A conversation with Yda Bouvier, MBA ’98, on her new book, Leading from the Right Brain, gleaned from her studies in applied physics, and years of coaching executives seeking to strengthen and transform their leadership style. Yda discusses how many leaders are especially capable in left-brain functioning, which serves them well in building strong strategic, problem solving, and goal-achievement track records. And yet, when left-brain functioning gets stuck, it can only be unlocked through bringing in the strengths of the right side of the brain. Yda posits that the right brain sees the whole, the proverbial forest from the trees; and it sees the new, bringing fresh ideas and perspectives for any problem. The right brain also has access to information about ourselves and others that the left brain doesn’t have.  

In the wide-ranging conversation Yda touches on the impact MIT Sloan had on her evolution from the physics cellars doing research, to gaining new found skills and confidence for her work before and after MIT Sloan at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).  Since 2008, Yda Bouvier has worked with hundreds of individuals and many teams in periods of transition and professional challenges, across the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. 

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A conversation with Shawna Young, EMBA ’15, on her experiences from North Carolina to Cambridge, from teaching high school to reinvigorating the Scratch Foundation at MIT and advocating for her community.  A graduate of Howard University, Shawna tells us about being in a space where her classmates could be themselves, “unapologetically black and ambitious.” It set her on a path to focus on the access to advanced learning opportunities for children of color early in their educational journey.   

Shawna tells us about the challenges of navigating both parenting and a career guided by the principles of helping the underserved, whether in the high schools where she taught, or through the Duke Talent Identification Program, or at several positions that she has held at MIT. 

Shawna closes by talking about the diverse community she encountered at MIT Sloan, and how she and her classmates bonded over the challenges of juggling school, career, and personal lives.  

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A conversation with Alexander Borschow, SB ’06, MBA ’14, on his journey from Puerto Rico to MIT undergraduate studying chemical biological engineering in Course 10B, then on to New York as a banker at BNP Paribas. On a trip in 2011 to northern Argentina, Alexander had a life-changing realization that the global food system was not sustainable. He returned to MIT Sloan for its strong program in sustainability. While at MIT Sloan, Alexander was president of the Food and Agriculture Club. After graduation, Alexander worked in the food industry at Eataly, where he gained a lot of experience with the food supply ecosystem. He is the co-founder of Semillero Partners, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based growth stage investment fund focused on companies in food and beverage, food tech, and wellness industries. Sustainability is central to Alex and Semillero's investment approach, as is a commitment to the evolution of the companies they support. 

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A conversation with Roberto Rigobon and Juan Pablo Armas, on the 10th Anniversary of the MIT Sloan Latin America Office.  Professor Rigobon and Juan Pablo share the experiences of creating and building the Latin American office, the first of its kind, the challenges of creating a unified and impactful venue for sharing ideas on such a large continent, with disparate economies, education systems, and politics.  They share how Andrónico Luksic pitched the idea to the Dean, and how local families and entrepreneurs kept it alive and vital. They also talk about recent challenges presented by COVID and the successes the office has achieved in the first decade.

Professor Rigobon talks about the unique South American connection, where despite great economic and political upheavals, involving things like 30% of the population of Venezuela scattered across the continent, there have never been refugee camps. They share that despite vigorous competition in things like soccer, when they meet as a council, they don't discuss the regular politics that concentrate on what you want to destroy, but rather they concentrate on what they want to build.  They acknowledge the same basic issues that are common across the continent, like poverty, access to technology, growth, development, and education.

They discuss the impact of giants like Arnoldo Hax and Rudi Dornbusch on recruiting students to MIT and how these students are now in positions of influence in major companies and positions of power in government. They talk about how the education those leaders received at MIT, the sparks that ignited while at MIT, and now continue to access through the MIT Sloan Latin American Office has and will continue to resonate in South America.

Finally, looking ahead, Professor Rigobon and Juan Pablo Armas explore South America's ongoing challenges in economies, industries, the environment, and education and how the MIT Sloan Latin American Office is positioned to contribute to the conversation at the highest levels of government and industry.

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A conversation with Ricard Huguet, MOT ’04, from his start as Director of Innovation for the City of Barcelona, to following his vision of leveraging LEGO robotics for innovation in STEM education in both classrooms and executive suites. Ricard speaks about listening to his customers for ideas, the pivot he made in his company in 2008—in the face of the global economic downturn—and the latest addition of an online platform that has extended his reach exponentially. Ricard also talks about the lessons and confidence he gained from attending MIT Sloan and the lasting value he gets and gives to the MIT community. 

Ricard speaks about the saddest day of his life, namely the last day as a student at MIT, and the powerful message he heard, but initially did not understand, from Professor Rebecca Henderson. She reminded him and his classmates about the blessing of attending MIT, which so few in the world can do, and the importance of working for a company that does something for the community. She advised him to either start his own venture or be sure that his values align with the company’s values, but not to settle for less. Ricard also speaks about the resonance of the "Create, Capture, Deliver" framework and how he uses this when assessing either his own business model or start-ups that approach him for advice or investment. 

Ricard talks about his investment approach, which starts with the team and then the idea. He speaks about the challenge for him and other investors in managing their portfolios and how he created an organization to help him and others to improve their performance. 

Finally, Ricard’s advice to prospective Sloanies is to embrace the ecosystem, live there, enjoy people, get into labs, collaborate with people, and join clubs. MIT is the only top university that did not open campuses around the world, and that is because of the unique network and the special ecosystem that they've been able to create around campus. 

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Naji Gehchan, EMBA ’22 joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to talk about the life experiences that led him to study medicine, and eventually start Sohati, a comprehensive website in Arabic that provides information about the health medical field, and informs his oncology work at Eli Lilly. 

Naji talks about his chronic condition, which he calls “Impatientitus” and how he balances purpose with speed to build a team culture where he is striving to get things done fast while at the same way the team shares a thinking process, what they believe in, and remains open to one another.  

He also hosts a podcast called Spread Love io, started while at Sloan, dedicated to highlighting the stories of leaders on how they spread love in organizations for people to feel safe to thrive and imagine a better world. Naji shares his insights after interviewing over 80 leaders. 

Finally, Naji talks about the experience of finally arriving on campus, after the mostly remote experience due to COVID, and the strong community of classmates and faculty that they built in that unique educational environment. Naji explains how MIT pushed him to go even deeper in thinking about his leadership style, leadership signature, and leadership beliefs. 

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Captain Brian Erickson, SFMBA ’21, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to talk about his career from a 17-year-old service member in the Coast Guard to its first Chief Data Officer. Capt. Erickson explores leadership and innovation in a 233-year-old organization.

He talks about growing up in a small town in Washington State, and the opportunities and experiences of serving in the U.S. Coast Guard for over 30 years. He’s been an engineer and pilot and had participated in the rescue of over 35 people.

Just before Sloan, Capt. Erickson was a budget reviewer for Coast Guard headquarters operational capabilities offices and was responsible for program requests for $1.3B and over 14,000 personnel. He was the Commanding Officer of a 110-member Coast Guard Air Station serving the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Florida, before being selected for the MIT Sloan Fellows program in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. 

He has some great insights into leadership and innovation as he reflects on his time at MIT Sloan and what it takes to succeed in ever-increasing positions of responsibility, leading to his current role as inaugural Chief Digital Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard.

Capt. Erickson can be reached on LinkedIn and welcomes talking with alumni and prospective students.

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Ohad Tzur, MBA ’12, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to talk about his startup Kahoona (www.kahoona.io) which is dedicated to helping individuals and companies traverse the disruptive online changes for online privacy and data mining.

Ohad talks about growing up in Israel, the transformational experiences of serving in the Israeli Defense Force, working at Google and learning to manage and embrace the sometimes-overwhelming opportunities at Sloan, in particular Action Learning.

Ohad closes with some great tips for prospective students on the power of the community of your classmates, and how to prioritize your experience while at Sloan.

Ohad can be reached on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ohadtzur) and welcomes talking with alumni, prospective students, and anyone interested in online privacy and the new economic models being created that will reshape the Internet as we know it.

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Aditi Javeri Gokhale, SB ’96, MBA ’99, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, for a discussion on her role as the most senior female leader at Northwestern Mutual, where she holds the title of chief strategy officer, president of retail investments, and head of institutional investments. They also discuss her journey from India to MIT, her dedication to leadership and mentoring fellow women, and her commitment to establishing gender equity.

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Rachel Stevens, MBA ’15, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, for a discussion about her journey from corporate mainstream, working at Apple and Tatte; to starting her own business, VIENVIE, a women's fashion marketplace startup that brings together existing designers and consumers—working to solve the problem of fit, style, and discovery for the modern woman. 

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