Eric M. Tichy
Yale University School of Management
“A strategic clinical leader with a lifelong love of learning.”
Age: 41
Hometown: Oxford, Connecticut
Family Members: Wife – Rachel, Son – Alex (10), Daughters – Analiese (8) and Isabella (4)
Fun fact about yourself: I make my own maple syrup each winter by tapping maple trees by my home.
Undergraduate School and Degree:
BS Pharmacy Studies – University of Connecticut
Doctor of Pharmacy – University of Connecticut
Where are you currently working? Yale New Haven Health System, Associate Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles: Immediate Past President of the Connecticut Society of Health System Pharmacists; Contributing Editor, Therapeutics for the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy; Founding member and past executive committee chair of the American Society of Transplantation Pharmacist Community of Practice; Fundraiser and Volunteer for Donate Life Connecticut; Junior Boys Basketball Coach, Oxford Parks & Recreation; Den Leader Pack 14 Cub Scouts Oxford
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? This winter, my wife and I participated in Dancing for Donations, a fundraiser gala to support Donate Life Connecticut. In between the busy MBA program, work obligations and family life, we learned how to dance the rumba, and in the process we raised thousands of dollars to support organ and tissue donation. Some of my biggest support came from my MBA classmates who rallied to behind the cause.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? My proudest achievement of my professional career occurred when I was recognized as a Service Excellence Hero at Yale New Haven Hospital and within a short time also appointed as a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. These achievements represent excellence in my craft within the workplace and on a national level. As I continue in my career, I look forward to helping my mentees achieve similar recognition.
What was your favorite MBA course and what was the biggest insight you gained about business from it? Strategic Leadership Across Sectors by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Storms will come during our careers and we will face personal and professional setback, loss, and trauma. Great leaders succeed and endure by setting an anchor in the future that gives them a purpose in life and a reason to survive.
Why did you choose this executive MBA program? I chose the Yale SOM Executive MBA program because it is ideally constituted to help me achieve my career goals. The curriculum amplifies my talents and completes the areas I need to develop as a professional. The faculty are excellent teachers, influential in their fields, and deeply engaged with the students. Finally, the class size (not too big and not too small) facilitates relationship development and the program diversity ensures that you learn as much from your classmates as you do from the faculty. Finally, the ability to tap into the full plethora of learning opportunities at the university was attractive.
What did you enjoy most about business school in general? My career before business school was very clinical and mostly focused on direct patient care in the hospital. Business school stretched me in areas such as finance, policy and strategy to the point where I now have a better understanding of the big-picture changes that need to occur in healthcare to facilitate better care delivery at the front lines.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? One of my favorite memories is taking my son Alex to work and school with me on national Take Your Child to Work Day. Yale New Haven Hospital puts on a great program for the kids, and this was the first year my son was old enough to participate. The challenge was that I also had my Strategic Leadership Across Sectors class that same afternoon, and I could not coordinate transportation home for my son between the activities. Fortunately, Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld gave me permission to bring Alex to class with me. My son had a wonderful experience. He was bragging to his siblings and friends for weeks about how the classroom has microphones and big television screens. He described how the professor debates with the students and even plays movies. I am pleased that we could make it all come together.
What is the biggest myth about going back to school? The biggest myth about going back to school was that the program would put a big strain on my family relationships. I found that we actually became closer as we all did homework at the dining room table and shared the school experience. We also became intentional and strategic about family time and this helped us focus on creating memorable experiences when I was away from school and work.
What was your biggest regret in business school? That I have not yet traveled to Guatemala to visit my classmate and Hot Fusion team member Carlos Paredes in his home city. This will have to happen after graduation when we have a Hot Fusion team reunion with Mike Fang, Sue Mockus, Corey Lesniak and Joe Kwasniewski.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire?Jan Schepanek – He commutes to SOM from Germany, never missing a minute of class and contributes a ton of positive energy to the group.
“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…Pamela Sutton Wallace, chief executive officer of the University of Virginia Medical Center, spoke at the healthcare colloquium during my interview day.”
“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…reading more books on leadership and personal development.”
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? To be a chief executive of an academic medical center
In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? For always having interesting perspectives on subjects they would not expect me to be familiar with.
Favorite book: Do It Well. Make It Fun: The Key to Success in Life, Death, and Almost Everything in Between by Ronald Culberson
Favorite movie or television show: Star Wars
What are the top two items on your bucket list? Skydiving and an African safari
What made Eric such an invaluable addition to the class of 2018?
“Eric Tichy is that rare talent who can fluidly move between the management and clinical spheres without anyone even noticing. He is trained as a pharmacist, but I suspect there is a physician, nurse, and maybe a physical therapist lurking inside of his DNA as well. He has as a keen interest and aptitude for policy nuance, particularly as it relates to the pharmaceutical space. He shows leadership in classroom discussions and is always able to see challenges from multiple viewpoints. It is not surprising that he has already been promoted during his time doing our program. I suspect there will be a long list of future such advancements.”
Dr. Howard P. Forman
Professor of Diagnostic Radiology, Economics, and Public Health
Yale School of Management
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