Alexander Banoczi

Emory University, Goizueta Business School

“Husband, father, and unrelenting optimist driven to empower others through authentic mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching.”

Hometown: Wilmington, North Carolina

Fun fact about yourself: My wife (Christeen) and I have a habit of finding and driving on unique roads throughout our travels. On our honeymoon in Maui, we accidentally drove down Highway 340 (also known as the Maui Death Road), put the pedal to the floor on the Autobahn in Germany, and braved the left-side of the road on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. We always appreciate this extended time to enjoy each other’s company on road trips. In 2026, we plan to take our newborn on their first international trip to Scotland, where we will enjoy cruising around the rolling highland hills!

Undergraduate School and Degree: B.S., Business Administration from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School (Go Heels!)

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Senior Consultant, Operations and Technology Transformation at Deloitte Consulting

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? Not Available – part of the one-year MBA program at Goizueta

Where will you be working after graduation? I will be returning to Deloitte Consulting as a Senior Consultant through the Graduate School Assistance Program (GSAP)

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• VP of Career Management
• Delta Leadership Coaching Fellow
• IMPACT Coaching Fellow
• Teaching Assistant: IMPACT Course (Team Problem Solving)
• Global Strategy Fellow – Completed Directed Study focused on increasing professor and administration connections between Goizueta and University of Queensland (Australia)
• Douglas G. Matthews Scholarship Endowment for Management Excellence and Entrepreneurship
• Core Value Award: Accountability

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of each and every intimate, one-on-one conversation with my peers, where I’ve assisted them in their career journey. Progress is not made through one 30-minute conversation where generalized feedback is shared – multiple vulnerable discussions are necessary to uncover motivations, pinpoint strengths, and thoughtfully communicate a life story. It involves helping an engineer understand their competitive advantage in systemically working through a consulting case; it involves a graphic designer realizing just how applicable their skills are in the world of product management. The cumulative moments acquired through these stories of growth and realization, along with the goals and aspirations these peers have reached so far, are what truly stick out in my mind.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I am most proud of when I had the opportunity to be on Deloitte’s first project with a transformative, start-up health payer. First projects carry a unique energy, as we all know that “first impressions matter”; these projects not only require comprehensive execution, but also act as key opportunities for trust and relationship building between the client and Deloitte.

As this was a three-month strategic assessment of their internal processes, we knew it would be fast and furious. The speed pushed both our team and the client stakeholders to acquire trust between parties quickly and hold “real talk” conversations on opportunity areas early and often. Interestingly, since this was an agile start-up, many recommendations focused more on how they may integrate “established competitor” best practices to smooth operations as they scale. Additionally, there were many instances where, even as one of the most junior resources, I guided senior consultants that were new to the industry and the team; my mix of defined relationships with our team leaders and background in healthcare allowed me to practice in a two-way leadership role between managing-up and teaching-down. Our work naturally constructed a $6M+ pipeline that allowed Deloitte to make transformative operational changes in the following two years.

Why did you choose this business school? Goizueta’s small class size was a key factor that drove me to the school, but it is hard to truly understand its impact until one is on campus. When I walk onto campus, conversations and greetings immediately start. I don’t just connect with my singular friend group; instead, I’m able to start myriad conversations everywhere I go. We all know each other’s goals, aspirations, and life stages – no discussion feels surface level. When expanded over a year, this environment builds connections and positive feelings that are difficult to quantify – ultimately, it catalyzes relationships that can stand the test of time. Additionally, this small class size promotes more engaged relationships with our professors. I feel comfortable walking into one’s office and striking up a conversation. Since many of our faculty have previously worked in corporate executive positions, I can ask them candid questions and expect a response that includes firsthand learnings from their experiences. Intimate peer and professor relationships foster sustained connections as we mature in our careers; the learnings and conversations don’t stop when the diploma is received – they continue at every step in our career journey.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Marina Cooley is someone who truly embodies what it means to be a mentor and a leader. A Goizueta alum and previous marketing executive, she has lived through every lesson she teaches in her classes; this ability to intertwine lessons with firsthand successes and shortcomings adds an aura of practicality to the classroom. Most importantly, Marina dares to expand our thinking of what it means to be a leader both inside and outside of the office. Her Content Marketing class leans into social media as a medium not only to communicate product messaging, but also to distribute and reinforce our own personal brand to our networks. Additionally, her research into Nordic working habits, hobbies, and parents at work highlights a concerted effort to craft what the leader of tomorrow could look like – one that completes transformative work in the office but also leverages energizing activities outside of work to rejuvenate and bring the best versions of themselves.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Principled Leadership with Professor Rod McCowan is a transformative class focused on developing leaders that not only understand how to get work done, but how to build effective teams with values that allow them to make difficult decisions. The class is centered around case situations that highlight “crucible moments” in a leader’s career – moments where reactive actions without thoughtful rumination could lead to failure. Throughout the class, Rod pushed us to slow down and look at problems from a reflective, collaborative perspective, prioritizing communication and vulnerability above pure action. Only by being an open and empathetic leader can you develop authentic teams that believe in the message or vision you are sharing.

Pulling from his decades in executive HR roles, Rod shared applicable strategies to construct high-performing teams, catalyze sustained change in your organization, and deliver hard feedback when required. This class inspired in me a renewed passion towards training, organizational optimization, and influencing others to roll-out and sustain transformative strategies.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? As one-year MBAs finish core classes over the summer, these months are capped off with a Global Experiential Module – a course where our one-year cohort travels abroad to immerse ourselves in a culture for two weeks. While this location typically changes year-to-year, 2024 represented the inaugural instance of “Life Design for the Modern MBA”.

Led by Professor Marina Cooley, our trip centered around how Nordic countries (specifically Denmark) were able to execute strong work-life regulations while maintaining some of the world’s most productive companies. Our trip to Copenhagen provided intimate opportunities to connect with Danish leaders at some of their largest companies. From these conversations, we learned the trust that these Senior Vice Presidents had in their employees, along with the staunch work-life boundaries they set to come into the office each day re-charged and energized. Additionally, we had ample time to simply live as the Danes do – sitting along the harbor in the evening and enjoying small group dinners at local restaurants. This trip left me with an empowered sense of “living in the moment” and setting both time for work and time for play. It is rare that a business school takes such an invested stance on not only creating effective leaders, but also leaders that prioritize well-being and personal evolution. Life Design for the Modern MBA will now be the annual class and trip that one-year students journey on, and I am proud to be connected with a business school that places such high value on creating balanced executives.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Hindsight is always 20-20, but I would invest more dedicated hours into building out potential opportunities for entrepreneurship. Coaching and mentorship have been ubiquitous at all points in my career, and returning to business school only worked to further ignite my passion for these roles. Through working with professors and speakers at Goizueta, I’ve come to realize the impact one could make on others through bespoke coaching, both directly out of school and at executive levels. While I picture myself building out a coaching business in the coming years, I should have taken additional “deep work” time to ruminate on my brand and strategy while here at Goizueta.

What is the biggest myth about your school? Goizueta is well-known as a regional powerhouse for consulting and investment banking; while it is objectively true that many students go into these professions, it has created a subjective belief that the student body holds monolithic interests. This could not be further from the truth. Not only do Goizueta students hold a myriad of interests, but the small class size creates a virtuous cycle that allows for permeation of these interests directly to others. If someone is known to have a specific interest, it becomes evident throughout the student body quickly; the closeness of the classes prompt questions and curiosity in the interest, bolstering the individual’s support in their own interest; as others see it is ok to have unique interests, they are more willing to share and embody what interests them. This creates an ecosystem that encourages individuals to be their authentic selves, no matter what career they are matriculating into post-graduation.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? It is incredibly rare to be able to enjoy the juxtaposition between Emory’s small town feel and the availability of large metropolitan city opportunities right around the corner. Emory’s location allows one to feel encapsulated by nature and provides strong walkability, encouraging a sense of “escapism” from the hustle and bustle of the city. At the same time, global business headquarters and expansive networking opportunities are a short drive away. Being an extrovert who also requires focused wellness and re-charging time, the accessibility of both worlds is a competitive advantage for me.

What movie or television show best reflects the realities of business and what did you learn from it? Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a poignant, layered film that can be perceived and absorbed in a multitude of ways based on where one is in life. On the one hand, Jiro has spent a lifetime mastering his craft, and this commitment to expertise can be mirrored in a business career.

At the same time, this commitment can be seen as bordering on obsession throughout the movie; we are not privy to the personal sacrifices that were required to reach these heights, and we empathize with the number of beautiful “in-between” life moments that were most likely missed because of this intense focus. This dichotomy is all too common in high-pressure business positions – we must regularly look intrinsically to balance our pursuit of business wins with our own personal well-being. This balance is never optimized, but realizing the scale exists can allow one to be more reflective. Thus, it is more likely to retain staying power throughout one’s career.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? At the school level, Goizueta is ensuring that all students are adept at voyaging through the world of AI; specifically, Goizueta is investing resources into augmenting the core curriculum to include a class focused on AI trends across industries. Every single student will be required to complete this class, not only level-setting the understanding of this powerful tool but also catalyzing deeper interest towards AI’s power in a new generation of business leaders.

As a Global Strategy Fellow, I had the opportunity to complete a Directed Study focused on increasing professor and administrative connections between Goizueta and University of Queensland. While implementation strategies are being opined upon, a key opportunity includes the use of AI models to sort through detailed professor research papers and effectively group faculty not only by previous expertise, but also recent passions. In doing so, this would allow faculty across the schools to leverage a peer-to-peer knowledge transfer program where professors can discuss passion projects and build relationships, with a goal of driving future co-author collaborations.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? This is an incredibly easy choice – Joshua Richey; there is a “purity” to Josh – everything that he does comes from a place of bettering others. He is dedicated to those around him more than he is himself. I have never seen someone so singularly focused on bringing people together – a testament to this focus is how close-knit one-year and two-year MBAs have become at Goizueta. When talking with faculty, they make a point to showcase that the current cohorts at Goizueta are among the most connected that they’ve been in recent memory – this is due to Josh. No matter one’s background, Josh will find common ground with another and make them a part of his circle. I truly look forward to seeing him as a future executive that builds a community wherever he decides to plant roots. Ultimately, he is someone that fully commits himself to whatever he does – from consulting or recruiting, to Goizueta community-building, to intimate conversations with peers – he brings his authentic self every step of the way. I’m proud to call him a friend.

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

1) Implement an overarching, transformative change across an entire organization. To me, this is one of the most difficult things to not only complete, but to maintain the change when the company’s focus and resources have pivoted elsewhere. It is one thing to originate a transformative strategy and share insights to others; it is another thing entirely to influence an organization’s way of thinking to positively impact employee’s day-to-day-lives. It is human nature to combat change; implementing positive change requires a delicate mix of influence and trust that is built over time with those surrounding you. If I can reach a point where a transformative change has been both adopted and sustained by an entire organization, I’ll know that I effectively used my time to build trust and assurance in my guidance.

2) Lead a world-class MBA program in an administrative position. Some of the most transformative leaders I’ve met at Goizueta are those who previously worked in the corporate space and, over time, have transitioned into school leadership to provide guidance to the next generation. When I had questions, I knew there were trusted leaders I could turn to and receive pragmatic and applicable advice. This is something keenly important to me that I plan on passing on as I mature in my career. Knowledge is something that is meant to be shared; nothing would make me prouder than returning to Goizueta later in my career to both drive the strategy of the program for years to come and be a guiding light for those looking to uncover their career calling.

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

“I am thrilled to recommend Alexander Banoczi as one of Goizueta’s Best & Brightest MBA students. As a member of the One-Year MBA program, Alex has excelled academically, earning a place on the Dean’s List while balancing the rigorous demands of the accelerated program. Beyond his academic achievements, Alex’s infectious energy and unwavering commitment to his peers set him apart. As Vice President of Career Management, he has gone above and beyond to ensure students are informed and engaged with career development opportunities, serving as a critical bridge between students and the Career Management Center. No matter the event or initiative, Alex has consistently stepped up, always willing to help in any way needed. His dedication, enthusiasm, and ability to uplift those around him make him truly deserving of this recognition.”

Vernon Smith
Senior Associate Director of Student Life & Engagement
Emory University’s Goizueta Business School

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