Stanford Names New Career Director

Maeve Richard

Maeve Richard

A career advisor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business today (Jan. 22) was named assistant dean and director of the Career Management Center at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Maeve Richard, who graduated from Stanford with her MBA in 1984, succeeds Pulin Sanghvi who joined Princeton University as executive director of career services in December.

At Stanford, she takes over a function that is unlike any other business school because an unusually large number of students either do their own thing or want to work in off-the-grid startups. A record 18% of last year’s class became entrepreneurs, for example, up from 13% of the Class of 2012, versus an average of just 5% at most business schools. The previous all-time high for MBA startups at Stanford was 16% for the Class of 2011.

For the remaining majority of Stanford MBAs who focused on mainstream jobs, 2013 was a very good year. Some 77% of the class had job offers by graduation, roughly the same as the previous year when it was 78%, while 94% reported having job offers three months after commencement, also roughly equal to the 93% in 2012 (See Highest Paid Stanford MBA: $522K).

Maeve Richard had only arrived at Stanford as a career advisor seven months ago but came to Stanford after a long career in finance. After graduating with her MBA, she spent seven years in corporate finance with J.P. Morgan. In 1991, Richard then parlayed her experience with the investment banking firm to land a job as assistant treasurer of Levi Strauss & Co., a position she held for seven more years.

A JOB HOPPER WHO HAD WORKED FOR NINE ORGANIZATIONS SINCE GAINING HER MBA

All told, she has worked for nine different organizations, including Stanford, since earning her MBA in 1984. Her various roles have included serving as chief financial officer for Arteris Inc., chief financial and operating officer of The Stupski Foundation, and a similar post at Progress Investment Management Company. Prior to that she was vice president and treasurer at McAfee Inc., held various management positions at Sun Microsystems as well as a return trip to Levi Strauss.

Several of her former colleagues sing her praises. John Walthier, who reported to Richard at McAfee, said that Maeve provided him with “some of the most direct, honest and constructive employee feedback I’ve experienced during my career. Maeve has great insight and the ability to structure those insights into constructive advice, wrote Walthier in a LinkedIn recommendation for Richard. Similarly, a co-worker at Progress Investment, had positive things to say as well. Marsha Warner said Richard “was sure-handed, knowledgeable, frank, open to ideas and very collaborative. I was repeatedly impressed by her remarkable research skills and her quest for information.”

In a statement, Maeve Richard said she was drawn to the Stanford job by “the transformative potential of personal and professional changes during our lives,. One of the most impactful transitions is moving through the GSB and taking advantage of all that the program offers. I am particularly passionate about supporting our MBA students as they investigate careers that provide meaning and impact.”

PRIORITIES INCLUDE IMPROVING QUALITY OF INFORMATION ON CAREER PATHS

Among her first priorities, Maeve Richard intends to determine ways to improve the quality and breadth of information about career paths, lifetime earnings, and the implications of career choices to better inform student decision-making. She also plans to explore ways to further support alumni at junctures when they are reevaluating their careers, a topic close to her own experience. “The goal is to enable our students — as well as alumni — to make the highest-quality career decisions and to equip them to act wisely at pivotal points in their professional lives,” she said.

“We are delighted to have someone with Maeve’s depth of industry experience at the helm of our Career Management Center,” said Garth Saloner, dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business. “As someone who made successful pivots in her own career, she is uniquely equipped to guide students to find their professional path in new and fulfilling ways.”

A native of the midwest, Richard earned her BA with highest honors at University of California–Berkeley in political economy of industrial societies, and was awarded a Rotary Foundation Graduate Fellowship to study international economics at the Universitat Heidelberg.

Maeve Richard’s service to the community includes participation in the Stanford Parents Advisory Board, and as an advisor to and former chief financial officer and treasurer on the Wellspring board. In the past she served on the investment committee of the board of Dignity Health, and on the Bay Area advisory board of BUILD. She led the Community Bank of the Bay as chairwoman and board member, served as a community advisor of the Junior League of San Francisco, and served as board member of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Conference of Community and Justice. She has also served as a College Track mentor for underprivileged youth.

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