3 Critical Questions Posed To NYU Stern Executive MBA Grads

The Executive MBA experience is one of those moments in life, students will never forget. There are late nights studying for exams, reviewing group projects, catching up with professors, listening to guest speakers, or preparing for a presentation due. One thing for certain is each student makes many sacrifices personally and professionally. In the process, they grow their skillset, network with like-minded leaders and take on one of the greatest challenges they will ever encounter.

New York University’s Stern School’s Executive MBA program was filled with solving complex problems, creating memories, and embracing a growth mindset. As a result, my two years of the EMBA program went by fairly quickly. Recently, I sat down with three of my classmates from the Washington DC campus to reflect on the takeaways of tackling dynamic and rapidly-changing business challenges, using lessons learned in class at work, and identifying ways to maximize the value of the degree.  Here was their personal take on executive MBA programming.

L-R: Lucas Snyder, Khali Gopaul and Matthew Meade

Participants:

Khali Gopaul – Client Relations Manager and Licensed Real Estate Professional at Fort Partners

Matthew C. Meade – Head of Fixed Income Exchange & Contributed Pricing Products at Bloomberg LP

Rida Naeem – Senior Manager of Growth Optimization at Deloitte & Touche LLP

Lucas Snyder – Vice President & Building Consulting Area Leader at J.S. Held

1. What is your greatest takeaway from the Executive MBA Washington, D.C. program at NYU Stern School of Business? Why was it so impactful?

Khali Gopaul

Khali Gopaul 
“My most significant takeaways from the NYU Stern Executive MBA program were uncovering the diverse range of challenges that business organizations face, developing strategies and structures for hyper-competitive organizations, and understanding the greater complexity of shaping corporate culture. Furthermore, the versatility of the program’s specializations allowed me the opportunity to pursue subject areas I have not worked in before. As a result, I now have the option to pursue opportunities to pivot to new industries or job functions that seemed out of my scope prior to the program.”

Matthew C. Meade
“My greatest lesson from the NYU Stern Executive MBA program is to constantly adapt to rapid industry changes and market demand because with the swift speed of transformation and AI, your next opportunity may not exist yet.”

Rida Naeem
“My greatest takeaway from the program is understanding how different elements of a business come together to work towards a common goal and that leadership and senior management need to understand these elements beyond their area of expertise for the success of a business. Our classes and their connectivity to one another helped me to learn and see things from a cohesive perspective.”

Lucas Snyder

Lucas Snyder
“That today’s technology, the resulting level of connectivity and data collection introduced a new era of ecosystems. The evolution of these ecosystems requires that management theory reconsider the linear orientation that many firms have successfully deployed and adopt a larger scale systems level mindset.”

2. How were you able to use these lessons at work and what were the results?

Khali Gopaul
“NYU Stern provided the tools to develop more efficient ways of overcoming daily complex business challenges in real estate development. I use the skills I gained to create a framework on effective leadership, combining strong leadership and soft skills to make for a progressive workplace. I am more self-assured and cognizant of how to manage team-building and group effectiveness. Additionally, my analytics and finance specializations provided the practice to analyze markets and evaluate a company’s portfolio as well as an individual’s financial position. I understand the ins-and-outs of real estate transactions from a financial aspect and feel more equipped in assessing the future performance of real estate investments to successfully navigate clients.”

Rida Naeem

Matthew C. Meade
“Doing my EMBA during this time was a great decision. The lesson on adapting to rapid market changes remains prevalent. My classmates and I got a crash course in change management living through current events and addressing them as they happened. In the last two years we have seen a global pandemic, historic presidential campaign, racial and social injustice, and global economic turmoil. To be in the classroom, talk about the events and learn from leaders in diverse industries has been an opportunity of a lifetime. The results encouraged an out-of-the-box thinking style which led to collaboration with others to build upon innovative products utilizing big data.”

Rida Naeem
“The takeaways from each class weekend helped me become a better team leader. Over the two years, I consistently shared the best practices and emerging ideas with my team at work and enhanced my learning by teaching what I had learned in class. This credential has set me apart as a knowledgeable leader beyond the scope of my job and also gave an opportunity to develop my team members.”

Lucas Snyder
“The program provided the necessary environment for me to deepen my business acumen, enabling me to lead my team to growth. The skills that I developed during the program allowed me to effectively work with cross functional teams within and outside the organization. I was able to map and manage the performance of the team I lead, achieve plan beating profit-and-loss performance, and promote members of my team to roles of increasing responsibility.”

3. How have you been maximizing the value of the degree?

Matthew C. Meade

Khali Gopaul
“I have maximized the NYU Stern Executive MBA experience by utilizing the NYU alumni network. My professional network has expanded with access to a diverse and extensive global network of students and professionals alike. This worldwide network has connected me to executives with great insight in the business world.”

Matthew C. Meade
“With a concentration in Analytics and Strategy, I was able to pivot careers from finance into fintech. Courses like Leadership in Organizations, Analytics and Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Platform Revolution equipped me to apply new skill sets in real-time within a new career field.”

Rida Naeem
“I’m a better business professional thanks to the teachings of the EMBA program and the professors. I understand different elements of a business and how to add value beyond my current role within my firm which differentiates me as a high performer and paves the way to leadership positions.”

Lucas Snyder
“The comprehensiveness of the degree allows me to recognize where and how to add value to the organization I serve. Additionally, I am better equipped to recognize the unique talents of the members of the team I lead, and I am better at effectively deploying the resources I have to achieving the goals of the company.”

NYU Stern’s Washington DC Campus

Author: Matthew C. Meade is a Financial Services Executive with several years of experience working with Fortune 100 companies in the Tri-State area. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Management from the University of Virginia and pursuing an Executive MBA Degree from NYU Stern School of Business with a concentration in analytics, strategy and leadership. Matthew is an author, motivational speaker, business owner, philanthropist and activist. He is passionately involved in several leadership activities including mentoring and coaching future generations. Matthew enjoys serving others and giving back to the community. 

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