“I worked as a producer at CNN International, advocating for stories from all parts of the world, particularly those that are underrepresented, to be given air-time,” says Konkala.

During his tenure, Konkala noticed a divide between the creatives and the business side of the house. It’s a gap common in many industries. This lack of understanding and communication often leads to issues, inefficiencies, and unsatisfactory relationships among staff.

It was this realization, combined with Konkala’s passion for storytelling and a drive to do “business for good,” that lead him to pursue an MBA.

“Storytelling can be incredibly impactful to communities,” says Konkala. He aims to use strategy development to help businesses shift towards a more sustainable and equitable future and help the communities they impact.

Resume Builder

Learning the basic functions of a business is the main building block of most MBA curricula. But Konkala was drawn to Goizueta’s two-year program because of the “strong emphasis on social impact.”

Goizueta’s commitment to meaningful engagement and purposeful actions shapes its academic endeavors. It also underscores the school’s dedication to fostering positive change both on campus and within the broader community.

Sai Konkala 24MBA

Konkala offers this advice to future MBA students: Say yes to everything—but also know when to say no. His resume gained significant length over the last two years as he took his own advice to heart. Konkala participated in the Goizueta Consulting Association and the Energy & Clean Tech Association. He held the position of vice president in both organizations.

“The best advice I learned was ‘saying no is a leadership skill. I knew two years would fly by fast, and I wanted to take advantage of every possible adventure,” says Konkala. “However, it’s crucial to strike a balance and avoid overloading yourself.”

He was also a Business & Society Institute Social Enterprise Fellow. The fellowship included a trip to Honduras and to the 2024 ClimateCAP conference in Michigan.

I’m so grateful for my experiences with the Business & Society Institute. It provided me with a unique lens through which to view the intersection of business and social impact.

Sai Konkala 24MBA

“It’s inspiring to engage with such passionate individuals,” says Konkala. “These are people dedicated to placing humans and the planet at the forefront of business decision-making.”

Group Mentality

As a finale to his time in graduate school, Konkala was on a team that participated in the Rice University CleanTech Innovation Case Competition—and won.

“The achievement was the culmination of weeks of hard work,” he says. “I am immensely proud to have represented Goizueta.”

His first team project—or a version of it—was Goizueta’s Leadership Reaction Course. All graduate students participate in the course before their first semester begins. Konkala says this bonding experience, with then-strangers, is one of his favorite MBA memories.

But his absolute favorite MBA experience was joining the Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy. Students who join the academy take additional classes, listen to guest speakers, attend seminars, and participate in tailored coaching sessions to help develop their unique leadership skills. They round out the program with a capstone trip to the British Virgin Islands.

Out at sea, students took turns filling different roles on the boat, including a day as captain.

All of us are and have been capable leaders. But one muscle or skill that we had to really flex again was how to be a good follower and support the captain and each other.

Sai Konkala 24MBA

Beyond these leadership tests on the water, Konkala enjoyed the opportunity to swim, snorkel, and simply enjoy the British Virgin Islands during his final spring break of graduate school.

“I worked in high-stress environments prior to business school. Being able to remain calm and focused on the task really reflected back to the team. It enabled us to be collected and unified.”

These team-building experiences—in addition the friendships and collaboration Konkala formed in the classroom—taught him something else, too. He recognized that a belief he once held about business school was simply not true.  

When applying to schools, Konkala thought the environment would be fiercely competitive. In his mind, students would be so pitted against one another that securing a job in the southeast would prove a challenge.

However, starting with the recruiting process, he found that applicants supported one another. That support continued from fellow students in the program, all the way through the Leadership Reaction Course and well into his final semester. Konkala now knows just how supportive the Goizueta community is.  

I discovered a remarkably collaborative community. Competition took a backseat to camaraderie.

Sai Konkala 24MBA

“There is very much an attitude of ‘lift as you climb’ at Goizueta,” he says. “I truly value that.”

Looking Toward the Future

With his time at Goizueta coming to an end, Konkala is excited to be joining Deloitte as a senior consultant. He plans to put all the knowledge and skills gained from the last two years to work. He hopes to “steer industries towards reducing their environmental footprint, promoting zero waste, mitigating pollution, and uplifting communities.”

Working closely with businesses—with these goals in mind—Konkala will draw from what he learned in the strategy class taught by Renée Dye, associate professor in the practice of organization and management. Often, the broad strokes mission and vision language that companies proclaim differs from the nuanced approaches they take in situations. There is no one-size-fits-all language or strategy that works across industries either, explains Konkala. These discrepancies can be confusing to employees and hinder a company’s progress. That’s where Konkala hopes to come in.

“One of the most valuable takeaways from my time at Goizueta has been the ability to dissect the relationship between a company’s stated language and its actual strategy.”

Long-term, Konkala aspires to fill the initial gap he noticed that lead him to Goizueta. He wants to use strategy to better connect the creatives and the business teams in the media and entertainment companies. He may also open a plant and coffee shop. His direct study as a Business & Society Institute Fellow explores the business case for a sustainable coffee farm that accounts for climate change.

Or, maybe he’ll launch a sustainable fashion brand.

Or, maybe, he’ll do it all.

“I aspire to make business a potent force for good.”

This May, hundreds of Goizueta graduates will walk through our doors ready for the workforce. Learn more about the celebration and register for Goizueta’s Commencement activities. Continue to check out the stories of our amazing students all month long.

Whether you’re looking to accelerate your career or make a career pivot, our full-time Two-Year MBA will prepare you to challenge business as usual and become the innovators who disrupt it. Learn more here.

The post From CNN to MBA: Former Journalist Plans to ‘Do Business For Good’ appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.

•   Leadership Coaching Fellows—Through one-on-one executive coaching, students learn how to coach and be coached

•   Leader’s Reaction Course—Leveraging the U.S. Army facilities at Fort Benning, Georgia, students build team-based problem-solving, decision-making, and effective communication skills

•   Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy—Students put their burgeoning leadership skills to the test by sailing open waters in an intense team-based leadership scenario

“Our students leave Goizueta understanding how to improve individual and team performance, flex their problem-solving and team-building skills, and cultivate their personal leadership styles,” says Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ken Keen, senior lecturer of organization and management and associate dean for leadership. “Goizueta leaders are nimble and responsive to changing conditions in the workplace.”

Read more about the future of crisis leadership training at Goizueta.

The post Building Nimble and Responsive Leaders appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.

Roberto C. Goizueta Award for Leadership is the highest honor given to a student graduating from Goizueta Business School. Funded by The Goizueta Foundation, it is presented annually to two graduating Goizueta Business School students—one BBA and one MBA—who during their time at school have embodied the values and leadership qualities exhibited by Mr. Goizueta. Those are: a love of learning, inspirational leadership, creative thinking, courage and commitment, transparency and trust, and excellence and integrity. Each honoree receives a $25,000 award and identifies the faculty or staff member at Goizueta who had the greatest impact on them during their time as a student. The faculty or staff members selected each receive a $5,000 honorarium. This is the second year the award has been given.

“At Goizueta, we are producing talented, principled leaders intent on having a purposeful and positive impact on business and society,” said Erika H. James, John H. Harland Dean of the Goizueta Business School. “Michael and Jason are emblematic of our graduates and both of them richly deserve this important honor. I know that as they move into their careers, they will continue to reflect and promote Roberto C. Goizueta’s leadership values.”

“We are honored to support this important award,” said Olga Goizueta Rawls, Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer of The Goizueta Foundation. “I congratulate Michael and Jason on receiving the Roberto C. Goizueta Award for Leadership and on their many important contributions to the Goizueta Business School community and their peers. Today more than ever, business schools must graduate students prepared to lead in a complex world.  Michael and Jason exemplify such leadership qualities.”

While he was still in high school, Battat began writing for the financial website SeekingAlpha.com and at Goizueta used that experience to inform his roles as president of two prestigious student organizations, the Goizueta Finance Group and the Goizueta Investment Management Group. While earning his BBA, Battat had internships at three leading companies, Perella Weinberg Partners, Invesco and Heritage Capital. His other many activities at Goizueta include co-directing the Sophomore Finance Academy, serving as lead coach at the Goizueta Career Management Center, and serving as a teaching assistant for five courses.

Battat is on the Dean’s List and was a member of the Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society, and Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society. He is also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and a 100 Senior Honorary.

“It is incredibly humbling to be recognized in honor of our school’s namesake,” said Battat. “More than anything, this award is validation of the belief that we can all achieve more when we help one another. While technically I may be the recipient, this award also recognizes the selflessness and support of my parents and peers, as well as Goizueta faculty, staff and alumni. Everything I did at Goizueta was an attempt to pay forward the support I received from those who helped me — and I probably fell short.”

Battat identified Jeffrey Rosensweig as the faculty member who had the greatest impact on his experience at Goizueta. In his nomination letter, Battat wrote, “Dr. Rosensweig’s mentorship is a material reason why I have the privilege of being recognized with this amazing honor. He inspires me to be similarly selfless and supportive to others, which has manifested within my leadership capacities. It is only fitting that I recognize Dr. Jeffrey Rosensweig, a world-class educator with identical values as Mr. Goizueta and who similarly impacts the Goizueta Business School and its students. For his selflessness, countless contributions and continued mentorship, Dr. Rosensweig is incredibly deserving of this nomination.” Rosensweig is an associate professor of Finance, and director of The Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government Finance.

An active duty U.S. Army Officer, Major Waidzulis has served within infantry and special operations units. Since 2008, he has led the training and deployment of several teams in support U.S. military operations across the globe. As a student, he served as a coach for Goizueta’s Leader’s Reaction Course and his performance in a core course earned him an invitation to serve as a teaching assistant for it the following year. He served on the IMPACT360 Student Leadership Board, and in that capacity, worked with first-year MBAs taking the course. He was president of the Goizueta Veterans Association, led recruiting efforts to encourage veterans and active duty service men and women to pursue advanced business degrees, and taught Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets at both Emory and Georgia Tech.

“It’s an honor to be recognized for leading in a way that reflects the legacy of Roberto Goizueta,” said Major Waidzulis. “It’s also extremely meaningful because selection required nomination and support from a community of world-class faculty, staff, and colleagues at the Goizueta Business School who have inspired me over the past two years. I further believe the credit must be shared with the servant leaders that have influenced me over the years, and it makes me feel good knowing that I have been able to pay it forward by impacting the lives of others.”

Major Waidzulis also helped raise more than $39,000 for the Goizueta Business School Veterans Association. He was selected by his peers in the Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy (GALA) program for the GALA GLUE award for holding his team together through success, failure and physical and mental fatigue.

Major Waidzulis identified Ken Keen, as the faculty member who had the greatest impact on his experience at Goizueta. In his nomination letter, Waidzulis wrote, “Lieutenant General Ken Keen is a great example of a servant leader and can best be described as humble with an edge. I appreciate the opportunities he has given me and his willingness to candidly share 36 years of military leadership experience and knowledge to mentor me into a high potential leader for others.”  Keen is a senior lecturer in Organization & Management and associate dean for Leadership. He is also a retired US Army Lieutenant General.

About Goizueta Business School

Business education has been an integral part of Emory University’s identity since 1919. That kind of longevity and significance does not come without a culture built around success and service. Emory University’s Goizueta Business School offers a unique, community-oriented environment paired with the academic prestige of a major research institution. Goizueta develops business leaders of today and tomorrow with an undergraduate degree program, a Two-Year Full-Time MBA, One-Year MBA, Evening MBA, Executive MBA, Master of Science in Business Analytics, PhD program, and a portfolio of non-degree Emory Executive Education courses. Together, the Goizueta community strives to solve the world’s most pressing business problems. The school is named for the late Roberto C. Goizueta, former Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

The post US Army Ranger and Undergraduate Finance Major are recipients of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School Roberto C. Goizueta Award for Leadership appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.

So it’s no surprise that Ken Keen, senior lecturer in organization & management and associate dean for Leadership, invited Jessica Wicks 15MBA, principal product manager (EMEA) at Medtronic Spine in Memphis, TN, to speak to faculty and students in Keen’s Advanced Leadership Course last year.

Wicks, a former Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy (GALA) fellow, is a bona fide adventurer. “She’s always pushing herself to get out of her comfort zone and test her boundaries,” Keen said.

In early 2017, Wicks climbed Mount Kilimanjaro—Africa’s highest peak−and spent the night alone in the Amazon rainforest in Guyana (armed with a bow and arrow). In 2014, she spent weeks trekking through Indonesia. In 2014, she trekked through Nepal. Last July, Wicks’ itinerary included a 100-mile, two-day ultra-marathon near the Grand Tetons. Wicks got lost at mile 20, lost valuable time, and had to drop out of the race when she didn’t make a timed checkpoint at mile 40. Rather than beat herself up for failing, she signed up to try again this July (possible coronavirus cancellation notwithstanding).

“Going through the process of attempting that race, something I hadn’t attempted before, gave me perspective on what to do to achieve the goal in the second round,” Wicks said in March 2020. After not finishing the race, Wicks reassessed her training program and saw a giant flaw: not being able to train in the mountains.

So when Medtronic offered her a short-term assignment in Switzerland (she moved there in early January), Wicks couldn’t believe her luck. She could live, work and train in the Alps. Though the travel bans related to the coronavirus pandemic forced her to return to Memphis in mid-March, Wicks has kept to her goal of running every day this year—with a goal of running 2020 miles in 2020. She also signed up for the Moab 240, an ultra-marathon that takes place this October. Wicks will have 112 hours to complete the 240-mile race.

During her talk with the leadership class, Wicks reflected on the importance of setting a “just beyond your reach goal.” Often, she said, the biggest barrier to reaching a goal is “figuring out why you haven’t done it yet.” She also spoke about development—in the workplace or outside of it—and advised the students not to count on others to take the reigns. “Continue to find ways to develop yourself,” she told Keen’s class. “Don’t point blame at others for not developing you.”

While not everyone will climb mountains or run ultra-marathons, when you continue to develop yourself, explained Wicks, you will be seen as a leader. “Others will start looking up to you,” she said. If you get too comfortable in a role, Wicks suggested looking for ways to challenge yourself. When she spoke to professor Keen’s class, she’d recently switched from an upstream marketing role to a downstream one—even though she had no experience in downstream marketing. Given that she’s climbed to 19,000 feet and protected herself with a bow and arrow, Wicks didn’t see taking on a new marketing role as such a big deal.

“It comes down to developing yourself in different ways,” she said. “Success is about learning and growing. It doesn’t necessarily mean you achieve your goal or that you fail at achieving your goal. It’s about learning something. That’s what we should all be striving for.”

The post Alum advises students to set “just beyond your reach goals” appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.

As one of the key pillars of Goizueta’s strategic plan, leadership is an important part of the curriculum. To add to its already impressive lineup of programs, Goizueta faculty and staff have added another leadership opportunity for Full-Time MBA students.

As a way to combine the academic leadership offerings and the co-curricular leadership experiences, the program office and the leadership faculty worked together to create the Certificate of Advanced Leadership.

In addition to completing the required academic courses and experiential activities, students will be required to take the capstone course in the spring semester of their final year. The course is a leadership seminar combining Professor Rick Gilkey’s research on cognitive leadership behaviors as well as teachings from Professors Karl Kuhnert and Peter Topping. Students will be required to write a capstone reflection paper that touches on one or more aspects of Goizueta’s leadership model (working across boundaries, acting with integrity, creating vision, taking action and demonstrating resilience).

“There are five components to [the model], and the idea is that they’re writing and reflecting in a way that brings the leadership model to life,” said Brian Mitchell, associate dean for Full-Time MBA programs.

By completing all of the required items, students will be eligible to receive the certificate at the end of their final semester. 

“My sense was it was driven by a desire of the program office to build upon our unique leadership program and robust offering of courses and experiential opportunities,” said retired Army Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, associate dean of the Leadership Development Program. “It provides [students] the opportunity to do a ‘deep dive’ into leadership and take full advantage of the opportunities offered at GBS in this area. An area I think every MBA student needs to take advantage of during their MBA journey.” 

While the certificate, or other awards like it, may be offered at other business schools, Topping said what makes Goizueta’s leadership program unique is the combination of highly experienced leadership, strong leadership faculty, visionary direction from the program office, full support from Dean Erika James and a motivated student body.

“To be effective in the organizational world, managerial leaders must combine business acumen with people acumen to drive organizational performance,” Topping said. “Unlike Goizueta, most major business schools do not have the tradition nor talent today to help their students with the ‘people acumen’ side of the equation. We have that talent and focus — and the leadership certificate program is an example of how students who share this interest and passion can learn how to become sophisticated, effective principled leaders in global enterprises.”

Interested students should contact the FTMBA program office or Keen at ken.keen@emory.edu to get more information.

“This whole idea is going beyond,” Mitchell said. “I think this is an important initiative for bringing ‘go beyond’ into practice.”

The post New Certificate of Advanced Leadership allows FTMBA students to ‘go beyond’ appeared first on EmoryBusiness.com.