chose the latter, and explained how today he wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
Pressman spoke fondly of his years at Hamilton and how it helped broaden his horizons and realize the value of a liberal arts education.
“It’s inspiring to see that people like Ron are still involved with Hamilton,” said Harrison Potter ’18. “Beyond gaining business and real estate knowledge, I learned a lot about leadership and how to apply my knowledge after graduation.”
