Ian Riccaboni

Lehigh University Flex MBA Program

“Wrestling announcing dad, little league coach, and pharmaceutical access and reimbursement advocate.”

Age: 38

Hometown: Allentown, PA

Fun fact about yourself: I did many odd jobs while pursuing my Bachelor’s degree including being an Arena Football League mascot for one night only where my assignment was to be in as many photos as possible with Jon Bon Jovi while dressed as a cartoon construction worker.

Undergraduate School and Degree: NYU – Bachelor’s of Science, Media, Culture, and Communication

Where are you currently working? Associate Director of Patient Support – Ascendis Pharma, Broadcaster – All Elite Wrestling

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Throwing out a first pitch at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs game as part of their AEW night.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? Lehigh is the gold standard for education in the Lehigh Valley. With it being just a few miles away, Lehigh’s program offered a schedule that met my ever-changing availability and a roadmap to get the program completed in a reasonable amount of time. I was close enough to take advantage of some of the perks of the FLEX portion of the program, including attending a handful of classes in person to meet my professors. My professors were available to talk about the program before I enrolled and they remained available and engaged throughout my studies.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? Working for a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Patient Support can be a tough role to articulate. In short, the job’s goal is to make our products more accessible to more patients, reducing barriers such as cost and education. My favorite part was having professors who cared enough about their roles help me tailor my projects and capstone to lessons that we were learning in class, even when they entered our conversations not knowing as much about my field as they would. Particularly helpful were Professor Ehrig’s probing questions, Professor Coles’ supply chain knowledge, and Professor Zheng’s help in practically applying analytical concepts to my work.

How did your online experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student? I felt my online experience was perfect for where I was in my life. With two small children and two jobs, the online experience allowed me to take my school with me. For instance, on more than one occasion, I attended class from the AEW announcer’s room, with a class in 2023 in particular interrupted so that I could stop and call a match featuring wrestling Hall of Famer Sting at Arthur Asche Stadium and then rejoin class! While working to finish my final course, Chris Jericho popped into the announcers room to say hi while in the same night, Big Boom AJ and Big Justice of TikTok fame joined in a more accidental fashion.

The flexibility afforded to me in pursuit of my MBA through Lehigh’s online offering allowed me to keep my life going while pursuing my dream education. It was a lot of work, but the layout of the program allowed me to remotely attend class while on the road for both of my jobs. I could even do things like take my finals at the Salisbury Township School District Administration Building so that I could be in attendance to serve as a member of the School Board later that night.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? You will get out of the online MBA program what you put in. I was lucky in that I found other students who were parents and found common ground quickly. It can be difficult to plan group work but it is best to be honest about your commitments as you are often in a program with similarly ambitious students. Put in the effort and you will learn many new things; those new things can, in turn, be used to help others.

How has your online education helped you in your current job? I can analyze data in ways that I had not considered before. By learning about supply chain in particular, I have learned ways to measure different time and effort gates that our physicians and prescribers face. This has turned how I approach my job upside down and has resulted in being able to help more folks get on to therapy.

Did you earn a promotion while in the program or immediately after graduation? Yes, immediately following graduation, I remained with AEW and its sister company Ring of Honor, but I switched jobs in my pharmaceutical life which ultimately was a promotion.

Why did you pursue an online MBA program instead of a full-time residential or executive MBA program? I am overcommitted in a lot of ways, even prior to pursuing my MBA online. During the pandemic, I looked for ways to spend my time. When the world began to open back up, I ended up with more on my plate than ever! But the online MBA eliminates small things like a 15-minute commute back and forth to class, which could be the difference between eating dinner with your family and tucking your kids into bed. I was able to meet a lot of students with similar backgrounds but different perspectives, and that translated well in ways even I was surprised at.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? We were encouraged to use AI to check for basic logic errors when using Excel and Tableau calculations. I found that helpful and some examples of how AI can help predict manufacturing outcomes, but I personally only really use it to detect errors in my Excel, Tableau, and Python formulas.

Number of Hours Per Week Spent on an Online MBA: 10

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I want to continue to be a professional wrestling announcer until I don’t enjoy being one anymore, while also working in roles to deliver quality-of-life improving medications to everyone that is appropriate for them.

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