As part of the Amazon Ads Education Alliance, Lopez works with students and faculty at colleges and universities to “prepare students for careers in advertising, digital commerce, and beyond,” according to the Amazon Ads website. Lopez wanted to work with her alma mater, and in 2023, she approached the Goizueta Career Management Center about the possibility. The staff there, in turn, connected her with Molly Epstein, professor in the practice of organization and management. By spring 2024, the Business Communication students were busy crafting communication strategies for various brands on how best to use Amazon Ads Solutions (such as streaming TV, Thursday Night Football, and Twitch Amazon Confidential) to grow their businesses.

Working with an organization like Amazon affords our students the opportunity to engage with a ‘real-world’ project with all that entails

Steve Savage

“Ambiguity, imperfect or incomplete information, and teamwork are all elements that our students will encounter time and time again in their professional lives,” explained Steve Savage 21EvMBA, assistant professor in the practice of organization and management. “The opportunity to engage in an experiential project like this at Goizueta gives our students a safe space to encounter these elements, many of them for the first time.”

The Final Presentations

For the final project, the Amazon Ads team gave the students two tasks. The first was to identify a brand that would benefit from joining Amazon Ads. The second was to create a communication strategy for that brand utilizing Amazon Ads Solutions. To do so, the students analyzed the possible effects of various solutions on the brand’s growth and key performance indicators. They also considered competitor insights, the market landscape, and other retail media platforms and communication strategies. “We wanted to make [the project] as realistic to our day jobs as possible,” explained Lopez. That meant the students would need to make decisions and recommendations while dealing with ambiguity and gaps in the data.

Of the more than 45 original teams, each Business Communication professor—Epstein, Savage, and Nikki Graves, associate professor in the practice of organization and management—chose two from their respective classes to present to the Amazon Ads team.

“I was completely blown away by the presentations,” Lopez added. “I was not expecting the amount of professionalism, readiness, and preparedness that these students had.”

It’s a direct reflection of the program, and it’s even more impressive that they’re only in their first semester into business school. They have two more years to continue developing these skills.

Elena Lopez 18BBA 18MSBA

“A lot of the recommendations and things the students were doing are actually things that we recommend to our clients,” said Kara Ciccone 13BBA, senior account manager, team lead, Amazon, who was on hand for the final presentations. “It was really impressive to see that they were able to do this without having a lot of experience.”

Lopez and Ciccone were joined as presentation judges by Seungjun “Sam” Lee, project manager—Tech, Amazon.

Judges Select Top Three Teams

Winning Team: Nespresso

The top-ranked team, Nespresso, impressed the Amazon Ads team not only for the team’s insights and strategy, but for its suggestions on how to build brand loyalty. The team’s communication strategy included using a mix of Amazon Prime Video and sponsored ads to showcase a pair of Nespresso campaigns the team created—”Specialty Sips” and “Positive Cups.” The team also explained how Nespresso could use its key differentiator, sustainability, to maximize its full potential.

“They took a really long-range view of the project,” explained Savage.

This team said, ‘Hey, you know the next six or nine months are important, but where does this sit in a broader advertising strategy with Amazon?’ and really built their recommendations out over a five-year timeframe.

Steve Savage

According to Savage, that made their recommendations more realistic.

Michelle Lam 26BBA was one of five students on the Nespresso team. She found the experiential learning aspect of the class “very beneficial and rewarding,” she said. Teammate Ria Krishna 26BBA echoed those thoughts. “Being able to work as a team to create solutions for a real company was an unreal experience,” Krishna explained. “It added to the learning that we gained—coming in with a pretty open-ended problem and making real, concrete solutions.” Students Kent Lemken 26BBA, Nolen Ridlehoover 26BBA, and James Liang 26BBA rounded out the Nespresso team.

Runner up: Yakult

The Amazon Ads team applauded the runner up team, Yakult. The group received high praise for its realistic recommendations and its strategy of testing those recommendations on a limited basis before expanding them. Yakult’s team consisted of Evelyn Donahue 26BBA, Tim Li 26BBA, Ahona Haque 26BBA, and Gunn Bush 26BBA.

Third Place: Bite Toothpaste

Rounding out the top three teams was Bite Toothpaste. The team received kudos for its strong presentation, its mockups, and the breakdown of its financials. The Bite team consisted of Serena Lathi 26BBA, Jessica Wolfe 26BBA, Hanna Florence 26BBA, Bella Ballato 26BBA, William Eaglesham 26BBA, Josh Rosenblut 26BBA and Patrick Horton 26BBA.

Advice for Students on the Job Search

A question and answer session took place after the final presentations. Epstein asked Lopez, Ciccone, and Lee to advise the students on how to land a job at a company like Amazon. Their first piece of advice was to decide whether to pursue client-facing, analytical, or product-side positions. Their second suggestion: after graduating, pursue an entry level role in the digital advertising space. Then come to a company like Amazon, which is what both Lopez and Ciccone did.

But Lee joined Amazon after graduating. He notes there are entry level positions at Amazon, so their experience need not come from a previous role. Instead, students could build their resumes around “different entry points,” he says. To that end, Lee encouraged them to take initiative outside of the classroom. “Think about a problem that you like and try to come up with a solution,” he said. “The solution doesn’t have to be exactly correct. It’s that you attempted it, you tried it, and you can elaborate on that in an interview.”

Ciccone added to Lee’s advice. She suggests students mention the Amazon Ads project—or others like it—during their job interviews. “Talk about [the projects] in a way that shows that you have ownership. Show that you can deliver results, and that you earned the trust of your peers,” Ciccone said.

It’s Just the Beginning…

Lopez hopes to collaborate on more experiential learning opportunities with Goizueta’s undergraduate BBA program. “This project was a really great experience, and hopefully we can partner with Emory more in the future,” Lopez said.

Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean of undergraduate education, is open to the idea. “It is always wonderful when alumni bring corporate-university partnership ideas back to Goizueta,” she said. “Featuring real-world challenges in the undergraduate classroom is always a valuable component of the curriculum. It especially motivates our students, though, when they get to work with someone who was in their shoes not that long ago. In this case, it was doubly wonderful to have the chance to feature Elena as an alumna. She is inspirational for all. She is, in particular, a wonderful representative for women interested in tech and data science. I am very grateful that she was so proactive in reaching out and creating this special opportunity for BBA students.”

Goizueta’s undergraduate business program empowers student to make significant positive contributions to the organizations they serve and to society as a whole. Learn more about pursuing a BBA at Goizueta.

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Emory Business asked Senior Associate Dean and BBA Program Director Andrea Hershatter for her top advice for would-be entrepreneurs. Here is what she shared:

Embrace frustration

Potential business ideas are everywhere. Any process that is inefficient or not user-centric, any product that does not serve its purpose well, and any job that needs to be done that is not addressed by a market solution, presents opportunities for innovative solutions and successful venture launches

Start with a problem, not a solution

Too many aspiring entrepreneurs fall in love with and create a venture around an imagined solution. Great ventures are much more likely to emerge from exploring an unmet need and the many ways to address it. This allows for the assessment of multiple approaches to arrive at an optimal product-market fit.

Do your research

Research should be qualitative and quantitative and should include primary and secondary sources. There is no substitute for actually interviewing prospective end-users, potential competitors, and future customers. Databases are equally indispensable to calculate the size of addressable markets, estimate potential demand, or assess the competitive environment.

Research is the foundation of all credible projections.

Talk to everyone and learn to really listen

An idea cannot be protected by keeping it secret, and the odds are extremely high that others are working on similar ventures anyway. Entrepreneurs who actively seek and incorporate multiple perspectives and are genuinely receptive to critical analysis are able to build better offerings and foresee and plan for potential obstacles.

Conduct many small experiments

Conceptualizing, researching, and planning are all essential aspects of the process, but entrepreneurship is fundamentally about actually creating something. Build a prototype, test a beta, give out samples, set up a Kickstarter campaign, create a website, or media campaign, and measure the response. Then, analyze, iterate, and repeat until you have validated a viable concept. Every cycle improves your offering and gets you one step closer to launching.

BONUS TIP: Embrace the journey. Every failed venture is a stepping stone to building a successful one next time!

Are you a current student or alumnus with a brilliant idea for a new business? Are you an entrepreneur or investor who would like to get involved as a mentor? Dive into the interactive experiences, events, and resources of The Roberto C. Goizueta Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.

Register for the March 31-April 1 Emory Entrepreneurship Summit featuring keynote speaker Vivek Garipalli 00BBA, co-founder and CEO of Clover Health.

The post Five Top Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.

Shopping “small” is an oft-repeated phrase, but what does it really mean? Microbusinesses are enterprises that employ just one to four people. “Individually, microbusinesses are small. But collectively, micro is really big,” says Erin Igleheart, the Start:ME program manager at The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute. “Microbusinesses account for 92 percent of U.S. businesses, 41 million jobs, and have a nearly $5 trillion impact on the economy. At a local level, microbusinesses create jobs, operate stores and offices, provide role models, and spur economic vibrancy.”

To help drive positive change in our economy, EmoryBusiness.com combed Goizueta’s network of talented artisans and designers, product developers, service innovators, and entrepreneurs to share this assortment of great gift ideas for your home, self-improvement, entertaining, and family.

Gifts to Make People Look and Feel Great

The Sweetheart Polarized Baby Sunglasses. Protect those precious little eyes with Babiators®, the creation of Goizueta’s own Matthew Guard 07MBA and Carolyn Guard 08MBA and longtime friends Molly and Ted Fienning. As this fast-growing and Forbes-recognized business states, “Babiators is on a mission to protect kids’ eyes while they’re out exploring this awesome world.” From their headquarters in Atlanta, GA, this global brand ships safe and stylish sunglasses to more than 30 countries. Babiators.com

Batik and Wax Print Backpacks. The handmade Johari Africa backpack in Ankara African batik and wax prints is just one of the many fashionable accessories, clothing, jewelry, and beauty items made by the refugee women of The Amani Women Center. Named for the Swahili word meaning jewels of Africa, Johari Africa was founded by Doris Mukangu 17MPH, a graduate of The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute’s Start:ME accelerator for microbusiness and a recipient of funding from the Emory Impact Investing Group. Every purchase from the Clarkston, GA-based Johari Africa fuels economic empowerment for immigrant and refugee women. JohariAfrica.com.

Small-batch, Bespoke-Inspired Men’s Shoes. With hand-crafted artistry in multi-generational family workshops in Spain, Italy, and Portugal, Cobbler Union believes in the power of well-made shoes to transform a man. Company founder Daniel Porcelli 03MBA recognizes the importance of preserving traditional craftsmanship and honoring high standards while offering quality products direct-to-consumer at accessible prices. Visit Cobbler Union’s Atlanta fitting room and studio in Ponce City Market or learn more at Cobbler-Union.com.

Custom 14K Gold Nameplate Necklaces. Inspired and graceful jewelry made with precious and semi-precious stones have become the signature of Alexandra Beth Fine Jewelry. This evolving business is the brainchild of entrepreneur Alexandra Samit 09BBA, who began designing jewelry as a youngster and fulfilled her first order to a boutique chain at the age of 15. With a growing customer following in New York City Fifth Avenue stores and designer collectives, Samit expanded her online presence and continues to build a global customer base. AlexandraBeth.com.

Gifts for Home and Family

Beautiful Curly Me Dolls, Puzzles, and Books. Evana Oli 10MBA wanted to empower her 6-year-old daughter Zoe’s self-esteem. Together, they launched a social impact brand with a line of diverse toys, accessories, and empowering books to inspire and instill self-confidence in young black and brown girls. For every doll purchased through the website, the company donates one to an underprivileged girl. Praised by prominent media outlets and featured on the 2020 Oprah’s Favorite Things promo, the company has big dreams. This holiday, Zoe wants to donate 1000 dolls and has partnered with non-profit organizations to present the dolls. As Oli says, “Even if you don’t have a little one in your life, you can still support one by purchasing a doll for donation.” Learn more at BeautifulCurlyMe.com.

Gregarious Art Statements at GAS-ART. Since 2012, Start:ME graduate, founder, and renowned children’s book illustrator R. Gregory Christie has offered his award-winning art prints in ready to frame sizes that eliminate the need for custom framing. Rich with whimsy and color, Christie’s mission is to promote and celebrate creativity, literacy, and diversity. Shop for signed books, prints, and stationery. Gas-Art.com.

Single Origin Beans by Terminus Coffee. For coffee lovers, nothing makes a greater gift than an assortment of roasted beans from global sources with a demonstrated commitment to ethics, quality, sustainability, freshness, and fair wages. Available in both single origins and blends, Terminus Coffee customers can order online and curate their own subscriptions. Veteran-led by Lawrence. Terminus Coffee ATL.

Custom Tattoos, Fine Art, and Handmade Jewelry. A female-owned and operated Empire Arts Gallery located in the heart of Kirkwood, Start:ME graduates Brandi Smart and Malia Reynolds Rifkin have created a unique shopping experience featuring fine art and handmade goods from local artists, while also offering a clean and safe environment to continue the art of tattooing. Empire Arts Gallery.

Page-turning Novels Showcasing Diverse Voices. Three to Five Publishing creates books filled with passion, joys, laughs, and love, including The Recruiter, book one in The Rewired Series and the recipient of the 2021 American Fiction Award in the African-American Fiction category. Co-founded by Marcus Siwemuke 14MBA and Julie Siwemuke 13MBA, the company launched by presenting books by Alexander Mukte. ThreeToFivepublishing.com.

In Praise of Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

For many small businesses, COVID-19 has presented unforeseen challenges in labor shortages, logistics issues, and changes in the shopping habits of their clientele.

“Entrepreneurs whose enterprises are still functioning after the disruptions of the last 18 months should be celebrated for their creativity, flexibility, ingenuity and grit,” says Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean of undergraduate education. “There has never been a better time to support ventures that were created to serve a market need and that continue to thrive as the result of their founders’ passion.”

Browse the complete shopping guide for Start:ME businesses. #ShopStartME and download the guide here.

The post Happy Holidays Guaranteed When You Shop Small within Your Goizueta Network appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.

Millennial workers now total 56 million, representing 35% of the total US labor force. How can organizations harness their unique talents and strengths? Goizueta’s Andrea Hershatter, senior lecturer of Organization & Management and senior associate dean of the BBA program, joins The Goizueta Effect podcast to explore this generation’s use of technology as a “sixth sense,” their inherent trust in organizations, and their tendency toward an extrinsic sense of fulfillment.

The following is a brief excerpt of Hershatter’s insight about the millennial generation, named for the high school class of 2000, in conversation with Goizueta Director of Communications, Melanie Buckmaster. Each generation, Hershatter explains, accounts for approximately 15 years. Millennials “were absolutely raised as the next great generation,” she says of the generation that shoulders heavy societal burdens.

MB: In your research, you discuss millennials using technology as a sixth sense. Can you talk about the context in which millennials grew up with technology and how this has impacted how they socialize and work?

AH: Absolutely. This is a hot button for Gen X, as it should be. Gen X invented this technology. So, to call millennials the experts and the digital natives and to disregard the fact that they are utilizing tools that they themselves did not develop is a point of contention. But for millennials, technology was embedded into their earliest ways of knowing. It really is a sixth sense. And one of the things about something that’s a sense as opposed to an intellectual endeavor is that it is noncognitive.

A millennial would never think of the technological aspect or the technological solution to something. It would simply be a part of how they approached a problem. It is also the case that because it’s a sense, millennials do something that people like me occasionally find annoying where they are utilizing a piece of technology while they’re interacting with you in the real world. I have to remind myself that just like I might scribble on a piece of paper or look out a window while I’m very fully engaged in conversation, so, too, a millennial might look down at their phone and answer a friend’s text. And they are capable of that multitasking in a way that I know I personally am not.

In terms of how it influences the workforce, which I think is super important, I would say that there are probably two aspects. There are the ways that technology is important in how millennials work. And then there’s the way the technology has to do with reaching the customers and consumers of whatever the product or services a firm is providing.

So, in terms of the workforce itself, I think that millennials feel very free to use the technology that suits the task at hand. It Influences, for example, how they communicate. I personally have written very carefully crafted emails with lots of words that take me half an hour that end with, “And so I think we should meet to discuss this.” And I will get back the one letter response from the person to whom I have sent it, which is “K”. Which is basically a polite way of saying, “You could have just texted me and said, let’s get together. Right? Because we’re going to talk about this anyway.” This is one of the examples of the reach of technology and the importance of understanding which mode fits the message and the intention.

Are you a millennial entering the workforce, or are you a manager of an employee from this generation? Learn more about millennials in the workplace, including their strengths, shortcomings, and how they show up as workers and leaders. Listen to the full podcast and more episodes with other distinguished faculty members at The Goizueta Effect.

The post Is Technology a Sixth Sense for Millennial Workers? appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.

“At Goizueta, we strive to create an environment where every person can thrive and grow without exception, allowing us to attract, develop, and engage the best talent and equip our graduates to be principled leaders in a diverse society. Increased access to scholarships based on merit and financial need is critical to this strategy.”

Learning begins with a single drop of inspiration, a longing to explore and acquire wisdom about new and interesting subjects, and a passion to sharpen skills and hone talents that open a world of professional possibility. Education, some say, is a wide-eyed quest to meet new people and explore the world through their diverse perspectives.

For many, the gift of scholarship triggers a ripple effect of personal and professional growth with limitless potential to reach, strive, and impact change in the world.  

Curiosity, Intellectual Courage, & Integrity

At Goizueta Business School, our school’s namesake championed a student’s right for transformational education. As a Cuban-born immigrant to the United States and former chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, Roberto C. Goizueta embraced education and the notion that curiosity, intellectual courage, and integrity were the cornerstones of growth.

With a focus on philanthropy that continues through The Goizueta Foundation today, he once shared, “We in business have an obligation to give something back to the communities that support us.”

Robert W. Woodruff was a renowned businessman and philanthropist who headed The Coca-Cola Company for many years and gave generously to Emory University. The founding and signature scholarship of the Emory Scholars Program is named in his honor. Woodruff’s personal creed read, “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” Woodruff Scholars leave a lasting imprint on Goizueta Business School and Emory University through their leadership, academic performance, and lifelong relationships.

With these philosophies held as guiding principles at Goizueta, and through the generous support of our partners, we have offered transformational scholarships to students—leaders who have become change agents in their own communities and beyond. 

A Safe & Supportive Space to Grow & Transform

As a native Brazilian, Willi Freire 19BBA immigrated to Florida at age six with his mother. “English was so hard at the beginning. I cried every time I got home from school for my first six months,” he recalls, but his mother instilled in him the critical value of education. Soon, fully bilingual in Portuguese and English, Freire set his sights on going to college. In high school, a guidance counselor suggested he investigate QuestBridge, a national nonprofit that matches talented first-generation and low-income high school students with 45 top-ranked partner universities.

To his surprise and delight, “Emory reached out in my senior year,” he recalls. In consideration for the Robert W. Woodruff Scholarship, “They invited me to interview on campus for a week, and I loved everything about it—the intellectually stimulating interviews and the conversations with faculty, staff, incoming students, and applicant peers. The universe took me to the right place at the right time.”

From the start, the Woodruff scholarship opened Freire to a world of peer scholars who helped each other stay accountable. Research opportunities, internships, alumni interaction, and work with the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation allowed him to immediately build community. “I had the chance to make my undergrad experience very intentional. At Emory, the opportunities are plentiful,” he says. Freire became the president and liaison for QuestBridge scholars at Emory.

When he became a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient in 2012, “I was suddenly allowed to work and live in the United States. It completely changed my life and ensured college was a viable opportunity.” Inspired to help other first-generation students experience the same intellectual and professional freedom, Freire worked closely with then Emory president James W. Wagner, then Emory University provost and executive vice president of academic affairs Claire E. Sterk (who later became Emory University’s 20th president), and a team of faculty and students to implement policy changes that allowed students to disclose by choice their documentation status. “They could be DACA or undocumented, and Emory gave them the pathway to receive financial assistance,” he says. “There is so much miseducation around undocumented communities. Theirs is not a one-size-fits-all story, rather one with so much more depth and diversity.”

Freire learned of two other DACA students in his class, and it sparked a personal mission. “We had never really shared immigration status before,” he remembers. “But at an event, I caught the energy in the room, and I shared my story. It was a critical inflection point in my undergrad journey, and this moment gave me my community.”

Through Undocumented Students of America at Emory (USA), “We created a pathway for community, faculty, advisory services, mentorship, and storytelling events,” he says of the resource. “These students need resources, help for family emergencies, guidance in the job market. DACA students are still living and breathing at Emory.” As the executive vice president of the BBA Council, Freire led “Undocumented Truth,” an intimate campus storytelling event that allowed students to share their stories in a safe, non-judgmental space. He also welcomed the opportunity to honor Nikki Graves, associate professor in the practice of management communications, for her work with undocumented students.

Now at PwC Consulting Solutions in workforce transformation and diversity, equity, and inclusion, he enjoys being an active alumnus who conducts workshops and provides opportunities for future generations of Goizueta students.

“The Robert W. Woodruff Scholarship provided me with the unimaginable ticket to attain higher education at a world-renowned institution with absolutely no cost to me or my family.”

I never had the means to attend a university like Emory. I had no college fund or savings from my family. It made the impossible possible and gave me the resources and confidence to thrive, and I am deeply grateful for the scholarship and the program.

Willi Freire 19BBA

Connecting with a Transformational Ecosystem

As a student athlete in track and field and a Goizueta Scholar, Casey Rhode 17BBA called Goizueta home for four years. During this time, he balanced athletics and education with precision, maintaining a perfect grade point average. “It was an incredible experience,” he recalls of his quest to engage in as much as he could while part of the on-campus community.

As a sophomore, he joined forces with the Emory Impact Investing Group (EIIG), started by classmates. The organization gives small businesses throughout Atlanta greater access to investment capital, student consulting services, and low-interest loans. “Leading this organization as CEO made a huge impact on me,” he shares. “I connected with students and the community and during my time at Emory started a board of advisors to tap into the incredible ecosystem of alumni in our area, a board that I continue to participate on today.

Atlanta has some of the best and brightest people, and our students have access to them. These interactions can be formative in choosing a career.

Casey Rhode 17BBA

“My Goizueta scholarship opened doors for me within the broader community,” he says. The Goizueta Scholars Award, implemented in 2007, supports four years of undergraduate study, including study-abroad options, and ranges from one-half of tuition to full tuition and fees. Through the program, Rhode met another scholar who worked at global independent investment banking firm Perella Weinberg. He joined the firm to work in health care investment banking. “After a great experience, I made the career switch to OneOncology to work with 600 cancer care providers at over 180 community-based sites across the country,” he explains. “Community oncology is positioned to be the backbone of cancer care in the United States and to address skyrocketing costs,” he says. “To be senior director of strategic finance for a company that helps impact communities on such a high level is huge for me.”

Citing his undergraduate personal and professional development, he praises Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean of undergraduate education and senior lecturer of organization and management. “She pushed me to do more and think more critically about what I wanted to do while I was in school. She really challenged me, and I appreciate that. She’s a great mentor to me, even today.”

Drive, Perseverance, & Bold Ideas

With explosive growth in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related businesses, many Goizueta students begin by nurturing both their love of science and their desire to understand the dynamics of business.

Arpita Gaggar 20Ox 22BBA received the Donahue Family Scholarship at Goizueta and pursues a challenging dual major of business and neuroscience and behavioral biology. With future dreams of opening her own clinic, Gaggar knows she needs more than scientific strength. “The business aspect is going to come into play.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic grew around the world, Gaggar’s interests aligned into sharper focus.

My scholarship was a blessing and offered me the time to explore the social issues that will shape my work in medicine. This past year, I’ve gotten more involved in social justice and opened my eyes to what’s going on in the world.

Arpita Gaggar 20Ox 22BBA

While studying from home, Gaggar researched more. “I developed an approach to thinking critically about the news media I consumed and delved deeper rather than accept statements at face value,” she says. “That’s helped me become a more knowledgeable global citizen.”

An active member of Bridging Medicine at Emory and an intern in Goizueta’s marketing & communications department, Gaggar is evaluating paths to achieve her clinic. She aspires to a dual MD/MBA degree or perhaps health care administration and consulting, along with world-expanding opportunities such as Doctors Without Borders that will enrich her relationships with the pediatric patients that she hopes to serve one day.

Like Gaggar, Goizueta Scholar Georgia Kossoff 18BBA has always been driven to uncover scientific puzzles and their impact on society. “Dean Andrea Hershatter advised me from the start that I could handle both chemistry and business majors.”

Being part of the Goizueta Scholars community provided a network of role models and mentols that shaped the course of my career.

Georgia Kossoff 18BBA

Setting sights on the intersection of health care and business, Kossoff sought for “literacy on both sides.”  She conducted student research on a relatively new corporate model, the public benefit corporation—or B Corp—that balances profit and purpose with a direct social or environmental impact.

Kossoff worked with professors Wesley Longhofer and Peter Roberts at Social Enterprise @ Goizueta, now known as The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute. With classmates, Kossoff founded the Translational Research and Innovation Network (TRAIN), which formed multidisciplinary student research teams. Some TRAIN researchers went on to earn grant funding for their work.

A transformative experience for Kossoff came in her senior year. A Goizueta Scholars junior year seminar led by Professor in the Practice of Business Law Allison Burdette, in which students pitched the city of Detroit, Michigan, as a site for the Olympics, served as inspiration for a career-changing event. Using this previous Goizueta experience as a guide, Kossoff challenged herself.

“The location of Amazon HQ2 was under speculation,” she recalls. “A fellow Goizueta Scholar and I approached Dean Hershatter and Professor Burdette with the concept of launching a student campaign to showcase Atlanta from the student and young adult perspective. We knew it would create more opportunities for Atlanta students.” Multiple companies sponsored the initiative, and Invest Atlanta and the Georgia Department of Economic Development owned the corporate search project. With the involvement of more than 600 students statewide, “We aligned to create a video of students sharing their love for the city.”

Through the experience, Kossoff gained invaluable consulting, research, and presentation skills. Now as a consultant for Bain & Company, Kossoff is appreciative of the foundational skills her Goizueta education provided. “Outside of my core casework, all of my community involvement focuses on social impact.” 

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

As a pre-med biology major, Chis Anen 21MBA was headed for a career in medicine, but an innovative idea steered him in a different direction. With the concept blooming, the entrepreneur launched a marketplace to sell limited edition and vintage sneakers and streetwear. Fascinated by tech and encouraged by a professor, he joined an accelerator program.

At 23, Anen moved cross-country to Los Angeles, with company funding provided by famed venture capitalist Troy Carter. “At Throne, I really got to grow my business, and I managed people twice as old as me,” he recalls. With 10 employees, the company thrived until it ran out of money in 2017. “The experience was eye-opening. We tried to do too much too fast,” he explains of his learn-by-doing venture. “It was a good lesson on how to build and operate a company, and it taught me that I wanted to work in tech.”

A series of jobs with other startup ventures followed. When a boss encouraged him to seek an MBA, Goizueta made Anen’s short-list for its small class sizes and location in a city with a robust entrepreneur environment. Anen came to Goizueta through The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, where he received a fellowship. He became an Entrepreneurship Fellow and earned both the Michael H. Lee Scholarship as well as the Apollo Scholarship for Visionary Leaders, which honors demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship and visionary leadership. Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone 98JD/MBA funds the Apollo scholarship. “We spoke in a brief call,” Anen says, “and through that, we created a simple but valuable connection.”

His first venture—and the difficulty of raising capital for it—is never far from his mind. With 2021 MBA classmates Willie Sullivan, Alan Quigley, Kristen Little, and Chris Wolf, Anen has helped to launch the Peachtree Minority Venture Fund, a student-run venture capital fund focused on empowering underrepresented founders. It’s the start of a personal effort to create more such VC opportunities.

“For my previous company, this was one of our struggling points. It was hard for us to raise money,” Anen says. “Eventually we raised a million dollars, but it took a long time. A lot of underrepresented minorities face the same situation.”

Anen is now a project manager at Facebook, but still nurtures his entrepreneurial spirit. With classmate Lyndsey Fridie 21MBA, he is backed by a top VC firm to launch CampusTalk, a closed platform for MBA students to communicate and collaborate with peers at other institutions.

“I would like to express how thankful I am for receiving the Michael H. Lee Scholarship. Some of my biggest passions in life are business and entrepreneurship. By taking the road less traveled and starting a business early in my career, I realized how difficult and lonely the journey could be,” Anen says. “My biggest struggles were learning the best practices of entrepreneurship and accessing initial sources of capital to help spark my ideas. From these experiences, I vowed to always lend a helping hand to other underrepresented entrepreneurs while they’re on their own journey to drive change in their communities and bring new innovations to the world.”

I’m grateful that Goizueta Business School has provided me more access to founders in need and the opportunity to help create initiatives like a minority-focused venture capital fund to help embrace and grow the pipeline for future Black entrepreneurs.

Chis Anen 21MBA

Your Gift Today Truly Transforms

Pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree is a significant financial investment, and Goizueta is committed to making educational goals become a financial reality. Scholarships transform the student experience, creating opportunities for those who would not otherwise be able to pursue their degrees and relieving the economic pressures of funding tuition, textbooks, housing, and co-curricular activities. Gifts to need- and merit-based scholarships are critical as Goizueta works to attract and retain the most talented students with a rich diversity in experiences and backgrounds. Give to support the full potential of Goizueta and our students.

To support a student like Willi, Casey, Arpita, Georgia, or Chis, please visit here.

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A Look Back

“The historical context is really illuminating. It is important to recognize trailblazers and have an opportunity to think through the events of the country and world as they collide with our local history,” says Jill Perry-Smith, senior associate dean of strategic initiatives who is charged with leading the school’s DEI strategies.

“Emory was desegregated in 1962 – not long ago from a historical perspective,” she said.  As the civil rights movement took hold, then Goizueta Dean Jim Hund embraced the opportunity for discovery, engaging social justice activists and economists to address Southern Black entrepreneurship. Awareness continued to grow through the 1970s, with matriculation of Black undergraduate and graduate-level students and the implementation of President James T. Laney’s President’s Commission on the Status of Minorities. In 1994, the school was renamed to honor Cuban immigrant Roberto C. Goizueta, Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company.

Global student recruitment gave way to worldwide outreach and a multicultural infusion on Goizueta’s campus, and Dean Tom Robertson responded to student needs by hosting the first Diverse Leadership Conference. In the following years, Goizueta appointed Alicia Sierra as its first director of diversity and community initiatives, along with naming Dean Erika James to guide our institution. Dean James made history as the first Black woman to lead a top-25 ranked business school ahead of its peer institutions.

Progress in DEI has remained a constant throughout Goizueta’s storied history, and Perry-Smith noted that three priorities are at the forefront of the school’s formal DEI Initiative: enrich our community, reflect broader society, and improve equity.

We prepare for our future, our anti-racist future, for Emory and the broader community here in atlanta – and beyond – that we serve. These conversations will serve for more action and progress, and that’s exactly what we need at this moment in time.

Greg Fenves, president, Emory University

Turning to the Future

“The work we are doing now to set infrastructure in place will enable us to make more sustainable and impactful change in the future,” Perry-Smith explained. “For many, the events of 2020 and 2021 symbolize an awakening, a call for more global conversation around vital issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.”

“Our focus extends to raise awareness for individuals with identities who have been historically marginalized and who have faced systemic barriers to equitable treatment,” she said. “Beyond race, cultural upbringing, gender identity, and sexual orientation, we explore the needs of people who are neurodiverse with unique ways of processing knowledge. Our goal is to discover how every single person can contribute to their fullest to help us achieve a better campus community and society.”

Enrich Our Community: Exposure to cultural knowledge with an aim of increased self-awareness.

“We do not live in a static state. Public sentiments and individual needs will ebb and flow depending on current events and society at large,” Perry-Smith said. Last year, Goizueta Business School established the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council,for which Perry-Smith was chosen to guide. “Our DEI Council has tentacles into key parts of the organization. We have appointed ambassadors from each program office, faculty members from each area of study, and we touch all aspects of our organization to advise and give input on pressing issues.” She noted, “We are diving into evidence-based data across all constituents. We need to be transparent about that information, even if it’s not all favorable.”

Enhanced awareness education and training is an important tool in the anti-racist cache of resources. Perry-Smith noted that while some diversity training can be ineffective and even harmful to positive outcomes, “research reveals that cognitive learning is helpful. And this is where we shine as an institution, to engage in critical inquiry based on evidence.”

One such global effort began with expanding the scope of the Common Reads Program and the Ally Education Series, both forums for shared understanding and empathy. Goizueta encouraged all students, faculty, and staff, to read Whistling Vivaldi by author Claude M. Steele. Through research and interviews, Whistling Vivaldi speaks to race, racial bias, and stereotypes, both racial and cultural. Goizueta community members participated in peer-facilitated small group discussions designed to delve into the racial biases and stereotype threats they have seen and experienced in their own lives.

Brian Mitchell 00EvMBA/00MPH, associate dean for the full-time MBA program and Goizueta’s Global Strategy and Initiatives, pointed out, “Whistling Vivaldi is a great book for students who are coming into an academic environment because it talks about biases and stereotypes as it relates to academic performance.” He went on to explain the burden these types of assumptions might add to working through an already difficult situation. “The conversation we have with students is ‘Here are some of the realities around the stereotype threat, here’s how they might affect you as a student in this program, and here are some strategies for how to work through it.”

Improving Equity: Inspire our community members to leverage the power of diversity to improve equity in business and society.

“Going beyond the walls of Goizueta, our school also has a rich history of partnership with community organizations to share expertise and insight,” Perry-Smith said. “We explore our connection to one another on many levels, including economic empowerment and social justice.”

In March, Goizueta celebrated the launch of The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute, the new home for the faculty and staff of Social Enterprise @ Goizueta along with its programs. The institute reflects the school’s elevated commitment to social impact and seeks to transform business to solve society’s challenges. At the launch event, Goizueta Business School Associate Professor and Academic Director Wesley Longhofer led a fireside chat with Harvard Business School professor and author Dr. Rebecca Henderson, based on her book Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. The conversation revolved around building a profitable, equitable, and sustainable capitalism grounded in new ways of defining the role of business in society. Longhofer shared, “As an Institute, we do not claim to have all the answers facing business and society; rather, we want to be a catalyst for asking the right kinds of questions.”

One of the Institute’s transformative programs is Start:ME, a free small business training program that provides entrepreneurs the tools and connections necessary to build and grow successful businesses in underserved communities around Atlanta. Eighty-two percent of 2021 winter cohort businesses are led by people of color, 84% are led by women, and 24% are foreign-born entrepreneurs. The 49 small businesses served represent more than $425,000 in revenue for 2020.

On a global level, Grounds for Empowerment provides women specialty coffee farmers the market connections and business know-how to enable them to reach their full economic potential. This cohort program works with small groups of women growers from Latin America through semester long consulting support and in-country workshops supported by Emory students and industry members.  

Funded by the Goizueta Business School Dean’s Innovation Fund, the Improving Goizueta’s Support of Black Entrepreneurs and Black Students Study led by K. Hall Consulting and a team of student consultants this past summer conducted interviews with 30 stakeholders across the entrepreneurship ecosystem both in Atlanta and on campus to determine where and how the business school could better partner, engage, and support Black entrepreneurs. Following up on Phase 1 report, Goizueta faculty and students will continue efforts in Phase 2 which is focused on developing an academic case on Black entrepreneurship to support classroom learning along with the implementation of other internal and external diversity, equity, and inclusion recommendations.  

In the summer of 2020, Mitchell guided candid student conversations around key events highlighting racial injustice, the impact of such instances, and changes that could be implemented. For alumnus Willie Sullivan 21MBA, the repeated rally cry for social justice at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement sparked a desire to lead meaningful change.

“We wanted to do something actionable,” said Sullivan, speaking of his MBA classmates. “How could we take a business case note and have students come up with strategic frameworks for a major corporation to do something about large societal issues?”

Sullivan and classmates conceived The John R. Lewis Racial Justice Case Competition to address equity and inclusion problems plaguing corporate America. Sponsored by Goizueta and with the blessing of the late Congressman and civil rights icon John R. Lewis’ family, the inaugural competition earned submissions from 105 teams from 52 of the nation’s top universities. Thousands listened to presentations to corporate partners (HP, Johnson & Johnson, Salesforce, Southern Company, Truist, and Walmart) during which bold student teams confronted issues of supplier diversity to include Black-owned businesses, minority vendor supply chain relationships, STEM careers and scholarship for Black girls, the Black wealth gap, training for people of color on house arrest, and people over profits.

Interim John H. Harland Dean Karen Sedatole praised the student-conceived, student-designed, and student-executed event. “Their passion and leadership skills are a testament to the quality of students, faculty, staff and programs that we have here at Goizueta Business School. We’re so very proud of them.”

Reflect Broader Society: Achieve a composition of our faculty, staff, and student body that fully reflects the broader society.

Goizueta has developed partnerships with a range of organizations to recruit and increase representation of students and faculty from diverse backgrounds in our business programs, including the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, Forte Foundation, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, MBADiversity.org, National Black MBA Association, The PhD Project, Prospanica, The Robert Toigo Foundation, and Women in Technology. On campus, clubs and groups, too, celebrate the broad range of backgrounds and experiences in our diverse community, with at least 14 distinct organizations for Goizueta students.

In 2002, Goizueta formed a strategic partnership with The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a cooperative network of universities designed to enhance diversity and inclusion in business education while at the same time reducing underrepresentation in graduate school enrollment through merit-based full-tuition scholarships to top-tier MBA candidates. From the onset of the partnership, Goizueta has awarded more than $14 million in scholarships to Consortium members.

“I’m impressed by how the school has embraced diversity in a way we were fighting for when we were students. It’s rewarding to see DEI being prioritized,” said Nsombi Ricketts 06MBA, who came to Goizueta through the Consortium and later founded the student-run Diverse Leadership Conference at Goizueta in response to racial incidents on campus.  She noted, “When I look at Goizueta today, I’m proud to see that our work has had a tangible impact and that the DEI conversation impacts so many populations – students, faculty, and even alumni.”

“We are very encouraged by the work being done in the business school and across the university around social justice. the context that comes from addressing this crucial topic from an interdisciplinary perspective enhances understanding and adds depth and breadth to the conversation.”

Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean of undergraduate education and senior lecturer in Organization & Management, Emory University

Impacting Community

Beyond the classrooms of Goizueta, Associate Dean of the Evening MBA Program and Co-chair for Goizueta’s DEI Council Corey Dortch stressed this point. “We want to encourage students to lean in and face head-on how they can lead on DEI in their workplaces – even where they are right now – from a framework of real-world knowledge and confidence. DEI is a skill.”

Dortch praised the many faculty and staff who listen to the students and their colleagues of color, and then make decisive moves to address concerns. “I’m proud to be part of a community that strives to get it right.”

The strategic, structural, and sustainable principles that Goizueta will continue to evolve to create impactful and lasting change among its community is also mirrored at the university.

“We seek to truly understand how racism permeates so many aspects of society, and to seek to change that, and for Emory to be a model of an anti-racist university,” Emory University President Greg Fenves said.

“We prepare for our future, our anti-racist future, for Emory and the broader community here in Atlanta and beyond that we serve,” Fenves said. “These conversations will serve for more action and progress, and that’s exactly what we need at this moment in time.”

For more information on Goizueta’s longstanding commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, please visit emory.biz/equity.

The post Continuing a Global Goizueta Conversation on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.

The challenge: Propose a solution to a consortium of medical doctors seeking to push forward climate change initiatives. Team captain Farhan Hossain 21BBA and his team of Kat Sarafianos 22BBA, Liam Carlson 22BBA, and Matt Santos 21BBA faced a tight timeframe, limited resources, and various legal requirements, but they stepped up and delivered. 

“It was an interesting issue because there weren’t financials to dig into, or products, or a service issue, but it was more of how do you organize and reorient the overall focus of a business of a nonprofit,” Hossain said.

Using Classroom Insights to Add Real-World Value

To address the challenges the consortium was facing, the student team pitched a platform approach by offering innovation and connecting grassroots actors to technology. They also suggested reorganizing operations within the nonprofit itself. Whereas the current nonprofit operates on a state-by-state level, Hossain and his team proposed a new role of acting as a regional motivator or actor to encourage more grassroots action in a specific area.

“It’s tough to get motivated and organized on a state level as opposed to a county or a regional level, and there was very little oversight and direction in certain regions,” Hossain said. “We got positive feedback from the nonprofit about this strategy because they had never thought of organizing in that way.”

After not making it through the preliminary rounds his first year competing as a junior, Hossain was thrilled for his team to take second place overall.

“Super grateful for the opportunity to lead the team this year. This specific case competition provided a great growth opportunity,” Hossain said. “I am very proud of what my team and I have accomplished together. Special thanks to the Goizueta Case Competition Club, John Kim and Dr. Mitchell-Damron (Goizueta’s director of student life, engagement, and support) for all their help.”

Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education Andrea Hershatter expressed her excitement for the team’s success. “I cannot tell you how excited and proud I am that the team placed second in what I understand is currently the largest undergraduate case competition in the United States,” Hershatter said. “I am delighted by their accomplishments, including the ways in which they highlighted their academic abilities, represented the program, and enhanced the reputation of Goizueta.”

Hossain encourages other students to get involved in competitions like this because not only are they an enjoyable experience to network with students from around the world, but they are also an opportunity to apply what is learned in the classroom to real-world problems.

“These case competitions opened up a light to me in seeing how you can apply your finance and consulting knowledge, and it helped me with the decision-making process in terms of what I wanted to do fulltime,” Hossain said.

“If anyone is on the fence about what they want to do for their career, exposing yourself to opportunities like these competitions will always help you understand what the career looks like and help you get insight from experts.”

– Farhan Hossain 21BBA

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In fall 2020, the seminar went even deeper, building their hearts and capacity for empathy, which is the first step in design thinking for innovating in business and for social change. Burdette co-taught with Atlanta actor Olivia D. Dawson, and their collaboration was part of Emory’s inaugural Arts and Social Justice Fellows program.

To practice storytelling—a key business skill for connecting to investors and consumers, as well as job interviewing—the 15 students created a haunting 12-minute video directed by Dawson. “A Space for Empathy” shares their personal stories of belonging, and what it feels like not to.

“A simple interaction laid the foundation for me and dozens of other students’ stereotype: that Hispanic people are naturally better at soccer,” one unnamed student says in the video. “However, now I look back and realize how easily unfair and often untrue generalizations of race can be spread almost like a virus.”

Redlining in White Detroit

The seminar, Social Justice: Zoning, Contracts and Environmental Racism, began with the story of Ossian Sweet in the required text: Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, a National Book Award winner.

Sweet was a grandson of a slave who had become a doctor in Detroit, and in 1925 bought a home in a previously all-white neighborhood. When a mob of white people gathered outside his house, shots were fired, a white man in the mob was dead, and Sweet was arrested and charged with murder. Famed attorney Clarence Darrow took Sweet’s case, and the book chronicles the societal shifts from slavery to the Great Migration to the civil rights movement. 

The class also studied a case in Union Hill, Virginia, a rural and mostly Black community whose ancestors were enslaved on the same land. The residents won a federal lawsuit to prevent the building of a massive natural gas pipeline compressor station, and now are eligible for nomination for historic landmark status. Oral narratives, and archival research that revealed unmarked slave burial grounds, were key to fighting off the pipeline station.

“Even though I used stories all the time to teach business law, I did not see the idea of empathy initially,” Burdette said. “As Olivia put it so well, I look at legal perspectives and systems. That is so important, but people need to tap into empathy and build empathy to make systematic change. That was brilliant and I didn’t see that before. We use the word ‘interdisciplinary’ and I now see how that works. I’d love to have our business school do more work in storytelling.”

Students Share Personal Social Justice Stories

First-year student Nyah Bruce 24BBA said the class was well-timed after the protests and dialogue in summer 2020 sparked by the death of George Floyd. A graphic designer, Bruce has worked in marketing and branding.

“When you have a product or service, you build a brand that conveys a story,” she said. “And in professional development, you’re trying to tell your story and build that brand for yourself. The class exercise was a little bit different but is equally important for where I see myself in business.”

In the video, Bruce tells her story of growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood, where she heard her Black hair compared to animal fur and had to learn to tell people not to pet it. When she stopped straightening her hair in middle school, other students made fun of her, and after only 48 hours, she ditched her natural look. For the next four years, she says she “straightened every curl and coil until I couldn’t recognize them anymore.”  

Her classmates’ openness inspired the same in her. “I wasn’t expecting a negative reaction to my story, but once I shared it, it was not a big deal because of the environment we were able to foster by telling our stories,” she said.

In that circle of trust, Chris Kusumonegoro 22BBA went on camera to describe breaking free from immense cultural pressure to be perfect: “For some reason the world looks at me and tells me that because of my race, who I like, what I feel, that I am not smart enough, not Christian enough, not man enough, not good enough.”

The class connected art to business for him in a powerful way, and helped him assert his values were changing, along with his professional goals. As he said in the film: “And so, I rewrite my story each and every day for my God, and with my faith, that I make my own to define myself with new eyes.”

He had been attracted to the fast pace of consulting but realized during the class that he needed to make sure his work improved lives. Helping people was more important to him than profit maximization.

“To know your art is to know your story, and to know your story is to know how much of an asset you will be to the organization you are joining,” he said. “A lot of times in business, people are cogs in a machine, but if you know your own story, you know that people have inherent value, and you can help your company bring out that value.” 

Face Social Justice Issues with Courage and Compassion

The class and its film achieved the goal of the fellowship program, to offer “critical nuance to the public dialogue about [social justice] issues and prepare college students to face them with courage and compassion in the real world,” says Carlton Mackey 05T, co-creator of the program and director of the Ethics & the Arts program.

The program is part of Emory’s commitment, as the 2020-21 academic year began, to racial justice actions “inspired directly by the vision, energy, and guidance of our students and community — to improve the Emory experience and live up to our values so that everyone feels a sense of belonging and shared purpose,” Emory President Gregory Fenves said.

Participating in the inaugural Arts and Social Justice Fellows program highlights Goizueta Business School’s commitment to cross-disciplinary education for business students interested in the arts, and for student artists attracted to business. 

“We are very energized by the work being done in the business school and across the university around social justice. The context that comes from addressing this crucial topic from an interdisciplinary perspective enhances understanding and adds depth and breadth to the conversation.”

– Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean of undergraduate education and senior lecturer in Organization and Management.

“Professor Burdette’s course serves as one example of many natural intersections between business and the arts. Our students’ passions have led us to offer a vibrant and growing Arts Management concentration that includes BBA students along with majors in art history, music, dance and theater. I believe we are still in the early stages of imagining where these collaborations might lead.”

To Dawson, the significance of the class stretched far beyond campus. The 15 Goizueta Scholars modeled the honesty and strength needed for racial reconciliation and healing among all Americans. “They have set the example and are leading the way,” she wrote on her blog. “Follow their example and share your story; listen to someone else’s; find connections and commonalities as we move forward as a nation—together.”

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