Tina Lenneman
University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management
Age: 40
“Medical device strategist passionate about using my gifts to serve others at scale.”
Hometown: Hopkins, MN
Family Members: Married with three children
Fun fact about yourself: To express my creative and artistic side, I put my heart into making custom birthday cakes and Halloween costumes for my children. I recently made MN hockey and Tiny T. Rex cakes and have created Halloween costumes ranging from MerCat to Ewoks.
Undergraduate School and Degree:
University of Saint Thomas, Bachelor’s of Arts in Liberal Arts with a French Minor
University of Minnesota, Bachelor’s of Science in Biomedical Engineering
University of Minnesota, Master’s and PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Where are you currently working? Boston Scientific, Vascular Franchise Strategy Manager
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:
Carlson School of Management Executive MBA (CEMBA) Program Class Representative, serving as a liaison between faculty and cohort to enhance the student experience.
Engineering mentor, coaching early career engineers in technical and professional development.
Throughout the program, I have intentionally balanced my commitments alongside a high intensity professional role and raising my three children.
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of using many elements of my business school education to navigate demonstrating my new skills and facilitate transferring from engineering to marketing. I feel well equipped to continue to develop my career with my new-found skills. This includes leveraging what I had learned in financial management to effectively develop and explain financial projections, net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR), and developing negotiation preparation documents.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I am most proud of reaching my role as an R&D Fellow and the impact I was able to have on that position. I co-led strategy for the Chronic Venous Insufficiency franchise, led an exploratory R&D team, and advanced multiple strategic initiatives that shaped the direction of the business.
This work synthesized technical, strategic, and leadership skills I developed over the course of my career, while actively applying the skills I was learning in the CEMBA program. Most importantly, in this role, I articulated my strengths in people leadership, development, and stakeholder alignment. I am proud not only of what I accomplished but of all that my team achieved together.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? It is challenging to choose one professor, but if I am held to only one, my favorite professor is Akshay Rao. As the General Mills Chair in Marketing, Akshay used compelling stories and empirical evidence to instill in me the importance of getting out of your office and going to be with your customer to understand their true problems, needs, and ways of working. While true for external customers, this method is just as important for internal stakeholders. I am grateful for his course and how it has enhanced my approach to business.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? I chose the Carlson School of Management’s Executive MBA program for its rigor and format. The foundation of Minnesota Carlson is the depth and quality of their research, which is then reflected into coursework by the primary authors themselves. CEMBA also provides a focused program, emphasizing in-person collaboration. This element is a hidden gem. The network we have within our cohort is tight-knit and from diverse and accomplished personal and professional backgrounds. This not only provides a wealth of perspectives and approaches, it has, in turn, self-assembled into a personal board of directors for each other. I am blessed to have these people in my life and call them lifelong friends.
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? One of the biggest lessons I learned, among many, is from our leadership class with Kevin Wilde. While discussing advances in our careers, he noted that as we advance, we need to reflect on the skills that made us successful in our past roles. Even more, we need to consider what is needed in our current role to evaluate which skills we need to leave behind and which skills we should add. Although I have heard others discuss reflecting on what new roles need from us, the comment on determining which skills we will need to leave behind was profound. I took this to heart in leading my exploratory R&D team, transforming the questions and input I gave my team as they developed ideas.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? As a parent to three children, I do what I can to work ahead if something may come up that would otherwise result in me not being able to meet my commitments. Over the course of the program, I spent my time very intentionally to meet my commitments at home, work, and school. By aligning tasks to when I had peak energy, I found I could remain present in all three by studying before work. These working hours allowed me to be home for the afterschool check-in, and then study again after I had put them to bed. Although challenging at times, I am grateful for all that I have learned in the program and the people I now have in my life. If challenging schedules arise in the future, I know that I can rise to the occasion, while holding true to my values and priorities.
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? Know your why. What is your intent for entering the program? Which elements of the program will meet that intent? Does the structure of the program and its approach align with your intent and what is important to you?
What was your biggest regret in business school? My biggest regret in business school was missing moments over the two-year program due to competing commitments. Whether it was fun events around the city that my kids enjoy doing or rushing bedtime stories to make a team meeting, those moments made me sad for what I had missed with them. I recognize though that two years in the big picture is a short duration over the course of our life. I held to my value of family by ensuring I kept quality time with them, even if some moments were missed.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? More regularly I am using AI as a thought partner to pose questions to me when I am not able to meet with colleagues. The questions posed can be scoped in a bounded or expansive fashion to spur me to think about a variety of options. I find using AI in this way to be more engaging to continue to develop my thinking rather than relying on AI to generate answers.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? I chose the Executive MBA program due to the format. Content is provided with the understanding that students have significant prior professional experience. This enhances the depth of course discussion as well as focusing on topics that provide sufficient background and frameworks to ask great questions, form a strategy, and lead. In addition, the format is focused on delivery. Delivered in-person, bi-weekly over two days, this allows for expansive discussion with the diverse cohort, and four semesters ensured I could complete this commitment among my other priorities.
How did you finance your EMBA and what did you do to make tuition and associated costs more affordable? I self-financed tuition with some support from Boston Scientific. I found great value in the focus of the program (4 semesters) to enhance and expand my skillset in this rigorous program.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? My ultimate professional goal is to continue to work in areas that make the best use of my skills to serve as many people as possible with the time that I have been given on this earth. I feel very blessed to have had so many opportunities and been supported by mentors, sponsors, and family along the way. I have been given so much and feel it my duty to give back. I do not know where this goal will lead me specifically, but I know that this will ensure my gifts do the most good in the world.
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