Pilar Resendez

Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University

“Community-driven leader who values building relationships and uplifting those around her.”

Hometown: Alice, Texas

Fun fact about yourself: Growing up I first learned about business from my grandfather, who ran a small cattle ranch in South Texas that is still in my family today.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, finance

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? CFGI, business transformation manager

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Gallo, Modesto, California

Where will you be working after graduation? Gallo, Brand Management

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• President, Hispanic American Business Leaders Association (HABLA)
• President, Johnson Wine Club
• Consortium Academic Liaison
• Diversity Council Representative
• Career Work Group Leader
• Co-chair, Johnson Diversity Hosting Weekend
• Venture Capital Associate, Big Red Ventures
• Consortium Fellow
• Course Assistant in Finance, Accounting and Critical and Strategic Thinking
• Tutor in Accounting

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I’m most proud of my role as president of Johnson’s Hispanic American Business Leaders Association. After COVID-19, many of the organization’s traditions and involvement had been lost, and I was able to connect with my classmates and alumni to help build out our Johnson community and events.

Being in this role allowed me to build stronger connections between domestic and international Hispanic and Latino students while sharing our culture with the broader Johnson community. I was able to lead efforts to attend Prospanica and Latinx MBA leadership conferences, which we historically did not attend, where students could network across the country. The highlight of my experience with HABLA was building a long-standing community and relationship with my classmates. I left this position knowing that together, the HABLA board and I created a foundation that could lead to greater opportunities for our community. I am excited to see the next class achieve even more than we did.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? As a first-time manager at CFGI, I was most proud of leading the operating model design for an insurance client that was then used to enable the buildout of this work at my practice. It was early in my career and the first time I was entrusted with leading relationships with C-suite clients and creating thought leadership for the company. It was impactful to take my vision and work with a client to transform their traditional way of thinking about their business. The success of this project helped me learn about my own management style while proving to myself that I could cope with the “imposter syndrome” that many young professionals face. This experience helped me become a better leader and classmate to my peers while at Johnson.

Why did you choose this business school? Everyone will always say “the people,” which is very true, but I think what made Johnson stand out for me was the community. From the students and administration to the broader Cornell University and Ithaca communities, Johnson truly stood out. When I visited Johnson as a prospective student, I immediately felt the support from all aspects of the community, and everyone was invested in making sure I was making the right choices for me and my career goals. Now as a current student, I’ve witnessed firsthand the support and genuine care this community has for its students. The support the Johnson community has for each other inspires me and my classmates to take on leadership and volunteer positions as we give back a fraction of the support continuously given to us.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course during the MBA was Crisis Communication for Business Leaders. As an elective in my second year, this course allowed me to not only evaluate the common business success stories, but also take an in-depth look into when things go wrong and how to approach those scenarios. Senior lecturer Theomary Karamanis brought industry experience that helped bring the course to life and expand beyond the traditional case- and lecture-style classes. Each week, we were tasked with responding to various crisis scenarios while receiving direct feedback. My classmates made the class most enjoyable as we came in each week engaged and excited to participate, leading to a dynamic learning setting and environment.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite MBA event at Johnson is our annual Carnaval Latino, which celebrates the many cultures of our Hispanic and Latinx students. This happens each spring semester and showcases the diversity of our class through dance, music, and food. In my role as president of HABLA, I spent many hours working with the Latin American Business Association (LABA) to bring this event together. With support from the administration, our two organizations were able to not only showcase our culture but also get our classmates involved in learning different dances and cultural traditions. Johnson’s Carnaval represents how our community can bring everyone together to share and celebrate our differences.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would spend more time in Ithaca. This is not something I thought I would say when I first started the program, but there’s always so much going on in Ithaca. Business school brings many opportunities to travel (conferences, recruiting, social events, treks), but every time I was away, I wanted to be back in Ithaca with my classmates. Two years have gone by quickly, and now as I’m reflecting, I really value the time we’ve had together before we move back to our respective cities.

What is the biggest myth about your school? It’s a myth that the Johnson curriculum mostly caters to banking and consulting career paths. As someone career-switching into brand management roles, I felt immensely supported by the academic and career support I was exposed to. Thanks to our spring immersions, I also had the opportunity to upskill in the strategic and product marketing immersion, which was valuable for my summer internship. I’ve found that Johnson has greatly prepared me and my classmates for our numerous career paths.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? The gorges and waterfalls! Being within the Finger Lakes region, Ithaca has many hikes and outdoor activities available. It’s nice to escape the classroom to such scenic views and enjoy the good days with friends. Even in the winter, we’re able to enjoy the views and ski or stay indoors at the many shops and restaurants located in the Ithaca Commons.

What surprised you the most about business school? How invested my classmates were in one another’s success. I knew entering business school that I would be part of a supportive community, but everyone really went above-and-beyond to help each other. Whether it was recruiting, classes, planning social events or creating new organizations and events on campus, I could always count on my classmates for their support. Before business school, I would always hear about the network at each school. While at Johnson, I witnessed how that community comes to life even before graduation.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I most admire Angel Gonzalez. We joined Johnson together as part of The Consortium, and I had the opportunity to work with him as part of the HABLA board and Consortium leadership team. He has always helped our classmates with recruiting, tutoring, or personally whenever they needed, never expecting anything in return. Most importantly, he is a great and supportive friend who helped build out programming for HABLA, The Consortium and the broader Johnson community.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? Professionally, my two bucket list items include working abroad and being a professional mentor to younger colleagues. As someone who values different and diverse perspectives, I look forward to the opportunity to work abroad and help form more global business operations. Additionally, I’ve benefited greatly in my career from others who invested in me and my success. I hope to one day be able to give back even a fraction of the support my communities have given to me.

What made Pilar such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?

“Pilar has been an exemplary thought partner and inclusive leader at the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Pilar has held many leadership positions and strived to deepen diversity, inclusion and belonging among the Johnson school community. As the president of the Hispanic American Business Leaders Association (HABLA), Pilar was committed to increasing engagement among the Latina/o/x community and encouraging cross-collaboration. Pilar identified opportunities such as the Latinx MBA Leadership Summit and Prospanica MBA Conference, where our Johnson Latina/o/x MBA students were able to connect with other business students and leaders across the country to drive change within their respective institutions and future workplaces. At the 2023 Prospanica MBA Conference, Johnson had the largest student participation among business schools in attendance. This was an incredible feat as Johnson had never participated in the Prospanica Conference, and Pilar had begun planting this seed in the fall of 2022. To connect to the broader Johnson community, she created partnerships with organizations on campus like SAGE (Student Allies for Gender Equity) for Hispanic Heritage Month events, which hadn’t previously been formed before. Pilar is a systems thinker; she can identify an issue and work to resolve it strategically, systemically and inclusively. She is willing to ask questions such as, “Who is missing from the table?” — and most importantly, “Why?” I have watched Pilar intentionally build bridges within our school community that we look forward to sustaining.

As our Consortium academic chair, Pilar took the lead on hosting study review sessions before midterms and exams. “There is no way I would have made it through core without Pilar,” one Consortium student shared in a Consortium Family meeting; loud applause followed. This expanded beyond The Consortium as Pilar was also a course assistant for three core classes as well as an individual tutor to first-year students. During the yield season, Pilar held Ask Me Anything sessions, proactively leaned on her executive board to host phonathons and met with prospective students one-on-one to prep them for interviews and connect them with MBA students with similar career aspirations. I have witnessed Pilar as a selfless leader who continues to look back to make sure that no one is being left behind, that they belong and that their voice and experience are needed to cultivate inclusive leadership.”

Nicole LaFave
Interim Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2024