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Student Profiles
The participants in the EMBA program represent diverse industries, functions, and backgrounds. Following are profiles of some current students.
National Origin
South Korea
Current Location
Boston area
Industry
Finance
Education
History/Economics/Pre-med
Min Lee Alexander
Founder/Principal, Cambridge Equity Management LLC
Founder/Managing Partner, MLA Capital Partners
Biography
Min Alexander is principal and founder of Cambridge Equity Management LLC (CEM), a real estate investment and development company. She started CEM in 2002 and now manages $30 million in assets with $15+ million in successful high-end developments and sales over the past three years alone. Fueled by her success, Alexander has just launched a second financial management company, MLA Capital Partners.
Why This Program?
“I launched my first company when I was 24. As our projects grew, I felt I needed to take the company to the next level. I needed guidance, tools, support, and resources. And I needed to be in an environment that motivated and inspired me. The MIT EMBA Program has delivered all that. Since I joined this program, I’ve even started a second company.”
National Origin
United States
Current Location
Los Angeles
Industry
Education
Education
Mechanical engineering
Shawn Atlow
Director
Los Angeles Unified School District
Biography
Shawn Atlow manages all activities related to the $5+ billion in grants that support LAUSD facilities. She leads initiatives designed to convince legislators to maximize the funds made available for public school construction and minimize new rules that exacerbate public agencies’ financial difficulties.
Why This Program?
“The program is even more powerful than I imagined it would be. I’m learning from world leaders in finance, but because of the global cohort and the breadth of knowledge on campus, I’m also learning about earthquake-proof buildings in the Dominican Republic and how Singapore teaches its students math. In the first month, I took away more than I expected to learn by graduation.”
National Origin
India
Current Location
Albany, NY
Industry
Software
Education
Chemistry
Guha Bala
President
Vicarious Visions, Inc.
Biography
Guha Bala ’13 and his brother Karthik ’13 founded Vicarious Visions in 1994 in their parents’ basement. With mega-hit video games like Guitar Hero and Spider-Man, the brothers have shaped popular culture around the world while helping to create entertainment blockbusters totaling $2.5+ billion in sales.
Why This Program?
“I came to the MIT EMBA Program to broaden my perspective beyond my industry and gain firm grounding in unfamiliar fundamentals. Expanding my thinking was the real draw, rather than simply an additional degree. MIT is at the intersection of technology, media, entrepreneurship, and business. That combination represents extraordinary value to entrepreneurs like us—and to a company like Vicarious Visions. The lessons we are learning are immediately relevant. We’re leveraging what we’re learning daily.”
National Origin
United States
Current Location
Boston area
Industry
Medicine
Education
Medicine/Public health
Richard Baum
Associate Professor Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Biography
A prominent physician, medical school professor, scientist, and accomplished leader, Richard Baum holds a medical degree and an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School. Baum chairs a government affairs group in Washington focused on medicine and is the author of more than 150 scientific publications and book chapters in the field of minimally invasive surgery.
Why This Program?
“I lead a large complex medical organization, so I wanted a program focused on the science of management, a program designed exclusively for senior executives. I wanted an earnest program that refused to take shortcuts. What I especially like about the MIT EMBA is that you become a full-fledged member of the larger MIT community with all of its incredible opportunities. I have been able to use these connections to cross-pollinate between Harvard and MIT, creating unique collaborations and opportunities.”
National Origin
United States
Current Location
Silicon Valley
Industry
High tech
Education
Mechanical engineering
Kathleen Bergeron
Senior Director, Macintosh Product Design
Apple, Inc.
Biography
Kate Bergeron has been a leader in Apple’s Product Design group for nearly ten years. As a manager and engineer in the mechanical engineering of computer products, she is focused on high volume products, specifically in the mobile computer space. Bergeron has had extensive experience working with international design teams, OEMs, and vendors in Asia.
Why This Program?
“In a technology business, you’re only half prepared if you know technology but not business. I realized that if I was going to evolve as a leader in my field, I needed an MIT EMBA. It integrates everything I need with a distinct focus on global teams and how to move an industry forward. Apple expects me to stay current technically and to make strategic business decisions. The best place to do that is the MIT EMBA Program.”
National Origin
United States
Current Location
Londonderry, NH
Industry
Defense technology
Education
Mechanical engineering
Lynn Bollengier
Vice President, Engineering
L-3 Warrior Systems, Insight
Biography
After 18 years in engineering management and product development, Lynn Bollengier assumed the role of VP of New Product Development for L-3’s Warrior Systems. She now manages a new product development group of more than 100 engineers and is preparing to lead the creation of the next generation of defense systems for L-3.
Why This Program?
“The MIT EMBA Program has been critical in helping me define myself as a leader and to understand the impact of the core values I bring to the workplace. If you really want transformational impact, if you want to do more than check ‘MBA’ off your to-do list, if you’re not afraid to leave your comfort zone behind, I don’t know why you would go anywhere else.”
National Origin
United States
Current Location
Boston area
Industry
Defense
Education
Mechanical engineering
Matt Graziano
Senior Program Manager
General Dynamics C4 Systems
Biography
As a senior program manager, Graziano is responsible for the successful execution of several key U.S. Army programs that operate across multiple business areas and disciplines within General Dynamics C4 Systems. He previously served as a business development manager and led the company’s Marine Corps and Air Force business pursuits in transformational, network-centric communications. Graziano is a former Army Signal Officer who served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Why This Program?
“During my MBA program selection process, I visited the MIT EMBA Program and found myself surrounded by a group of energetic, self-motivated, and brilliant leaders open to new ideas. I was struck by two significant differentiators—the level of character in the room and the students’ willingness to check their egos at the door. I instantly felt comfortable in this team environment, both as a learner and a contributor, and I knew the program was for me.”
National Origin
Pakistan
Current Location
Detroit & London
Industry
High-tech entrepreneurship
Education
Electrical engineering/Cybernetics
Amjad Hussain
Owner/President
SilkRoute Global
Biography
Amjad Hussain is the founder and president of NextWave, a global business accelerator and venture capital fund focused on the high-tech sector. Hussain channels 20 years of technological and entrepreneurial experience into helping NextWave’s portfolio companies achieve rapid and sustainable growth. One of those companies is SilkRoute Global, a worldwide provider of supply chain solutions that facilitates $4 billion in retail trade.
Why This Program?
“The students are from all over the world, and they represent very different industries, but they are all exceptional leaders in their fields. With a powerful camaraderie, we examine core issues from multiple perspectives and share—and test—the “tribal practices” of our industries. I can’t emphasize enough how massively important this is to me and my company.”
National Origin
India
Current Location
New Orleans
Industry
Energy
Education
Chemical engineering
Ajay Mehta
Project Manager
Shell International Exploration & Production Inc.
Biography
A research scientist with a doctorate in chemical engineering, Ajay Mehta spent the first 10 years of his career in Shell’s R&D Center in Houston, then assumed an overseas assignment in Borneo, where he worked as the regional point person for minimizing CO2 from existing operations and new projects in Asia and Australia. Mehta now serves as project manager for Perdido, the deepest producing oil and gas field in the Gulf of Mexico.
Why This Program?
“Being at MIT puts us at the forefront of world-changing innovations. Take the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). The multidisciplinary research underway will transform the next generation of policy design and technology development. Being a part of the MIT community puts me in a perfect position to be a vital link between MITEI and my company.”
National Origin
United States
Current Location
Las Vegas
Industry
Healthcare
Education
Accounting/Finance
Rosalind Sullivan
Chief Financial Officer
Cenegenics Medical Institute
Biography
After serving as senior accountant for a large accounting firm and assistant controller at Merrill Lynch/Howard Johnson & Company, Rosalind Sullivan joined Cenegenics as controller. Promoted to CFO in 2007, she now oversees the organization’s accounting, tax, finance, and treasury functions and has contributed to the organization’s overall success—and the development of 17 new centers.
Why This Program?
“One of the things that makes this program so powerful is the action-learning component. The MIT EMBA merges the theoretical and the practical so that you immediately apply your new knowledge on the job. Everything we’re learning is highly relevant to our everyday responsibilities. And my classmates share their on-the-job experiences, so we’re also learning a lot from the action-learning experiences of our program peers.”
National Origin
United States
Current Location
Boston area
Industry
High tech
Education
Business
Ed Walsh
VP of Strategy and Growth Initiatives
IBM
Biography
Ed Walsh is a new technology executive with 23 years of senior management experience in public, private, and venture-backed firms. Walsh came to IBM through the acquisition of Storwize Inc., where he was CEO. Prior to Storwize, he was CEO of Virtual Iron (now Oracle OVM), VP and GM at EMC, CEO of Avamar (now EMC/Avamar), SVP at CNT (now Brocade), and cofounder of Articulent (acquired by CNT).
Why This Program?
“This program is an essential mid-career recalibration. I’m here to broaden and deepen my skill sets, to dig deeper, to look at things more analytically, and to extend my network beyond my industry. The innovation and technology cups are overflowing at MIT, and the community is exhilaratingly synergistic. I am meeting amazing people within the program and across the Institute.”
National Origin
United States
Current Location
Washington, DC
Industry
Finance
Education
Economics
Nat Wienecke
VP for Global Government Relations
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Biography
Nat Wienecke works with international, federal, state, and local government officials to advance polices that promote the efficient functioning of the global financial system. His wide-ranging role at JP Morgan Chase encompasses everything from drafting intellectual property legislation to working on a global financial advisory board with world leaders like Tony Blair.
Why This Program?
“I wanted an MBA that matched the breadth of my responsibilities and gave me credibility on the international stage. The MIT EMBA is the most challenging program of its kind. That level of rigor gives MIT—and its graduates—unrivaled global street cred. Every time I come back from a weekend at MIT, I realize all over again that this is the best thing I’ve ever done professionally.”
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