Real World Experiences for Current Students

When Michael Satow CC’88 thinks back on his undergraduate years, among the first things that come to mind is the Core Curriculum. It was important, Satow says, “not only because of the substance of those classes but also because it was a common experience we all went through together.”

For Satow, the Core creates a common bond with his classmates and with the many Columbia College students he has employed as interns during the past four years at Nutrition 21, where he has been president and CEO since 2011. Nutrition 21 develops and markets ingredients for dietary supplements that aim to benefit athletic performance, as well as improve cardiovascular health, men’s health and glucose metabolism. Satow continually seeks creative ways to develop the business, and many good ideas, he says, come from Columbia interns. “What I think has been both surprising and valuable is not only the work they’ve been able to accomplish but also the creative ideas they have presented, looking beyond just what’s in front of them.”

In addition to his role at Nutrition 21, Satow has also been president and CEO of JDS Therapeutics since 2011. He earned a J.D. from Georgetown, then spent five years as an attorney, first at a large firm in New York City, then as an enforcement attorney at the S.E.C. Satow recalls it was the creative thinking he learned at Columbia that pushed him into another direction and spurred him to leave behind his law career to form companies of his own: He founded MarketXT, the first retail after-hours stock market, and in that role was named one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Top 10 American Innovators.” He then went on to co-found JDS Pharmaceuticals with his father, Philip Satow ’63; they sold the company in 2007.

“Learning to think deeply and look beyond the obvious is what drove me not just to change my career but also to try to think out of the box and create things. That creative aspect is the thing I love the most about being an entrepreneur.”

The internship program at Nutrition 21 is “very near and dear to my heart,” Satow says. “My hope is that we’ve been able to show the interns how fun and rewarding it is to be working in science in the real world.” In summer 2014, Satow spoke to students at a Columbia College Alumni-Sponsored Student Internship Program (CCASSIP) event and found inspiration in talking to them, he says, and learning about the range of career aspirations that College students have.

Satow’s interaction with students through CCASSIP is not the only way he gives back to Columbia. He is a member of the College’s Board of Visitors, is involved with fundraising and attends an array of alumni events. Those events are often a family affair: Satow’s father Philip is a former director of the Columbia College Fund, former president of the Columbia College Alumni Association and both a John Jay Award and Alexander Hamilton Medal recipient. His mother, Donna Satow GS’65, and sister, Julie Satow CC’96, SIPA’01, are also active members of the alumni community. Together, the Satow family has been a very generous supporter of the College through its giving to the College Fund, scholarships, and athletics, to name just a few of their philanthropic priorities.

“There are so many reasons to get involved with Columbia,” Satow says. “In some ways, the social aspect is just as rewarding as the feeling that you are doing something good by helping younger people. Students and young alumni who went to Columbia are doing interesting, exciting things.”