The ExecMBA Podcast

In this special edition of the podcast, we are excited to share another installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Executive Fellow and Professor of Practice Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88). This wide-ranging conversation hosted by Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke touches on Miles’ advice and insights for prospective and admitted students, her work as CEO of Save the Children, what brought her back to Darden and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we’re excited to highlight an upcoming event – the University of Virginia Venture Capital Conference taking place at Sands Family Grounds in Arlington, Virginia on Friday, 12 April. In honor of this year’s conference, we recently connected with two second year students in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2024, Malcolm Stewart and Ellie Jamison, to talk about Venture Capital at Darden – what resources and courses are available to students, advice for prospective students interested in VC and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this podcast episode, we catch up with Stuart Nystrom and Crescent Islam. Stuart and Crescent are first year students in UVA Darden’s Part-Time MBA Class of 2026, and they also serve as First Year Section Representatives. We talk with Stuart and Crescent about their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, how their first year is going, what attracted them to the section representative role and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Veronica Gordon. Veronica is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and she is also one of the student leaders in Darden’s Black Professional MBA student organization. We talk with Veronica about her MBA journey, her experience at Darden, the impact of the program and more. Veronica also shares highlights from UVA’s upcoming Black Alumni Weekend, including a Black trailblazers panel featuring prominent Darden alumni that Veronica spearheaded. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Anthony Ranghelli! Anthony is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and he also recently served as President of Darden’s Executive Student Association (ESA). We talk with Anthony about his decision to pursue an MBA, what led him Darden, what led him to pursue a student leadership role, his advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Anna Fife (MBA ’14). Anna is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for Darden’s Batten Institute, and we recently connected to talk with her about her background, what led her to Darden as an MBA student, and what brought her back to Darden for her role with the Batten Institute. Anna also shares insights about Darden’s Batten Scholars program. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode, Brett Twitty and Ali Torres discuss the similarities and differences between UVA Darden’s Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA programs. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, click the link the description to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba. https://www.instagram.com/dardenmba/?hl=en https://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/admissions/ For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, click the link the description to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jimmy Anthony. Jimmy is a first-year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2025, and we recently connected with him to discuss his background, what led him to Darden, his experience commuting from Arkansas for the program, how Darden has helped him reevaluate how he spends his time and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Finale Norton. Finale is a second-year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and we recently connected with her to talk more about her background, her decision to pursue an MBA, what guided her elective choices, the impact of her Darden experience and more.

In this special edition of the podcast, we are excited to share another installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Senior Associate Dean, Professional Degree Programs Yael Grushka-Cockayne. Grushka-Cockayne's research and teaching activities focus on data science, forecasting, project management and behavioral decision-making. Her research is published in numerous academic and professional journals, and she is a regular speaker at international conferences in the areas of decision analysis, project management and management science. During this conversation moderated by Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke, Clarke and Grushka-Cockayne share insights into the Women@Darden initiative which has the goal of making Darden the graduate business school of choice for women leaders across the world.

In this special edition of Darden Admissions’ podcast, we talk with Marc and Shizuka Modica about Darden’s global course offerings. Marc is a Senior Lecturer in Business Administration with broad international experience in negotiation, communications and conflict management teaching and consulting. Shizuka is a lecturer and adjunct faculty member, and she is an expert on high performance, meaningful work, leadership and change management. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with Marc and Shizuka about their backgrounds, what led them to Darden, what they enjoy about leading global courses and more. They also share insights about Darden’s global course offerings in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

In this episode of the podcast we catch up with UVA Darden’s Professional Degree Programs Career Team, Gopika Spaenle, Jennifer Windus and Jim Collins. We talk with Gopika, Jennifer, and Jim about the recent Professional Advancement Course (PAC), as well as career-related news and updates for Darden’s current Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA classes.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Pam Peace. Pam is a second year student in Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and she also serves as the Executive MBA Student Association’s VP, Outreach. We talk with Pam about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, her work as VP, Outreach, what she’s enjoyed about the second year of the Executive MBA program, the impact of her time at Darden and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Kirby Landon. Kirby is a second year student in Darden’s Part-Time MBA Class of 2025, and she also currently serves as VP, Community for the Part-Time MBA Student Association. We talk with Kirby about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her Darden, what she’s enjoyed about the program so far and more. Kirby also gave birth during her first year, and we chat with her about balancing the demands of work, school and parenthood.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Dan Biga. Dan is a graduate in our Executive MBA Class of 2021, and he currently works for Deloitte as a Lead Specialist, Social Impact Portfolio, Deloitte Leadership and Human Potential. We talk with Dan about his service in the United States Marine Corps, his experience teaching in Chicago, his decision to pursue an MBA, what he’s been up to since graduation and more.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Jim Naughton. Naughton is an Associate Professor in the Accounting area at Darden, and his research examines how financial, legal, and regulatory institutions shape both financial disclosure and economic choices. We talk with Naughton about why he’s passionate about the case method, Darden’s approach to Accounting, his interest in ESG disclosures and more.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Les Alexander. Alexander is an experienced professor, venture capital and private equity investor, corporate executive, and investment banker, and he is a Professor of Practice in the Finance and Strategy, Ethics & Entrepreneurship areas at Darden. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with Alexander about Venture Capital (VC), Private Equity (PE), his Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) elective, plans for the UVA Venture Capital Conference, his advice interested in VC and PE and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Melissa Thomas-Hunt and Yael Grushka-Cockayne. Melissa is the Senior Associate Dean for Darden’s Residential Full-Time MBA program and Yael is the Senior Associate Dean for Darden’s Professional Degree Programs. We talk with Melissa and Yael about the fall semester, highlights from the past few months, what they’re looking forward to in the spring, their advice for prospective students and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Taylor Bennett. Taylor is a recent graduate in our Executive MBA Class of 2023, and he is currently the Chief Development Office for Pizza Hut. We talk with Taylor about his decision to pursue an MBA, the impact of his Darden experience, his favorite Darden classes, as well as the independent study he did focused on his classmate's restaurant concept in Birmingham, Alabama.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Patrick Clancey. Patrick is a graduate in Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2020, and we talk with Patrick about this decision to pursue an MBA, what led him to Darden, how his Learning Team shaped his Darden experience, how he balanced work, life and school as an Executive MBA student, what he’s been up to since graduation and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up Stephen Beaudoin. Stephen is a graduate in Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2022, and he has built his career in the performing arts. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with Stephen about his decision to pursue an MBA, the impact of his Darden experience, what he’s been up to since graduation, his new role as the President and CEO of the Music School of Delaware and more.

In this special edition of the podcast, we catch up with Ayana Younge. Younge is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and her research lies at the intersection of emotions, social hierarchy, and interpersonal processes. We talk with Younge about her journey to Darden, what it’s like to teach in Darden’s core curriculum, her elective – People, Purpose and the Power of Relationships, as well as her work with the PhD Project. Founded in 1994, The PhD Project seeks to diversify corporate America by diversifying the role models in the front of classrooms. Learn more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Allison Elias. Elias teaches courses about communication and negotiation in Darden’s MBA and Executive MBA programs, and we recently connected with her to discuss her journey to Darden, her elective – Women, Gender and Work – as well as her 2022 book, The Rise of Corporate Feminism. Elias was a nominee for the 2022 Outstanding Faculty Award at Darden, and her elective, Women, Gender, and Work, was rated among the top 10% of all Darden electives (according to student ratings regarding course content and instructor quality).

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Liz Brunette. Liz is a recent graduate in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2023, and we recently connected with her about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, how she managed her time during the Executive MBA program, what it was like navigating the program with a newborn, what she’s been up to since graduation and much more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Ryan DeVito. Ryan is the newest member of our Admissions team supporting Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA students, and we recently connected with him to discuss his background, what led him to his current role, what he enjoys about working with professional degree students and more. As you will learn from this podcast, Ryan is also a big Billy Joel fan!

In this special edition of the podcast, Managing Director of Admissions Brett Twitty and Assistant Director of Admissions Ali Torres debunk frequent Executive MBA- and Part-Time MBA-related myths! In this wide-ranging conversation, Brett and Ali share application tips, offer insights about the working professional student experience, detail career support for Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA and much more. Essential listening.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Matt Kemph. Matt is a recent graduate in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2023, and we connected with him to talk more about his decision to pursue an MBA, how a class visit experience shaped his interest in Darden, as well as the impact of his time in the Executive MBA program. We also discuss his venture, Velocity Rating, which is on a mission to revolutionize the world of college athletics and brand partnerships by providing the most comprehensive and accurate NIL assessments for college athletes.

In this special edition of Darden Admissions’ podcasts, we’re excited to share a recent conversation between Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke and Interim Dean of the Darden School of Business Jeanne Liedtka. In this wide-ranging conversation, Liedtka reflects upon her tenure at the Darden School, what drew her to the field of Design Thinking, what she loves about Charlottesville, the impact of the Darden academic environment and more. This episode is essential listening.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with the leaders of our Darden Executive Veterans (DEV) student organization, Kevin O’Neill and Bret Leach. Kevin and Bret are second year students in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and we talk with them about their decision to pursue an MBA, what they’ve enjoyed about the Executive MBA program, their advice for prospective students, DEV’s plans for the months ahead and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with three leaders of our Black Professional MBA student organization – Mike Shipp (Executive MBA Class of 2024), Linda Hartman (Executive MBA Class of 2024) and Steven Daley (Part-Time MBA Class of 2025). We talk with Mike, Linda and Steven about their backgrounds, their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, their plans for the Black Professional MBA, their advice for prospective students and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Senior Associate Dean, Professional Degree Programs Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Callie Thompson, Assistant Dean for Academic Operations, Professional Degree Programs, to talk about electives in UVA Darden’s Part-Time MBA program. Yael and Callie discuss how the elective lineup is developed, the courses that have been offered to the Part-Time MBA Class of 2025 in their first elective quarters, how the elective registration process works and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Sarah Sowden. Sarah is a second year student in Darden’s Part-Time MBA Class of 2025, and she is also the President of Darden’s Network of Executive Women (NEW) student organization. We talk with Sarah about her background, how she decided to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, and what she’s enjoyed about being in Darden’s first Part-Time MBA class. We also discuss NEW’s plans for the coming months.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Erin Colwell. Erin is the Assistant Director, Academic Advising and Student Affairs for UVA Darden’s Professional Degree Programs, and we talk with her about her background, what led her to Darden and what she enjoys about supporting working professional students. Erin is the advisor for students in the Executive MBA Class of 2025, and we also discuss how she works with these students.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Lauren Lopez-Maurer. Lauren is the Assistant Director, Academic Advising and Student Affairs for UVA Darden’s Professional Degree Programs, and we talk with her about her background, what led her to Darden and what she enjoys about supporting working professional students. Lauren is the advisor for students in the Part-Time MBA Class of 2026, and we also discuss how she works with these students.

We’re excited to re-share one of our favorite conversations from earlier in the year – our Office Hours interview with Dean Emeritus Bob Bruner. As a financial economist, Bruner is best known for his research on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and financial panics. He served as dean of the Darden School from 2005 to 2015, and, this May, he retired from the Darden School in May after 41 years of service and leadership. In this conversation, we talk with Bruner about what led him to Darden, his passion for the case method, his interest in financial crises, what the panic of 1907 can tell us about financial crises generally, his thoughts on the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse and more.

The Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA applications are now live! During this episode, Brett Twitty and Ali Torres highlight the new applications and share tips and insights for applicants targeting our classes enrolling August 2024.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Tim Laseter (MBA ’94, PhD ’03). Laseter is a member of the Technology and Operations Management faculty, and he teaches courses in operations strategy, innovation and emerging technology at Darden. He maintains his connections with practitioners by serving clients as a senior advisor, speaker, workshop facilitator, and expert witness. In this conversation we talk with Laseter about his background, what led him to Darden for his MBA, what he enjoys about teaching, as well as how he discovered his interest in operations. We also discuss several of his courses, including Operations Strategy, Digital Operations, Emerging Topics in Technology & Operations, his Darden Worldwide Course and a new course he has helped develop for Darden Executive Education, “Unlocking Value of AI, Blockchain and Digital Assets.”

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Ali Torres. Ali recently joined our Admissions team as an Assistant Director, Professional Degree Programs, and we talk with her about her background, what she enjoys about working with students, why she’s so passionate about Darden, her advice for Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA applicants and more.

In this episode, we catch up with two members of Darden’s Center for Global Initiatives (CGI) team, Ladi Carr and Maggie Nelsen. We talk with Ladi and Maggie about recent global residencies, upcoming locations, plans for the Executive MBA Class of 2025 and more. Did you know? The only difference between Darden’s EMBA and GEMBA formats is the number of required global residencies. EMBA format students are required to participate in one global residency. GEMBA students are required to participate in four global residencies.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Andrew Moore. Andrew is a graduate in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2020 and a repeat guest on The ExecMBA Podcast. We talk with Andrew about his MBA journey, what he enjoyed about his time at Darden, how his Darden experience continues to impact his life and career after business school and more. We also discuss Narrative Public Affairs, a strategic communications and public affairs firm Andrew founded in 2020.

During this episode, we share the audio from a recent webinar featuring several Executive MBA alumni – Meghan Azevedo (EMBA ’18), Skip Calvert (EMBA ’19), Emma Kinnucan (EMBA ’20), Sean Spence (GEMBA ’18) and David Waidelich (EMBA ’20). The panelists reflect upon their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, how their career goals evolved during their time at Darden, how they continue to leverage their MBA in their work and more.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Yiorgos Allayannis. Allayannis is member of the Finance faculty and an expert in corporate finance, risk management, financial institutions and international finance. His work has examined the impact of derivatives on risk and firm value, corporate governance and its influence in a firm's use of derivatives for hedging, as well as firms' financial and operational hedging strategies. Other work has examined volatility and its implications for firm value distinguishing between earnings and cash flow volatility. In this conversation, we talk with Allayannis about what led him to Darden, teaching Finance through the case method as well as his popular elective, Financial Institutions and Markets. We also discuss a number of the cases he has written across a wide range of topics, including crypto, decentralized finance, green bonds, fintech and more.

During this episode, we share an admissions update for applicants interested in joining our Executive MBA class enrolling this August. We talk with two members of our Executive MBA Admissions Committee, Katherine Alford and Ali Torres, about our Executive MBA application process, where things stand with our incoming Executive MBA class, tips for Executive MBA applicants, where to get started if you are looking to move quickly on an Executive MBA application and more.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcasts, we catch up with Professor Raj Venkatesan. Raj is a member of the Darden Marketing faculty, and he is also a co-Academic Director for UVA’s MS in Business Analytics, a partner program between the Darden School of Business and the McIntire School of Commerce. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with Raj about his background, what he loves about the MSBA program, how the program’s curriculum keeps pace with technological advancement, what skills will define the analytics professional of the future and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we continue our ongoing spotlight on entrepreneurship at Darden with a conversation with Matthew Boyd, a recent graduate in our Executive MBA Class of 2023, and his wife Jon’ll Boyd. Matthew and Jon’ll discuss Boyd Cru Wines, their wine venture featuring wines that are locally grown with sustainable practices in Maryland, with a niche focus on creativity and blends. They reflect upon the inspiration for Boyd Cru Wines, how things are going so far, how Matthew’s time at Darden helped them refine their business plan, how things are going so far and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we continue our ongoing series on the learning experience at Darden with a conversation with six students in the Part-Time MBA Class of 2025 who comprise Learning Team 5 – Zoe Chan, Kory Kiesel, Hieu Le, Falin Patel, Katherine Lee and JP Pitarque. The team discusses how they work together, how the Learning Team has helped them manage their coursework, the surprisingly close bonds they’ve formed during the first year of the program and more. Did you know? All Darden students are assigned a 5-6 person Learning Team, and this team is an important academic resource, particularly during the core curriculum.

In this episode of the podcast, we continue our ongoing spotlight on the learning experience at the Darden School of Business with a conversation with three Darden faculty members – Robert Carraway, Lynn Isabella and Marc Lipson. We talk with Robert, Lynn and Marc about how they prepare for class, what it’s like to lead a case discussion, the developmental impact of Darden’s pedagogical approach, their advice for incoming students and more. This episode is essential listening.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Omar Garriott, Executive Director for UVA Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology. We talk with Omar about his background in education-focused technology, what led him to Darden, his plans for the Batten Institute, what he’s looking forward to in the months ahead and more. He also discusses his book, Linked, a step-by-step guide to leveraging LinkedIn and building a career in a digital world.

During this episode, we continue our spotlight on learning through the case method with a conversation with three first year students in our Executive MBA Class of 2024 – Tessa Grubb, Eboni Brown and Salah Al-Chanati. In this conversation, Tessa, Eboni and Salah talk about their reasons for pursuing an MBA, their approach to time management, the role their respective Learning Teams has played in their Darden experience, their favorite case they’ve read thus far and more. This episode is essential listening.

During this episode, we continue our spotlight on learning through the case method with a conversation with three second year students in our Executive MBA Class of 2023 – Allan Barmak, Aly Searles and John Forbes. In this conversation, Allan, Aly and John reflect upon their MBA journeys, the impact of their Darden experience, what a weekend residency is really like, how their approach to case prep has evolved over their time in the program and more. This episode is essential listening