Tyler Tetreault, MD, MBA
University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
Age: 35
“Pediatric spine surgeon, trans man, community builder, and fun-loving husband.”
Hometown: Moorestown, NJ
Family Members: Kate Googins (wife), Margot and Chip (dogs)
Fun fact about yourself: I’ve been a runner my whole life and competed in college, but training took a back seat during surgical residency. Since returning to the sport, I’ve found a new level of success in the marathon and am now training to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Trials.
Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Pennsylvania: BA (Biophysics); Tufts University School of Medicine: MD
Where are you currently working? Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:
- Board member, PrideOrtho
- Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? My proudest academic achievement was our capstone project analyzing EA Games’ buyout offer and delivering a shareholder recommendation. Our team finished among the top two projects in the class, which meant a lot given that I entered the MBA with no prior business background. The project pushed me to apply everything I’d learned, from financial modeling to strategic analysis to team leadership, all at once. I also came in dreading public speaking, but found that real command of the material translated directly into confidence in front of the room. That’s a lesson I’ve taken back to my surgical career, especially when presenting my research to a new audience.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? My proudest professional achievement was passing my orthopedic surgery board certification while simultaneously completing my MBA. The process spans two years and culminates in an oral examination where applicants present cases from their own surgical practice to a panel of examiners. The biggest source of anxiety wasn’t the exam itself, but not knowing exactly what to expect. Plus, failure means restarting the entire two-year process. I prepared methodically, leaned on the organizational skills I was building in the MBA program, and walked in confident that my cases had gone well. Passing on the first attempt, while managing a full-time surgical practice and graduate coursework, is something I’m genuinely proud of.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite professor was Nandini Rajagopalan, who taught Global Strategy. The material was entirely new to me, which made it immediately engaging, but what set her apart was how she ran the classroom. Every answer to a case question had to be backed by data or a clear rationale. She expected us to bring our financial analysis skills to the table and integrate them with the strategy frameworks she was teaching. She was also funny and moved at a pace that kept you on your toes. Professor Rajagopalan challenged us to think harder and come more prepared than we thought we needed to be, and that standard pushed me to develop a more rigorous analytical approach that I’ve carried into my work.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? USC Marshall was the natural choice for several reasons. As a faculty member at USC, I already felt a strong affinity for the university and its culture. The program’s reputation, the strength of the Trojan network, and the depth of healthcare expertise within the cohort and curriculum all aligned with what I was seeking. The schedule also worked well with the demands of a full-time surgical practice. It felt less like choosing a business school and more like deepening my relationship with an institution I was already proud to be a part.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? The only way to juggle a full-time surgical practice, an MBA, and a personal life was to lean on the people around me, especially my wife, my work partners, and my cohort. This past winter brought everything to a head at once: our capstone project was in full swing with weekly team meetings; I was deep in marathon training; and I was trying to be present at home. It culminated in coming home late from work the night before a vacation and packing at 3 am to make our flight. I’ve always prided myself on good time management, but the MBA taught me that even with the best systems, a schedule packed this full leaves no margin for error. What saved me was the people around me. Throughout the program, my wife and I were intentional about carving out real time together and we took some excellent trips where we could genuinely recharge. And my cohort operated with a mutual understanding that life happens to all of us: teammates picked up the slack when I was away, and I did the same for them. That reciprocity made the whole thing sustainable.
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? First, be honest with yourself about timing. An EMBA is a significant undertaking on top of an already full work and personal schedule. Ask yourself whether you have the capacity to truly get the most out of it right now, or whether waiting a few years to gain more career experience or simply more bandwidth would make for a richer experience. Life is always busy and there may never be a perfect time, but some times are better than others.
Once you’re in, the experience moves faster than you expect. It genuinely feels like a whirlwind, and if you don’t pause to reflect along the way, it can pass without fully sinking in. Finally, be intentional about your personal marketing. Share what you’re learning with the people around you, including your mentors, colleagues, and direct reports. Your growth during an EMBA happens quickly, and the only way to fully capitalize on it is to be able to articulate it to others
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? AI was integrated throughout our curriculum, sometimes encouraged and sometimes required. The most striking example was using it to evaluate a real estate acquisition: starting with a pro forma model and an offering memorandum, we were able to build a complete financial model and pitch book with minimal hands-on work. We had to check the output carefully and refine our prompts along the way, but the final product was strong. That experience crystallized the most important insight I took away: AI is extraordinarily powerful, but it doesn’t replace expertise. It requires someone with enough knowledge to direct it well, verify its work, and catch what it gets wrong. Experienced professionals have a real advantage here over new graduates who may not yet have the domain knowledge to use it effectively. The opportunity isn’t to hand work off to AI, but to leverage it as a force multiplier.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? I wanted to be in a room with people who had already accomplished something in their careers. The EMBA format attracts a different caliber of classmate — professionals at a higher level who bring real experience to every discussion and push your thinking in ways that a part-time or online cohort typically cannot. I also wanted the continuity of moving through the program with the same group of people. Building meaningful relationships requires repeated exposure over time, and that is much harder to achieve when your classmates rotate or you’re learning behind a screen. The cohort model was central to what I was looking for.
How did you finance your EMBA and what did you do to make tuition and associated costs more affordable? An EMBA is an investment that benefits not just the student but their employer as well. The skills you develop translate directly into better leadership, sharper decision-making, and greater organizational value. I made that case to my employer and was fortunate that they agreed, contributing to my tuition. The return on that investment will be mutual and lasting.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I am early enough in my career that I don’t have a single fixed answer, and I think that’s okay. What I know is that I want to be impactful within healthcare. The MBA has opened my eyes to several paths that could get me there: moving into hospital leadership to sit at the intersection of medicine and the business of healthcare; building a private practice to gain more autonomy over how I deliver care; or continuing my current surgical practice while developing a nonprofit focused on bringing pediatric spine care to underserved communities. The MBA hasn’t narrowed my ambitions so much as it has expanded the toolkit I have to pursue them.
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