Alexander Orta

Boston University, Questrom School of Business (MBA) + College of Arts & Sciences (MS in Quantitative Economics dual degree)

“First Generation Cuban American veteran and quantitative economist building infrastructure for lasting global impact.”

Hometown: Ocala, FL

Fun fact about yourself: I negotiated municipal privatization contracts in Ukrainian — a language I learned on the job during Peace Corps service.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Florida Heavener School of Business

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? State Farm, Commercial Insurance Risk Management

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? GE Vernova, Wind Services, Schenectady, NY

Where will you be working after graduation? Energy & Infrastructure Finance (GE Vernova Wind Product Leadership Program).

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: VP of Case Prep, Graduate Consulting Club; Rotary International Member; New Hampshire Army National Guard, Platoon Leader

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Leading Boston University’s team in the Venture Capital Investment Competition forced me to learn how to translate deep analysis into clear conviction under pressure. We built valuation models for early-stage companies and presented an investment thesis to panels of active venture capitalists — compressing a month of team work into minutes of narrative.

What made the experience meaningful was realizing that the best business leaders and investors hold two ideas simultaneously: rigorous numbers and a compelling story. A defensible model means little if it cannot persuade. That lesson shapes how I communicate business analysis in my work at GE Vernova, where analytical clarity must translate into real operational decisions.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? In the Peace Corps (Ukraine), I coordinated approximately $30 million in municipal infrastructure privatizations. Conducting negotiations entirely in Ukrainian required building trust across bureaucracies and navigating complex regulations. I’m most proud of the realization that meaningful development happens slowly, in uncomfortable rooms where patience and compromise matter more than speed.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose Boston University Questrom School of Business because it offers something rare: a fully integrated MBA and MS in Quantitative Economics. I wanted training that would allow me to operate comfortably in both boardrooms and quantitative modeling environments — a critical combination in energy infrastructure finance, where investment decisions often depend on both rigorous modeling and strategic judgment.

Boston was also an important factor. The city sits at the center of one of the country’s densest ecosystems for climate technology, energy research, and finance. Being surrounded by that network created opportunities to engage with practitioners tackling real-world energy transition challenges.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Jetson Leder-Luis – Jetson is a young professor who comes with a wealth of experience in both the corporate and academic world. He does not simply talk from a point of theory. He knows how to apply the theory in the real world and armed his students with this ability. He also is happy to be a sounding board for our ideas and provides sound guidance on professional decision-making.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite was Data Analytics with Professor Jetson Leder-Luis. The course allowed me to immerse myself in Python, honing a skill I hadn’t used in over seven years, and significantly enhanced my understanding of data visualization and presentation.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Questrom’s Thirsty Thursdays became one of my favorite traditions. Whether it was a formal event or simply classmates gathering at Cornwall’s Pub, the evening created a space where relationships formed beyond classrooms and recruiting. It reflected something I value deeply about Questrom: an environment where collaboration and camaraderie are as important as academic rigor.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would have prioritized taking more time with the dual degree rather than compressing a heavy course load into two years. While this path ensured an on-time graduation, it limited my ability to engage in “unstructured” learning, such as global immersion programs or elective courses like sailing, which provide invaluable complementary perspectives.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? It was the Global Sustainability Case Competition during my first semester. Although we did not proceed to the final round, our deep dive into sustainable mining practices in Indonesia aligned perfectly with my interest in global infrastructure. It gave me a nuanced understanding of the global lithium and cobalt markets, while sharpening my due diligence approach to global problems. This initial case competition also set the tone for participating in case competitions throughout the entire program.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? What I loved most about Boston was the perfect balance of big city events and nature. Being at the heart of research allowed me to get involved with many different communities from AI to environmental to religious communities. That, combined with the ability to walk daily along the Charles River or Boston Harbor, allowed for a refreshing connection to the natural world, complemented by the proximity to ski areas during the winter season, ensuring a well-rounded lifestyle.

What business leader do you admire most? While I admire the engineering audacity and sector-disrupting scale of leaders like Elon Musk, I have grown to deeply admire Dario Amodei as a visionary. His focus on ‘Constitutional AI’ highlights the type of ethical fortitude and systemic reliability that is often missing in rapid innovation. In his essay, “The Adolescence of Technology”, Amodei notes the importance of being ‘honest brokers rather than backers or opponents.’ This resonates with my own experience in international development: the most lasting global impact doesn’t come from speed alone, but from the ability to find common ground and build systems that are fundamentally safe and reliable for the world.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? Questrom strikes a fair balance between original work and AI integration. Multiple professors encourage using the school-provided version of Gemini Pro for initial research and editing. The emphasis is on allowing AI to deepen understanding without letting it set the strategy or replace critical thinking. As an AI power user, I use it daily to enhance my work while carefully vetting and orchestrating the results.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Rodrigo Yeo Cordero is an international student managing a triple threat: starting a SaaS consulting business in Mexico with multiple employees, obtaining a full-time dual-degree (MBA+MSDT), and being a dedicated father. I am constantly impressed by how he shows up to class with a smile, sharing lessons learned from all three of his concurrent worlds. Every time I see him, I learn something new about prioritization or a new automation tool that makes repetitive, menial tasks less burdensome.

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

1. Lead the financial structuring of a large-scale sustainable infrastructure project in a frontier market — the kind of transaction that requires navigating currency risk, political uncertainty, and community buy-in simultaneously, not just financial engineering.

2. Serve in a senior leadership role that bridges public-sector development finance and private capital — whether at a multilateral development bank, infrastructure-focused fund, or energy company operating at a global level.

What made Alex such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“What makes Alex an invaluable addition to the class of 2026 is his flexibility and versatility across different disciplines. I’ve worked with him closely whether it involves writing case studies for competitions, traveling to interview companies overseas about their strategy practices or coaching Alex and his classmates to compete in a case competition— of which they have had much success over the past two years regularly coming in first place, second place, or top five.

It’s because of Alex’s personality that he’s able to do all of this so seamlessly. He is a natural leader, but also knows when to channel those skills into being a team player often at a moment’s notice. He is always smiling and goes to great lengths to get to know everybody on his team as well as the faculty whose classes he is taking. I can’t think of a better recipient to be nominated.”

Greg Stoller
Master Lecturer, Strategy & Innovation
Director of Case Competitions
Boston University, Questrom School of Business

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