Penn State’s Steve Ettinger
A TOP DOCTOR…A FORMER HIP HOP ARTIST…AND A LEGAL ACE
But these nominees are just the tip of the iceberg. Want to know the caliber of professionals on campus these days? Duke’s Peter Saba, 54, boasts a Supreme Court victory as a corporate counsel. Penn State’s Steve Ettinger, 55, who earned his classmates respect for his insightfulness and helping hand, is ranked among the country’s top doctors, And the University of Chicago’s Sebastian Cerezo Montañez, 39, has already founded a leading independent M&A house and served as CEO for two companies – before he even turned 40.
But it is how many of these students performed once they entered their programs that made them the best in their classes. Two quants – MIT’s Ashley Sager, 32, and Purdue’s Stacey Mueller, 47 – were celebrated by their peers for their high GPAs and willingness to coach their peers (at seemingly any hour). Despite the grueling hours expected of an investment banker, Columbia Business School’s Karl Blunden, 30, was known for his heavy involvement in campus life, winning the school’s distinguished scholarship and outstanding service awards. And Northwestern’s Meera Atkins, 42, worked tirelessly as an ambassador for the program.
Of course, several students brought colorful backgrounds to the table. The University of Florida’s Jonathan Tenanbaum, 38, has gone from hip hop artist to attorney to MBA. Columbia’s Jolly Mazumdar, 38, carried on a friendly competition with her husband – who was enrolled in the same program. IE Business School’s Dulce Altabella Lazzi , 43, completed the New York Marathon while pregnant (unknowingly). And Boston University’s Melinda Shockley, 45, finished a race dressed as a purple crayon.
From six sigma disciples to social do-gooders, here are 30 EMBAs who bear watching in the coming years. To read in-depth profiles on each of these candidates, click on the links below.
Class of 2015: The Best Executive MBAs
| Student | School | Employer |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Gates | Arizona State (Carey) | Western Window Systems (President & COO) |
| Melinda Shockley | Boston University (Questrom) | Innolign Biomedical, LLC (Co-Founder and President) |
| Karl Blunden | Columbia | Goldman Sachs (Vice President, Credit Research) |
| Jolly Mazumdar | Columbia | GlaxoSmithKline (Manager in R&D Oncology) |
| Veronica Carrera | Cornell (Johnson) | Bloomberg Tradebook (Execution Consultant) |
| Peter Saba | Duke (Fuqua) | Centrus Energy Corporation (Senior VP & General Counsel) |
| Shanmei Yu | ESADE | Keewaymotor Spain (General Manager) |
| Kevin Smith | Georgia Tech (Scheller) | Coca-Cola (Commercial Leadership Finance Manager III) |
| Dulce Altabella Lazzi | IE Business School | IBM USA (Senior Engineer) |
| Flavio Palaci | IESE | PwC (Partner) |
| Satakarni Makkapati | IMD | Intas Pharmaceuticals (Vice President of Biopharma Manufacturing and Head of Plasma Business Operations) |
| Lars E. Carlson | Michigan State (Broad) | Youth Haven, Inc. (Executive Director) |
| Ashley Sager | MIT (Sloan) | Attivio (Director of Finance) |
| Shanise Anderson | New York (Stern) | Revlon (Director of U.S. Marketing) |
| Meera Atkins | Northwestern (Kellogg) | Renaissance Women’s Health (Founder/Owner) |
| Steven Mark Ettinger | Penn State (Smeal) | Penn State Heart & Vascular Institute (Director of Clinical Operations) |
| Stacey Mueller | Purdue (Krannert) | Blackfoot Telecommunications (CFO) |
| Freddie Barela | Southern Methodist (Cox) | Canaan Resoruce Partners (Partner) |
| Patti Fitzpatrick | Texas A&M (Mays) | Spectra Energy Corporation (General Manager/Marketing) |
| Derek Herrera | UCLA (Anderson) | Spinal Singularity LLC (Founder) |
| Robert Ford | University of California-Berkeley | Abbott Labs (Executive Vice-President of Medical Devices) |
| Sebastian Cerezo Montañez | Chicago (Booth) | Oneworld Packaging (CEO) |
| Jonathan Tenenbaum | Florida (Hough) | NameJet LLC (General Manager) |
| Gregory Fortner | Michigan (Ross) | ID Avatars (VP of Product Experience) |
| Erin Dady | Minnesota (Carlson) | University of Minnesota (Special Assistant to the President for Government and Community Relations) |
| Abhi Mehrotra | North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | UNC Medical Center Emergency Department (Assistant Medical Director) and Hillsborough Hospital Emergency Department (Medical Director) |
| Father Pete McCormick | Notre Dame (Mendoza) | Notre Dame (Director of Campus Ministry) |
| Jackie Dawson | Pittsburgh (Katz) | McKesson (Manager, Six Sigma) |
| Pierre-Marie del Moral | Southern California (Marshall) | Roche Diagnostics, (Sequencing Solutions Specialist |
| Jennifer Schretter | Virginia (Darden) | Goldman Sachs (Investment Management Associate) and KOLTON J (Founder) |
Source: P&Q
DON’T MISS: CLASS OF 2015: WORLD’S BEST AND BRIGHTEST MBAs
MBAs TO WATCH IN THE CLASS OF 2015
THE TOP MBAs NAME THEIR FAVORITE BUSINESS PROFESSORS
MBA CLASS OF 2015: MY BIGGEST LESSONS FROM BUSINESS SCHOOL
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