John Hartmeier

“Lighthearted surfer and scientist bringing fresh, unconventional ideas to the business world”

Hometown: Bend, Oregon

Fun Fact About Yourself: I swam competitively for 14 years and had the privilege of being a part of the NCAA swim team at the University of California, San Diego. Go Tritons!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of California, San Diego. B.S. in Chemistry

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Element Materials Technology, Laboratory Manager

What makes Seattle such a great place to earn an MBA?

Seattle is a unique mix of big tech and culture. Some of the largest companies on the planet are headquartered in the Seattle area, yet the beach and the mountains are just a few hours away. I’ve enjoyed the innovative tech culture mixed with the laid-back atmosphere that surrounds Seattle.

Aside from your location and classmates, what was the one key part of Washington Foster’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you?

The class size at Foster is what really sold me. Our MBA class is only about 100 students, so it’s a really hands-on experience. The professors and faculty know most of the class by name by the end of the first week or two, and they personalize the experience for each class.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Washington Foster?

Our fall quarter curriculum features Managerial Finance taught by the incredible Professor Thomas Gilbert. I had never taken a finance course, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but he made it approachable, engaging, and enjoyable. His class was so compelling that it sparked my interest in finance, and I am now pursuing a career in the field.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:

One of my biggest career accomplishments was helping take a new technology from the lab to full-scale production while working as a research scientist at Genomatica (a San Diego-based green biotechnology company). I spent two months onsite in Slovenia helping set up the facility, train staff, and validate that the process would perform as expected at scale.

Despite the challenges of launching a large-scale operation, my team and I successfully initiated production and demonstrated that the technology could run reliably at commercial scale. This work ultimately enabled Genomatica to expand the project and move toward commercial production.

Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far:

Foster ends the first quarter with an integrated case competition in which students combine their learnings from all four core courses into a single project. I had the privilege of being on a phenomenal team, and we placed third in the competition. While it was amazing to make it onto the podium, I was proud of the work that our team put in over those seven days to deliver a final product that we were proud to present (we had quite a few laughs along the way, too).

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far?

My best memory so far definitely has to be our annual fall quarter ski trip to Whistler in British Columbia, Canada. After several hard weeks (including finals and our annual first-year case competition), it was amazing to spend a few days with all of the Foster MBAs up in the mountains, skiing, enjoying the scenery, and relaxing. It was a bit early in the season, so the snow wasn’t quite what we were hoping for, but it was great to hang out, relax, and reflect on the quarter.

DON’T MISS MEET THE WASHINGTON FOSTER MBA CLASS OF 2027

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.