The ExecMBA Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Alta DeRoo. Alta is a graduate in our Executive MBA Class of 2022, and she was recently named Chief Medical Officer for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. In this conversation, we talk with Alta about her background as both an OB/GYN as well as an addiction specialist, her decision to pursue an MBA, and how her Darden classes helped her grow as a leader and prepared her for new role. She also talks about how a popular second year elective, Speaking About Business, as well as feedback from her classmates, helped her sharpen and refine her communication style.

In this episode of the podcast, we continue our spotlight on the Executive Student Association (ESA) and catch up with Nate Carlson and Sarah Boschung. Nate and Sarah are first year students in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and they are the President and the Executive Vice President of the ESA, respectively. We talk with Nate and Sarah about their background, their decision to pursue an MBA, how they’ve balanced work, life and school, and what attracted them to serving as student leaders during their time at Darden. They also discuss their goals for the ESA in the year ahead.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Amy Egeli. Amy is a student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is also the Executive Student Association's (ESA) Vice President for Careers. We talk with Amy about her career as a Navy aviator, her decision to pursue an MBA, the important role her Learning Team has played as she's navigated the first year of the program and her goals for her term as VP for Careers.

Calling all Executive MBA applicants! In this episode of the podcast, Admissions Committee members and friends of the podcast, Katherine Alford and Ashley Robinson share tips and insights for Executive MBA applicants targeting the remaining deadlines for our Executive MBA Class of 2024, enrolling August 2022  – 10 May, 10 June and 25 June. Topics include MBA timing, test waiver requests, scholarship funding and more.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we catch up with Raj Venkatesan. Venkatesan is a member of the Marketing faculty at Darden, and he was recently named the Co-Academic Director for the M.S. in Business Analytics program, a one-year specialized masters offered by the UVA Darden School of Business in partnership with UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce. Venkatesan’s areas of expertise are customer relationship management, marketing metrics and marketing analytics, and in this wide-ranging conversation, he reflects upon his background, what led him to Darden, what he’s researching currently and why he’s excited about his role at Co-Academic Director. He also discusses the important role communication and messaging play in analytics, and why the human element may matter even more in the data work of the future.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Colin Wright-Pruski. Colin is graduate in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2021, and in this wide-ranging conversation, he reflects upon his decision to pursue an MBA and how his family nudged him to take this step. He also discusses serving as a class leader and how the Darden community transformed his MBA experience and helped him navigate a health scare early in the program. Lastly, he shares how the program has expanded his career options in not just one direction but seemingly every direction. Essential listening.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Aisha Pridgen. Aisha is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2022, and in this conversation she reflects upon her decision to pursue an MBA and how she leveraged her Darden experience to secure a new role in the healthcare industry. She shares the tactics and strategies she employed as she explored potential career paths, as well as how her personal background ultimately shaped her passion for healthcare. Aisha is a lawyer by training and has she has spent her recent career working in higher education, and she also discusses how Darden helped her better understand both her strengths and her story.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Alex Merida and Annette Stock. Alex and Annette are First Year students in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and they have served as section representatives during their first year at Darden. We talk with Alex and Annette about how they decided to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden and the impact of the program through their first few quarters. They also reflect upon their decision to seek a leadership role within their class, and what they have enjoyed about serving their classmates over the past year.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with True Overholt (EMBA ’18). True was a Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) format student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2018, and he has spent his career working for DKT International, a charitable non-profit organization that promotes family planning and HIV prevention through social marketing. After graduating from Darden, True moved to Paris to take on a marketing a role for DKT’s WomanCare, a global marketing and distribution platform for sexual and reproductive health products. True is now back in the United States, and we connected with him to talk his MBA journey, what led him to Darden, and how his Darden experience helped him advance his career and sharpen his strategic approach.

In this conversation, we catch up with Mark Saylor. Mark is a graduate in Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2021, and we recently connected with him via Zoom to discuss his MBA journey. Mark arrived at Darden with a deep background in marketing across a number of brands including Toys “R” Us, Frank’s RedHot and Capital One. He has recently taken on a new role as a senior brand manager with Farmer Focus, an agribusiness venture seeking to promote and protect generational family farming. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mark reflects on his decision to pursue an MBA and how his time at Darden helped him grow and advance his career.