Goizueta BUZZ November 7–9
November 15
Inside Goizueta
Executive Women of Goizueta
Inside Goizueta is a three-day diversity conference where participants have the opportunity to witness the energy, supportive culture and intense academic environment that distinguishes Goizueta’s MBA programs from others. The conference featured a series of discussion panels and information sessions where prospective students could connect with current students, alumni and administrators. Prospective students also attended real and mock class sessions.
The theme of this year’s Executive Women of Goizueta conference was “Purpose, Passion & Profit: Driving Performance with Intent.” Attendees were encouraged to harness their passion and the perspectives of executive peers and apply them with intention. By focusing on purpose and passion, women in business can craft a holistic approach to elevate their leadership, career, spirit and, ultimately, results.
HR clears the path for Goizueta employees A new HR practice has emerged at Goizueta this year, one that will help the school run a bit more like a business. The “Career Pathing Project” is a concerted effort to increase retention and employee satisfaction by developing clear career paths for staff members. When employees understand their potential for growth within an organization and the skills they need to master in order to attain that growth, they are more engaged, invested and more likely to stick around. The program marks an increased commitment on Goizueta’s part to draw from the skill set of current employees to fill positions. In the few months of implementation, four staff members have been promoted—Jackie Conner (pictured), formerly director of academic affairs and instructional
design, is now associate dean of Executive MBA Programs; Corey Dortch, formerly senior director of Full-Time MBA Programs, is now associate dean of the Evening MBA Program; Nicole Hitpas, formerly director of program marketing, is now chief marketing and communications officer; and Marvell Nesmith, formerly head of the registrar’s office, is now director of academic affairs and instructional design. “This initiative is already showing outstanding gains,” said Alicia Sierra, director of human resources and diversity at Goizueta. “Although we are in the first phase of this important project, it is already showing positive results by allowing us to maximize the talent and skills of employees who are already here and contributing to Emory. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Real estate investment fund heightens students’ skills Goizueta’s student-run real estate private equity fund continues to outdo itself, seven years after its inception. The fund began in 2014 with $25,000. By 2019 it had increased nearly tenfold from donations and returns on real estate deals, and it keeps going up. The board has also burgeoned to 38 members, including BBA, MBA and law students. Roy Black, professor in the practice of real estate and director of the real estate program, said, “We opened the Fund Board to law students this fall because the documents we review for potential investment have a substantial amount of legal terms and information. We have nine teams analyzing investment deals and one team researching the effect of a possible recession on our investment strategy.” The fund has two goals: provide students an educational experience of managing real
money and ultimately act as an endowment fund for the real estate program. The student board meets six times each semester, and after they’re divided into teams, each team presents results of analysis before an investment decision is made. The fund invests in Reg. D private real estate syndications in fall semester and publicly traded REIT (real estate investment trust) stocks in spring semester.
“a great hands-on learning experience” that prepared him for his current career as a CFA and senior underwriter at Freddie Mac in Washington, D.C. Alumni interested in presenting projects for fund consideration should contact Roy Black at rblack2@emory.edu.
In October, students heard a pitch from alum Eric Freedman 00BBA (pictured) of Coastline Capital Partners, a Californiabased firm that is inviting investment in a current project. Such experience provides a serious leg up in the job market. Preston Stevens 15MBA worked with the fund while at Goizueta. He called the fund
fall | 2019 7