Julian Watson

University of California-Berkeley, Haas School of Business

“I am an empathetic and results-driven leader focused on building and sustaining meaningful communities.”

Hometown: Lindenhurst, NY

Fun fact about yourself: Prior to business school, I was an FAA Part 107 certified drone pilot.

Undergraduate School and Degree: United States Military Academy West Point, BS in Engineering Psychology

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? U.S. Army as a HIMARS Battery Commander serving out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? Nike, doing AI/ML marketing strategy within the Marketing Vanguard Program in Beaverton, OR. My summer consisted of landscape analysis, implementation evaluation, cost identification/reduction, and workflow optimization tied to AI integration on both the creative and technical side of Nike’s marketing function.

Where will you be working after graduation? Undecided. Currently exploring product marketing management and project lead roles in growing AI and tech companies.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Chair, Race Inclusion Initiative
• Co-president, Black Business Student Association
• VP of Finance, Black Business Student Association
• MBA Fellow, Consortium for Graduate Students in Management
• VP of Careers, Consortium for Graduate Study in Management – Haas Chapter
• Mentor, Haas Business Student Association Mentorship Program

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of planning, coordinating and executing the Black Business Student Association (BBSA) Consumption Function during Black History Month, along with my VPs. Consumption Function is an honored tradition at Haas, where different affinity clubs get to host an event to share their culture with the rest of the school, highlighting specific foods and drinks from around the world. For the BBSA Consumption Function, we were able to partner with some amazing local Black-owned businesses in Berkeley, Oakland and the greater Bay Area to celebrate Black culture and foster allyship. This coincided with the “Days at Haas” Admitted Students weekend and served as a fantastic way for admitted students to experience the diversity and community so deeply embedded in the Haas experience. We were a lean team, and there were many moving pieces, but ultimately, the event was a great success.    

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Before coming to Haas, I was a Battery Commander for a HIMARS Battery in the U.S. Army. For two years, I was responsible for the health and welfare of 100 soldiers, intimately accountable for everything from their career progression to their childcare solutions. It was a privilege to lead these brave men and women. We traveled the world in service of our nation and created lifelong bonds. Empathy was not just a nicety—it was table stakes. The soldiers expected that I would lead from the front and stand shoulder to shoulder with them, and it made me proud every day to be able to do so. It was truly the honor of a lifetime to be entrusted with this responsibility.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose the Haas School of Business because it provides an ecosystem that is unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been; it has the rare combination of some of the most intelligent and successful people in the world who just so happen to be some of the most selfless and compassionate people in the world. After doing my rounds during the different admit weekends, I had this inexplicable feeling that Haas just felt like home. I was interested in transitioning into tech, so the Bay Area was perfect for that, especially being close to San Francisco. The culture and vibrance of Berkeley and Oakland sealed the deal, and it’s been an amazing ride from the start.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? MBA262: Strategic Brand Management (SBM). Taught by the legendary Professor Bill Pearce, SBM is the canonical class on brand at Haas. The idea of a “brand” has always been fascinating to me—we often make economic decisions based on the story of a brand alone, and we ourselves have a personal brand. While I loved the quantitative marketing courses I’ve taken at Haas (honorable mentions to MBA263: Marketing Analytics with Professor Olivia Natan and MBA261: Marketing Research – Tools and Techniques for Data Collection and Analysis with Professor Leif Nelson), the qualitative/psychographic reasoning behind how a compelling story could change consumer behavior captured my interest. Week-after-week in SBM, Professor Pearce gave us useful examples and actionable tools to help us build and maintain a brand that would resonate with a target market. It was more a class on storytelling and value communication and reshaped how I look at my own decisions as a consumer.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? HaasVegas. Every year in early September, over 300 Haasies descend on Las Vegas for a weekend to engage in the most awesome networking experience they’ve ever had. As the first of the four big Haas Treks (in addition to Haasemite, a Yosemite National Park Camping Weekend; TaHaaski, a Palisades Tahoe Ski Weekend; and HaasBoats, a Lake Shasta Boating Weekend), HaasVegas is the perfect celebration and icebreaker for first years and an amazing way to catch up after the summer for second years. As the lead planner, I wanted to make sure it was an experience for the ages, and I’m forever thankful that the team shared that vision (looking at you Wayne, Esther, John and Lynda).

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Two things stand out to me as missed opportunities. First, I wish I had taken more time to sit down and chat individually with more of my classmates. During the business school experience, I never felt like I had the time, but I should have taken it upon myself to make time. Every Haasie is amazing, and while I’ve had so many enlightening and genuine conversations, there are so many more that I could have had if I had prioritized those interactions. Second, I would take more pictures. I love taking pictures, but I didn’t want to be annoying by carrying my camera everywhere—in hindsight, I should have. I’ve had amazing experiences with amazing people; I was lucky enough to capture some of them on my phone, but I wish I had brought my camera around like some of the other amazing photographers at Haas.

What is the biggest myth about your school? That Haas isn’t social. There is a misconception about the Berkeley experience outside of the classroom. Some people believe Haas is not a social MBA program, potentially because of the small class size, but that is false. From quiet game nights at home to the best San Francisco nightlife has to offer, there is no shortage of options to spend time with classmates and enjoy a break from your studies at Haas.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? As a tech-focused MBA program, Haas adeptly wove AI/ML instruction into almost every course. As part of our core courses, we took MBA200A: Data Analytics with Professor Alexandre Mas, which introduced every student to the general principles of machine learning and covered high-level concepts on how to design, train and test models in Python. Through my focus in business analytics, I took courses like MBA247: Descriptive and Predictive Data Mining with Professor Luyi Yang, which covered more complex concepts like training large neural nets to recognize handwritten characters, how to use token identification to program chatbots or how to use AI responsibly and test for intrinsic biases in predictive algorithms.   

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? While every person I have seen on the Haas campus is admirable, the classmate I admire most is Brittany Jacob. Pre-MBA, Brittany had a successful career in sales and marketing before transitioning to becoming a prolific anchor for ABC News. While at Haas, she subjected herself to the consulting recruiting grind and secured her offer. However, that never stopped her from being a presence on campus as MBAA VP of DEI and the DEI Leadership Council Chair; bringing generations together as BBSA VP of Alumni; and starting a podcast that became one of the most popular podcasts at Berkeley. Brilliant and resilient, Brittany’s unwavering positivity and energy were remarkable to me… she might actually be Wonder Woman, and I am better for having known her.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. I would love to start a mentorship program or scholarship fund to help people from different socioeconomic backgrounds achieve their educational goals.

2. I want to create consultancy around combating biases built into predictive AI models, specifically focused on scrubbing demographic data from models that are used to make quality-of-life decisions.

What made Julian such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“During his time at Haas, Julian has focused on effective leadership and championing the school’s Defining Leadership Principles: Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself. As the Race Inclusion Initiative Chair and Co-President of the Black Business Student Association, Julian always focused on giving back to the Haas community, concentrating on allyship and diversity as levers to enhance the student experience. He acted as a liaison between Haas faculty and student stakeholders, establishing a conduit by which the latter could express ideas and present research on improving the quality of life for all people at Haas, and the former could give guidance, mentorship and feedback. Julian possesses the rare ability to bridge gaps between diverse communities, fostering collaboration and empathy in the process. Through his work, he has been an invaluable advocate for creating spaces where people of all backgrounds feel valued and empowered.”

Jennifer Bridge
Executive Director, FTMBA Academics and Student Life & Leadership Development
Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

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