New
May: Major product launch for Fortune 50 financial company — details TBA.
May: Scripted 90-minute nationwide insurance agent address for Allstate National Forum, Las Vegas.
May: Writing content for the 2012 Mid-Sized Retirement & Pension Plan Management Conference: The New Retirement Reality: Is Your Plan Prepared for 2012 and Beyond?
April: The 2011 Annual Report for the YMCA of Greater New York. Called “one of the best annual reports I have seen in thirty years” by one of its executives. Creative concept, poetry [!], interviews and writing by MV.
February: YES Magazine, issue #2. See July 2011 below.
Back in 2011
December: Release of a new retail/wholesaling sales system concept for a Fortune 50 company. Details when possible.
November 3. Tonight New York City’s YMCA kicks off its 2012 Strong Kids campaign: “I can’t tell MY STORY without the Y.” Six strong kids tell their stories of how the Y helped them overcome obstacles and find inner resources. Theme, editorial and writing by MV. Video here.
October 27: A project I conceived and wrote for DWS Investments — the texting translation dictionary — won an MFEA 2011 Star Award. The magazine DWS active to which I sometimes contribute also won.
October: Wrote content for a session of the 2011 Chicago Mid-Sized Retirement & Pension Plan Management Conference.
Bastille Day: Google+.
July: The premiere issue of YES Magazine: a chronicle of support for the YMCA of Metro 
Chicago. This quarterly (actually 3x per year, plus Annual Report) will document the donor, member and volunteer contributions to the YMCA of Metro Chicago. Name, concept, editorial voice and writing by MV.
Now disambiguating men named Michael Vitali.
As of June 15 this site also serves calls for michaelvitali.com.
June 8–10: Morningstar Investment Conference 2011 — See the Preview here. Confirmed keynote speakers include PIMCO founder and managing director Bill Gross, BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink, and Harvard University professor of economics David Laibson. Bruce Berkowitz, founder and chief investment officer of Fairholme Capital, is scheduled to be on hand for a one-on-one conversation with Morningstar’s Managing Director, Don Phillips. Confirmed panelists include Will Browne of Tweedy, Browne Company, Bill Eigen of J.P. Morgan, Kenneth Feinberg from The Selected Funds, Cory Gilchrist of Marsico Capital, Anne Gudefin of PIMCO, David Poppe of Sequoia Fund, Rick Rieder of BlackRock, David Rolley of Loomis, Sayles & Co., and Dennis Stattman of BlackRock, among many others. >> My summaries will be posted in the near future — keep watching. #MIC2011
June: DWS Investments wins the 17th Annual 
Communicator Award of Excellence for its Payroll Direct Mailer. Concept, writing and the centerpiece of the campaign — the custom texting dictionary — by MV.
April 28 – May 14: Bay View’s Soulstice Theatre gives American Enterprise by Jeffrey Sweet its Milwaukee premiere. Collaborating with Jeff, I researched, arranged and composed music and songs for the show 20 years ago for its debut production at the Organic Theatre in Chicago.
March: Congratulations to DWS Investments for placing second in the 2011 Eddy Awards from Pensions & Investments Magazine in the category of ongoing education for retirement plan participants.
January – April: New projects for DWS Investments, Encompass Insurance, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, and others. Still secret. Details eventually.
Back in 2010
December 8: Attended the Global Metro Summit.
December 3: The Biography Channel reruns one of the Biography episodes I scored way back in the twentieth century: “The Gambinos: First Family of Crime.” This 2-hour special begins with the story of Carlo who was born in Palermo but made his way to America to make his first million selling counterfeit ration stamps during WWII. Also follows his successor Paul Castellano, and of course, the reign of John Gotti. Friday, December 3 @ 8p ET. More details about my musical exploits, and specifically on music for television.
November: Release of the Q4 edition of DWS active magazine for DWS Investments shareholders, including two articles of mine: “Real Assets: Commodities” and “Demystifying Derivatives.” Also included are my interviews with Tim Andriesen, head of agricultural commodities at CME Group, and with John Rekenthaler, vice president of research at Morningstar, who spoke about the use of derivatives in mutual funds. Also, a brief primer on the language of commodities.
October 2–6: Zurich North America launches HelpPoint for Brokers at The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB) Leadership Forum hosted at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, accompanied by three videos conceived and written by MV.
September 29: DWS Investments hosted Let DWS Help you Prepare for the New Regulatory Frontier — a web seminar for retirement plan sponsors. Description: “Regulations concerning participant advice will again change the fiduciary landscape. Join our session that focuses on the aspects of the regulation most relevant to your plan. Learn the important nuances of the proposed regulation, how you can get prepared and gather insights on the growing need for advice.” Host Ronald Cohen, Head of DWS Investments Retirement Services. Register here.
September 9: PLANADVISER Magazine sponsored another of my authored webcasts: New DOL Investment Advice Regulations: Finding the Right Level of Support, hosted by Ronald A. Cohen, Managing Director, DWS Investments, and Jason Roberts, Partner, Reish & Reicher, moderated by Nevin Adams, Editor in Chief, PLANSPONSOR and PLANADVISER Magazines. Playback of the session, for financial advisors only, can be accessed here.
July 13: Premiere of the DWS Investments webinar I wrote: Finding the Right Fiduciary Level: The View from Washington and New Department of Labor Investment Advice Regulations. This seminar is intended for financial advisors: “Upcoming new regulations covering advice to retirement plan participants will once again change the advisory landscape. Join DWS Head of Retirement Services Ron Cohen and Deutsche Bank’s Head of Government Affairs–Americas Frank Kelly for an illuminating look at how the ups and downs of legislative trends can affect your practice. We’ll cover the outlook from Washington, the need for participant advice, nuances of the proposed advice rules, and how advisors can position their practices for the new regulatory environment.”
July 12: Allstate launched its new life insurance policy GoodForLife for which I wrote core wholesaling and advisory narratives and materials. Details here.
June 23–25 I attended Morningstar 2010 and will write up everything and post it in the Journal. Eventually. Meanwhile, see the Preview.
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