Favorite Professors Of The Executive MBA Class of 2020

Heidi Schulz, University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)

“Rodrigo Verdi, Financial Accounting.  Rodrigo was my accounting professor during second semester.  I NEEDED accounting and also dreaded it due to a very unfortunate accounting class in Spain during undergrad. Rodrigo teaches accounting like a master conductor directs a perfect symphony. I’d been leading finance teams for several years without accounting training and desperately wanted some accounting skills. Rodrigo taught the class with kindness, practicality and beauty. Rodrigo’s version of accounting is a very real-world MBA skill that I really value and enjoyed learning.”
Catharine Smith, MIT (Sloan)

“Heidi Schulz. Her class, Storytelling to Influence and Inspire, was especially helpful for my personal and professional development. By nature, I am a very rational and analytical person. Heidi provided the frameworks, components, and best practices needed to compose a great story. The ability to convey facts, values, and direction through a compelling story makes me a more effective leader.”
Arnulf Penker, University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)

“I called Terri Kurtzberg for advice after being promoted to a new job because I needed some guidance on how to handle some difficult conversations. At the end of the call, she asked me to update her because “she was in it now!” I was very impressed with how generous she was with her time and that she cared enough to want to see the problem through to its resolution. (It was resolved.) Professor Kurtzberg taught my EMBA class negotiations during our first-year, week in residence. I loved her approachable teaching style, non-judgmental feedback, and all of the negotiation skills that we learned, which I still apply almost daily.”
Jeffrey S. Jhang, Rutgers Business School

“John Terry, Entrepreneurship, was my favorite professor. John put together a challenging course that demanded excellence and work. At the same time, he provided clear expectations and guidance. I feel that he views students on a peer level, which encourages authentic interactions with students.”
Adam Tunks, Southern Methodist University (Cox)

Gianna Bern, University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)

“Professor Gianna Bern, who taught us Global Finance, was my favorite professor. She brought into the classroom 25+ years worth of financial experience. Entering the EMBA program, I was eager to learn more about finance as I had spent little time studying the subject. Her class was taught with a hands-on approach with real-word case studies that were interesting and relevant. Before I knew it, I found myself learning the material and being able to apply it back to my everyday work. By the end of her class I found myself comfortable enough to stand up in front of the class and give an in depth  presentation on financial risk mitigation. That is something I would have never thought I would have the confidence to do when starting the EMBA program. This is a testament to Gianna and the other financial professors who taught us throughout the program.”
Sydney Storey, University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)

“My favorite MBA professor was Leonard Lane because he was able to share business stories and practices that have allowed me to learn what drives businesses from the national to the global level. Given I have not worked in an international setting, Professor Lane was able to help me visualize and understand how that environment operates through his knowledge and while applying course concepts. He was able to consistently create dialogue among students to make the course engaging and very entertaining.”
Rosie Garza, U.C. Irvine (Merage)

“Professor Terry Kramer. His level of interest in the subject of technology, the effortless energy and professionalism he shows with every interaction, and his level of enthusiasm and support for student success and innovation is infectious and inspiring. He never discounts an idea and he improves a student’s critical thinking through relentless curiosity.”
Pradnya Parulekar, UCLA (Anderson)

Zeke Hernandez, Wharton School

“My favorite MBA professor was Professor Zeke Hernandez, who taught global strategy.  He is an excellent teacher, as all the Wharton professors are. What I appreciated most about Zeke was his kind heart, strong advocacy, genuine interest in his students as people, and his positive affirmations about work and life (he called them Zekecrets). I also had the opportunity to go to Argentina with Zeke for our global business week and saw his genuine interest in how fostering ingenuity and innovation and good policy choices can lift up people and societies.”
Alexander Ding, Wharton School (San Francisco)

“When you have a professor, whose mantra is “Read good. Math good” – you may wonder what might be going on. Dr. Patrick Badolato’s passion for his craft created an environment that you craved to get back to. He elicited an excitement about reading long [very long], financial statements, and understanding how to cut through the noise. He expected us to provide in-depth, thoughtful insights that we could only gather by not growing weary of reading the minutiae in financial statements, while doing the math to substantiate what you were reading. His lessons helped me gain such a profound skillset and confidence to ask the questions, or do additional research to validate or reject the information.”
Anita Valdez, University of Texas (McCombs)

“Professor Brian McCann, who teaches Business Strategy, was my favorite professor. He has the advantage of an interesting and overarching subject matter; however, he could teach advanced regressions and make it engaging. He has a unique way of taking complex and conjoined theories and laying them out bare, cutting through the B.S. of today’s business jargon and forcing his students to think critically. I know I’m not alone in my appreciation for Professor McCann.”
Michelle Sauer, Vanderbilt University (Owen)

“Professor MP Narayan (Finance). He is brilliant, entertaining, and cares deeply about his students and about teaching. He consistently pushed us to go beyond memorizing the rules or formulae to understand the concepts and assumptions built into any model. The content came alive as he taught, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute.”
Manu K. Malhotra, University of Michigan (Ross)

Nir Menachemi, Indiana University (Kelley)

“From our first day of orientation to our final session as a cohort, Dan Oglevee was instrumental in my EMBA experience. Professor Oglevee opened his network to us and was critical to the success of our two immersion experiences throughout the program. These were invaluable experiences that could not be replicated in the classroom, and I am incredibly grateful for those eye-opening experiences. In addition, Professor Oglevee’s entrepreneurial finance class was taught in a way that challenged me and led to me evolving my approach to investing. His willingness to share his personal entrepreneurial experiences with us served as equal part cautionary tale and success story, which I found insightful as a fellow entrepreneur.”
David Entinghe, Ohio State (Fisher)

“This is unfair – I loved working with so many of the faculty! Nir Menachemi taught several of the classes, and he also was a faculty member who traveled with us on the two international study abroad trips that we took. Through these interactions, we studied the healthcare systems of the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. During the height of the COVID-19 crisis, Nir was a critical participant in the development of the models of the virus’ incidence and severity, as well as the impact on resources (hospitals, ventilators, ICUs). As students in the program, we received a detailed real-time lecture and discussion of the strengths and limitations of the various models being used to develop healthcare policy.”
Sara Jo Grethlein, Indiana University (Kelley)