Joe Mozden

Columbia Business School

“Optimist. Builder. Doing my best to make a positive difference in people’s lives.”

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Fun fact about yourself: I’m a group fitness instructor! I mostly teach HIIT, but I can teach spin and other formats, too. I’m convinced that in another life that I was part of those 1990s aerobic workout home videos.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Indiana University (Kelley), B.S. in Business Analytics and Professional Sales

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Deloitte Consulting – Tech Strategy Consultant

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Microsoft, NYC

Where will you be working after graduation? Deloitte Consulting – Tech Strategy Consultant

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Rugby Club Co-President
• FinTech and Blockchain Club Vice President
• ReEntry Acceleration Program (REAP) Volunteer
• Justice Through Code Volunteer
• Peer Advisor
• Teacher’s Assistant – Programming Generative AI Applications
• Teacher’s Assistant – Mergers and Acquisitions
• Dean’s List
• Dean’s Advisory Board

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? It was building a product for justice-impacted individuals preparing to enter the tech workforce, which I do during my volunteer time with Justice Through Code. I’m proud of this for two reasons. First, it’s a product people actually use — it’s never a guarantee that what you build sticks with people, and there’s something deeply satisfying about creating something people come back to. Second, it matters. In a business school environment that can sometimes feel abstracted from the real world, working on something with direct social impact kept me grounded. Getting both at once — real traction and real purpose — is rare, and it’s a standard I hope to carry into everything I do next.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Leading a team of analysts and consultants on my final project at Deloitte. I get a lot of joy from helping others grow, and that engagement gave me my first real opportunity to do it at scale. I was lucky to manage a group of genuinely talented people — my job was less about directing and more about getting out of their way while helping them see their own potential. Watching them develop over the course of that project is something I’m very proud of.

Why did you choose this business school? Attending a top business school in the greatest city in the world was a huge draw. I also came to CBS with a specific gap to close – I’ve spent my career at the intersection of finance and technology, advising financial institutions at Deloitte and watching firsthand how organizations struggle to bridge strategy and modern tech implementation. I knew CBS had a growing AI curriculum, and their Data and AI concentration was a natural fit. New York also meant many of the companies I want to work with are all a subway ride away. The city is an incredible place to watch finance and technology collide in real time, and being immersed in that environment every day has shaped how I think as much as any classroom has.

Looking back, I could not be happier with the choice I made to come here. CBS has given me some of the best opportunities, experiences, and friendships I could have ever asked for. I feel incredibly fortunate to have met so many remarkable people here who have shaped who I am.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? A lot of amazing options, but I’ll go with Donna Hitscherich, who teaches Mergers and Acquisitions. My background was in financial services, but I didn’t have much exposure to corporate transactions — Donna did an incredible job opening up that world. The best way I can describe her teaching philosophy is “back of the napkin” thinking. For any concept in M&A, does the idea make intuitive sense? Do the basic numbers check out? Can you explain it clearly to someone who wasn’t in the room? This class didn’t make me an expert in DCFs or LBO models, but it gave me a level of financial common sense that I think will make a real difference in my career. It’s a philosophy that extends well beyond M&A — at its core, it’s about having the common sense to cut through complexity and the confidence to think on your feet, and I appreciate Donna’s ability to teach that.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Programming GenAI Applications with Professor Johar. This is a five-day, eight-hours-a-day course focused on one thing: building a generative AI application. Students of any technical background learn the fundamentals and then spend the majority of their time actually building — because the whole point isn’t to produce a perfect app, but to leave empowered to keep building on your own. I’m a big believer in learning-by- doing, and this is one of the few classes where you walk out with something tangible to show for it. Everyone knows AI can help people build things, but not everyone knows how to get started. This class bridges that gap.

I loved it enough to write a blog post about it — which you can find here — and I think it would be beneficial for any business school to be incorporating something like this course into their curriculum.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I wish I was a bit more selective with my commitments in my second year. I got deeply involved in a few things I genuinely cared about, and those experiences were everything I hoped they’d be. Where I’d do it differently is the things I added on top of that. I said yes to a few extra responsibilities that stretched me thinner than I wanted, and the honest truth is I wasn’t able to give everything my full effort. For someone who takes pride in doing things well, that’s the one thing I’d change — not doing less, just being more intentional about what I signed up for. My advice for anyone in an MBA program: expose yourself to everything, and once you find what you love, go all in.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? There was one that really sticks out comes from my Operations Strategy class on Alibaba. In its early days, Alibaba faced a fundamental problem: how do you get consumers to trust suppliers they’ve never met? They tried a ratings system, but fake reviews flooded in. They tried professional critics, but many were bought off. Neither social solution worked. Ultimately, Alibaba landed on trade assurance — holding payment in escrow until the buyer confirmed they were satisfied. A financial mechanism solved what a social one couldn’t. I didn’t come into that case knowing the answer, and I’m not sure I would have landed there on my own.

What stuck with me is that the most elegant solutions often come from reframing the problem entirely — Alibaba solved a trust problem with a financial solution. That doesn’t mean finance solves everything, but it’s a good reminder that when you’re stuck, the answer might be hiding in a completely different discipline. It’s made me more curious about looking sideways for solutions rather than just deeper into the obvious ones.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? You can do absolutely EVERYTHING in New York City! I genuinely believe it’s the best city in the world, and two years here has only reinforced that. The subway gets you anywhere, the food and drink scene is endlessly explorable, the arts and culture are unparalleled, and the energy of the city is something I feed off every single day. Yes, it’s expensive, but you get what you pay for, and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.

What business leader do you admire most? Mark Cuban. He’s a self-made entrepreneur who built his fortune from nothing, and I think that sort of background makes him relatable to so many people just trying to follow a passion or dream of theirs. He genuinely tries to make a positive difference in the world, which you can see most clearly in Cost Plus Drugs, which is his own attempt to fix a broken system. He’s outspoken in a way that feels authentic rather than performative. And perhaps most importantly — he’s a proud alum of my undergraduate alma mater, Indiana University. Go Hoosiers.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? We’ve recently introduced CAiSEY into the CBS curriculum, which has been a huge boost to my learning engagement. CAiSEY is a voice-powered learning platform that allows students to have adaptive, voice-to-voice conversations with an AI partner before class. I learn best by doing, so the fact I could read a case and then debate CAiSEY in real-time was an incredible pressure test of how well I understood some of the material. AI can do so much to help us learn and prepare, but in the real world, we still need to communicate our thoughts efficiently. We must be able to sell our ideas. And CAiSEY is an efficient, encouraging way to prepare us to do so.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Truly, there are so many incredible choices. This school brings in some of the best and brightest people I’ve ever met. If I had to choose, it would be Matt Pieringer. Matt is one of the most genuine, thoughtful people I’ve ever had the chance to meet, and he pushes me to be a better version of myself every day. We don’t agree on everything — some days it feels like we agree on very little — but that’s exactly what makes our friendship great. We always listen to each other and always challenge each other’s thinking. He isn’t afraid to call me out when I need it, and I try to do the same for him. I admire that he speaks his mind, holds his convictions, and makes the people around him better for it. He’s a great father and a good man, and I hope everyone gets to have a friend like Matt in their corner.

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

1) Build something that helps people and many people use. I’m already going down this road with Justice Through Code, and I hope this product continues to grow and reach more people over time. My goal is simple: one day be able to point to something and say it made a real difference in people’s lives.

2) Open my own gym – As a group fitness instructor, I genuinely love helping people on their fitness journeys. One day, I’d love to make that the focus. Business school teaches you a lot about building companies — might as well put it to use on something I’m passionate about.

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

“Joe Mozden has made a lasting impact on the CBS community through his leadership, dedication, and energy. As Co-President of the CBS Rugby Football Club, he has guided the team both on and off the field, securing corporate sponsorship for the Rugby World Cup and fostering a supportive, collaborative culture. In his role as Peer Advisor Lead for the J-Term Class, he has mentored new students and helped the PA Board create a legacy resource to benefit future teams, demonstrating foresight and care for the continuity of CBS traditions. Beyond these roles, Joe has contributed to school-wide initiatives through the Dean’s Advisory Board, offering thoughtful insights to senior leaders and helping shape opportunities for student engagement. In every position, he shows up attentively and deeply committed to making a positive difference.

Joe’s professional and volunteer experiences reflect the same focus and drive. Before CBS, he built a new analytics team at InContext Solutions, creating internal and client-facing products, consulted on technical strategy at Deloitte, and helped clients implement AI solutions at Microsoft. At CBS, through the Rehabilitation Through Entrepreneurship Program (REAP), Joe has volunteered with current and formerly incarcerated individuals, supporting their development as entrepreneurs through mentorship and business education. In this role, he worked directly with participants as they developed business ideas and plans, helping them build practical skills and confidence for life after incarceration. The experience deeply influenced Joe, particularly the strong sense of mutual support within the REAP community and inspired him to bring that same emphasis on connection and belonging to the organizations he leads at CBS. On top of these responsibilities, he teaches group fitness, combining his leadership skills with a personal passion for motivating others. Joe’s thoughtful leadership and ability to inspire those around him make him a standout member of the CBS community and a model of impact and engagement.”

Samantha Shapses, Ed.D.
Senior Associate Dean and Dean of Student Affairs 
Columbia Business School

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