Educational background: University of New Mexico, Theoretical Mathematics; Northwestern University Medical School, Doctorate of Medicine
Current or most recent position: Guidant Corporation, Compass GroupManager, Business Development
Dr. Rebecca Henderson was one of the greatest influences on my education in general and in particular my excitement for technology strategy. I use her pearls of wisdom and the knowledge from her classes in all aspects of my work today. My continual learning and thirst for strategic decision making were seeded in her classes. She shared experiences in the business world during class that added additional admiration for her as a consultant and leader in helping to make positive impacts on a business organization.
At MIT Sloan, I learned how to learn in the business. Though this seems the most intangible from all the financial and general business classes that I took, it has been the most useful thread carried over from my MIT Sloan days. During the rigors of MIT Sloan, the methods and approaches used consistently in classes and on teams helped me to realize that knowledge is within reach and mastering deal structures or fundamentals of a cutting-edge technology are only limited by what I put into the effort. It gave me structure to my problem solving techniques and analytical tools to arrive at solutions.
My MIT Sloan experience has opened numerous doors to research labs and a business network. I have had the opportunities to interact with leading researchers and highly successful business leaders. I presently work at Guidant Corporation in the Corporate Venture arm of the company, where the weight of my educational background and MIT Sloan connections provided the introduction to my first interview.
You could say I earned more than a degree from MIT Sloan. Not only did I gain the knowledge from courses and many friendships from my fellow classmates, I also married one of them! We now are the proud parents of a baby boy, Ari Jay. The balance between my work and personal life always requires attention and flexibility. However, I am fortunate to have a husband that not only understands my dedication and responsibilities to family and to work, but he helps me in countless ways to manage this.
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