Meet Emory Goizueta’s MBA Class Of 2023

Two years is a long time to spend in one spot. As an MBA student, you want more: bigger networks and better opportunities — and always someplace to go and some activity to do. That’s why people gravitate to Atlanta. It’s diverse and dynamic, full of possibilities to learn, live, grow, and gain. And there is something for everyone here.

Just look at Atlanta’s nicknames: The Melting Pot of the South, Wakanda, Silicon Peach, Hotlanta, and The Hollywood of the South. They convey a rugged and fun-loving outsider that has emerged as a major player due to its commitment to inclusion, reinvention, and perseverance. You could say the same for Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, an MBA program known for its personal touch as much as five-star leadership and DEI programming. Still, it is Goizueta’s Atlanta digs that take the MBA program to the next level.

“FIND WHATEVER IT IS THAT EXCITES YOU”

“You will never run out of local companies to have coffee chats with, or places in which to do so,” observes Ivan Guerrero, a first-year who studied Chemical Engineering as an undergraduate. “Being in one of the largest metro areas in the country will allow you to find whatever it is that excites you, even if you cannot find it on campus.”

All told, you’ll find 16 Fortune 500 headquarters in Atlanta, including UPS, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, and Delta Air Lines. On top of that, 75% of Fortune 500 firm have a presence in the metro. Timothy Lam, another first-year who earned an economics degree as an Emory undergrad, equates Atlanta to an emerging “East Coast tech hub.” Last spring, Google announced plans to lease another 500,000 square feet of office space on West Peachtree. This came on the heels of Airbnb making Atlanta its East Coast office. For Lam, Atlanta has all the resources and expertise he’d need to build his career in the tech space.

“Goizueta’s relationships with the Atlanta startup and technology community really appealed to me,” he writes. “The entrepreneurship and technology scene has gone from strength to strength. In the first half of 2021, Georgia companies have raised almost $2 billion of venture capital, which is more than the total amount raised in 2020.  I am excited to get involved with Atlanta’s entrepreneurship ecosystem collaborators and partners, and love that Goizueta will provide me those opportunities.”

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY TOO

Business isn’t the only reason to head to Atlanta. It is one of the greenest cities in the country, with MARTA and Hartsfield making it easy to access any point in the city or around the world. Here, you’ll find landmarks like the Georgia Aquarium and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Beyond corporate royalty, Atlanta is home to organizations ranging from the CDE to Habitat For Humanity — not to mention studios for Marvel and Tyler Perry.

This stems from Atlanta’s legacy of being ambitious, tolerant, and innovative, adds Saif Nazrul, a senior business consultant who moved from Bangladesh to join the Class of 2023. “Atlanta also happens to be a melting pot of cultures, with a proud civil rights history, which makes it a great case study for leaders interested in furthering and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Finally, there is the beautiful southeastern weather — what more could you want?”

And let’s not forget the Southern hospitality you’ll find in Atlanta, writes second-year Kegan Baird. “Some of the greatest examples come from our food. That includes Waffle House, which was founded on the principles of “providing the friendliest service in town while also offering the opportunity for rewarding and quality careers”, and Chick-Fil-A, which is known for its incredible service (albeit only 6 days a week). Here is one more thing to remember about Southern hospitality. When someone says, “Bless your heart”, that is not them appreciating you – it’s a very sweet comment expressing contempt or pity.”

INSPIRATION AND INNOVATION

You won’t hear that phrase around Goizueta much. After all, the Class of 2023 represents the eclectic and proactive spirit of Atlanta. Siva Prasad Kalimuthu, for one, developed a low cost Mobile Septage Treatment Unit (MTU). Able to treat waste on site, the MTU made water and sanitation easier to access for the poor, earning an award from the Government of India along the way.  In contrast, Saif Nazrul commercialized a telel-health solution, Shurokkha, that connects veterinarians to rural cattle farmers.

“Shurokkha was in its trial phase when I joined its parent company, but after following two rounds of project funding applications from various international financiers, which I led, Shurokkha is now an AI-enabled product with a scaled-up reach of 25,000 farmers across Bangladesh. I am particularly proud of this achievement as it was a prime example of my desire to achieve technological progress and social impact through a business model.”

This class is also accustomed to leading at the highest levels. Stephon Harris, a software engineer by trade, spent three years building an insight and discovery platform for the firm that sends Rovers to Mars. As a clinical researcher, Stephanie Andrews helped gain FDA approval for a drug that fights a rare form of leukemia. Sophie Maus championed a social impact program for HBCUs to her CEO. Today, the program supports investing advice and finance courses. At the same time, Ivan Guerrero produced a risk management model for what he calls the “largest copper mine in North America.” The result: he earned his firm’s Innovation Award.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE AT COCA-COLA AND E&J GALLO

Not surprisingly, you’ll also find a Coca-Cola veteran at Goizueta — a school named after legendary Coca-Cola CEO Roberto Goizueta. At Coca-Cola FEMSA Colombia, the world’s largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products, Carlos Martinez helped shepherd an agreement that aligned the strategy and incentives between the two companies.

“The agreement evolved in 2021 to be not just for Colombia, but for all of countries in FEMSA and outstretched to 2025,” Martinez notes. “My job in this process was to evaluate and align the financials with KO that resulted from the plans and the strategies designed by the commercial and the marketing teams, guaranteeing FEMSA met the economic targets. My responsibility as well was to implement the agreement and assure the income was being distributed correctly between the two companies. These types of agreements are a significant competitive advantage for the Coca-Cola system and are going to be the future of the bottler business model.”

Martinez isn’t alone in producing results. As a production manager, Jake Sullivan was busy setting his company’s sales and profit records. Timothy Lam led a 30 member consulting team, replete with six streams, to “transform compliance culture” at a U.S. Bank with $2 trillion dollars in assets. Speaking of large scale projects, Myles T. Henry managed a team that rolled out training to 55,000 employees. And few people have enjoyed as quick of a career climb as Ose Ujadughele at E&J Gallo Winery.

“I came into Gallo as part of their operations management development program, which allowed me to rotate into a different role every year for 3 years,” she writes. “A few months into my last rotation, my coworker transitioned into a new role which left the newest member of the team (ME!) leading a large operation with 65 front-line team members. Before I knew it, the rest of the year went by, and I had become the subject matter expert for the department. This was a pivotal moment in my journey where I realized just how much I could do if I stretched myself.”

Away from their careers, the Class of 2023 is equally unique. Jack Sullivan is a former head brewer, while Sophie Maus played beatbox on her college a cappella group. Cade Ricker is a cyclist who completes in 100-mile ‘century’ races. If you visit Washington DC, you may want to check out the National Museum of African American History & Culture: Myles T. Henry is featured there. And you may even think that Siva Prasad Kalimuthu stepped out of a Marvel movie. Just look at his origin story…

“After schooling, I decided to pursue a degree in Physics because I believed that I would one day invent the time machine,” he jokes.

PAY INCREASES AHEAD

During the 2020-2021 cycle, Emory Goizueta received 915 applications. Ultimately, the program accepted 53% of candidates, enrolling 165 students in the Class of 2023 (up 20 students from the previous year). This year’s class brings a 692 average GPA and 3.36 undergraduate GPA to Goizueta. They hail from 18 countries, with 35% arriving from overseas and 27% being women.

Academically, the largest segment of the class majored in Business and Commerce as undergraduates. Their 27% share edged out Engineering (25%) and Economics (16%), with the remaining class also including students who studied Social Sciences (12%), Sciences (9%), Computer Science (5%), and the Humanities (4%). When it comes to professional backgrounds, 15% of the class last worked in Financial Services, followed by Consulting Services (14%) and Technology (10%). The class also includes students with backgrounds in Consumer Products, Manufacturing, Nonprofits, Healthcare, Energy, Media and Entertainment, and Real Estate.

Looking ahead, the arrow is definitely pointing up for the Class of 2023. Take starting base pay, which came in at $134,700. That’s a $4,588 increase over the previous year (and a $14,000 bump over the past four years). By the same token, signing bonuses climbed by over $1K to $29,151 for spring graduates. Like past classes, consulting was a prime employment target. This year, 37% of the class entered consulting, making Goizueta one of the bigger feeder schools to the industry. Just don’t call Goizueta a school for southerners. Just 53% of Goizueta grads stayed in the region — and those who remained had good reason.

“The biggest myth about Goizueta is that you should only come here if you’re from the South,” explains ’21 grad Thomas Egge. “People probably get this misconception from seeing that most of our graduates take jobs in the southeast after graduation. As I northerner I fully expected to move back to Boston after school, and while many of my classmates did that, I realized that Atlanta is actually a much more livable city than anywhere I had been before. When you couple that with the city’s rapid growth it’s clear why most graduates choose to stay.”

Next Page: Interview with Brian Mitchell

Page 3: Profiles of Goizueta First-Year MBAs