Boardroom: San Jose, California
Position while enrolled: Head of Architecture and Business Transformation, VP at Trepp, LLC
Undergraduate studies: Computer science, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences
“The program made it possible for me to continue living and working in Silicon Valley and earn my MBA locally. I found it to be the perfect step for my career progression.”
I had already achieved technical prowess in software engineering, reaching the director level. Throughout my career, I had performed several functions across multiple product lines. Looking forward, I wanted to expand into business and become a strategic goal setter. I found that the best way to gain that business acumen was through an MBA degree.
Cornell has an excellent academic reputation, so that played a factor in my decision. I also liked the Americas program’s team-based format and was surprised at how much opportunity there was to work and collaborate in a team setting. The program made it possible for me to continue living and working in Silicon Valley and earn my MBA locally. I found it to be the perfect step for my career progression.
Within seven months of starting the Americas program, I was promoted to senior director and was responsible for leading several teams and setting the strategy along several lines of business. One month before I completed the EMBA Americas program, I was awarded the opportunity to join Trepp, LLC as the head of architecture and business transformation. This was a big uplift for my career and combined my technical and business skill sets.
The diversity of thought within the learning team is intriguing and similar to the real world. The weekend boardroom classes are highly interactive, and the professors are a hand-raise away and very responsive. The program’s delivery format doesn’t lessen the quality of the content at all. This local Saturday/Sunday format has helped me achieve my career goals.
If you have a technical background like I do, I recommend that you consider the program if you feel you have reached a peak in your technical path and the future looks similar to the present. The Americas program will position you to participate in setting business policy by giving you the tools you need to be part of conversations about strategic business direction.
The first residential session was most memorable to me. That session featured the Negotiations course, giving us an opportunity to take part in a live, in-person negotiation. The hands-on preparation we did was invaluable. The experience demonstrated how important negotiation strategies are in real life and the value of preparing for negotiations.