The ExecMBA Podcast

ExecMBA Podcast #327: Office Hours Spotlight | In Conversation with Professor Ian Appel

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Ian Appel. His main area of interest is empirical corporate finance, and his recent work studies different types of institutional investors (e.g., index funds, activist hedge funds), corporate environmental behaviors, and governance in decentralized finance.. We talk with Appel about his background, what led him to Darden, his FinTech electives, decentralized finance, cryptocurrency and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #326: Office Hours Spotlight | In Conversation with Professor Shane Dikolli

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Shane Dikolli. Dikolli’s primary research interests focus on the performance evaluation of CEOs spanning both analytical modeling and empirical analysis, and he currently serves as an editor at The Accounting Review. We talk with Dikolli about his background, what attracted him to Accounting, what led him to Darden, his Strategic Costing elective, his global course in Australia and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #325: Student Spotlight | Chantal Mekhail, Executive MBA Class of 2025

In this episode, we catch up with Chantal Mekhail. Chantal is a first year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2025, and she is also a Batten Scholar. We talk with Chantal about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, the impact of her time in the Executive MBA program, her experience as a Batten Scholar and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #324: Meet Madison Mahoney and Kyle Ivester, Executive MBA Class of 2025

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Madison Mahoney and Kyle Ivester. Madison and Kyle are first year students in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2025, and they also serve as section representatives. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with Madison and Kyle about their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, what they’ve enjoyed about their first year, their advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #323: Meet Dylan Kenney & Haley O’Brien, Executive MBA Class of 2025

In this podcast episode, we catch up with Dylan Kenney and Haley O’Brien. Dylan and Haley are first year students in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2025, and they also serve as section representatives. We talk with Dylan and Haley about their backgrounds, their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, what attracted them to the section representative role and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #322: Student Spotlight | Karen “KJ” Sloan, Executive MBA Class of 2024

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with KJ Sloan. KJ is a second year in our Executive MBA Class of 2024, and she currently works as a Senior Field Producer for CNBC. In this conversation, we talk with KJ about her decision to pursue an MBA, the value of an MBA for journalists, how she juggled work, life and school during the Executive MBA program, her advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #321: Meet Carlos Bortoni (MBA/M.Ed ’19), Senior Director, Tech Hub, Batten Institute

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we catch up with Carlos Bortoni. Carlos is an MBA/M.Ed graduate in Darden’s Class of 2019, and he currently serves As Senior Director for the Batten Institute’s new launched “Tech Hub,” a cross-departmental effort to advance Darden’s presence and standing in technology through thought leadership, faculty and student engagement, and stakeholder management across the broader tech, startup, VC/PE, and industry-specific ecosystems in the U.S. and globally. We talk with Carlos about his Darden experience, what brought him back to Darden for his current role, why he’s so passionate about tech, what he’s looking forward to in the coming months and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #320: Meet Jen Coleman, Executive Director, Armstrong Center for Alumni Career Services

In this special episode of the Darden Admissions podcast, we catch up with Jen Coleman. Jen is the Executive Director of the Armstrong Center for Alumni Career Services at Darden, and she also serves as an Executive Coach and Career Consultant. We chat with Jen about her background, what brought her to coaching, how she works with alumni, her advice for prospective students and more. All Darden alumni have complimentary access to career support through Alumni Career Services for life. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #319: Women@Darden Spotlight | Executive Fellow and Professor of Practice Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88)

In this special edition of the podcast, we are excited to share another installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Executive Fellow and Professor of Practice Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88). This wide-ranging conversation hosted by Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke touches on Miles’ advice and insights for prospective and admitted students, her work as CEO of Save the Children, what brought her back to Darden and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba

ExecMBA Podcast #318: Spotlight on UVA Venture Capital Conference

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we’re excited to highlight an upcoming event – the University of Virginia Venture Capital Conference taking place at Sands Family Grounds in Arlington, Virginia on Friday, 12 April. In honor of this year’s conference, we recently connected with two second year students in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2024, Malcolm Stewart and Ellie Jamison, to talk about Venture Capital at Darden – what resources and courses are available to students, advice for prospective students interested in VC and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #317: Meet Stuart Nystrom & Crescent Islam, Part-Time MBA Class of 2026

In this podcast episode, we catch up with Stuart Nystrom and Crescent Islam. Stuart and Crescent are first year students in UVA Darden’s Part-Time MBA Class of 2026, and they also serve as First Year Section Representatives. We talk with Stuart and Crescent about their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, how their first year is going, what attracted them to the section representative role and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #316: Student Spotlight | Veronica Gordon

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Veronica Gordon. Veronica is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and she is also one of the student leaders in Darden’s Black Professional MBA student organization. We talk with Veronica about her MBA journey, her experience at Darden, the impact of the program and more. Veronica also shares highlights from UVA’s upcoming Black Alumni Weekend, including a Black trailblazers panel featuring prominent Darden alumni that Veronica spearheaded. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #315: Student Spotlight | Anthony Ranghelli

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Anthony Ranghelli! Anthony is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and he also recently served as President of Darden’s Executive Student Association (ESA). We talk with Anthony about his decision to pursue an MBA, what led him Darden, what led him to pursue a student leadership role, his advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #314: Meet Anna Fife (MBA ’14), Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Batten Institute

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Anna Fife (MBA ’14). Anna is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for Darden’s Batten Institute, and we recently connected to talk with her about her background, what led her to Darden as an MBA student, and what brought her back to Darden for her role with the Batten Institute. Anna also shares insights about Darden’s Batten Scholars program. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.
 

ExecMBA Podcast #313: Comparing Darden’s Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA Programs

In this episode, Brett Twitty and Ali Torres discuss the similarities and differences between UVA Darden’s Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA programs. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, click the link the description to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.
https://www.instagram.com/dardenmba/?hl=en
https://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/admissions/
For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, click the link the description to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

ExecMBA Podcast #312: Student Spotlight | Jimmy Anthony

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jimmy Anthony. Jimmy is a first-year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2025, and we recently connected with him to discuss his background, what led him to Darden, his experience commuting from Arkansas for the program, how Darden has helped him reevaluate how he spends his time and more.

ExecMBA Podcast #311: Student Spotlight | Finale Norton

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Finale Norton. Finale is a second-year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and we recently connected with her to talk more about her background, her decision to pursue an MBA, what guided her elective choices, the impact of her Darden experience and more.

ExecMBA Podcast #310: Women@Darden Spotlight | Senior Associate Dean Yael Grushka-Cockayne

In this special edition of the podcast, we are excited to share another installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Senior Associate Dean, Professional Degree Programs Yael Grushka-Cockayne. Grushka-Cockayne's research and teaching activities focus on data science, forecasting, project management and behavioral decision-making. Her research is published in numerous academic and professional journals, and she is a regular speaker at international conferences in the areas of decision analysis, project management and management science. During this conversation moderated by Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke, Clarke and Grushka-Cockayne share insights into the Women@Darden initiative which has the goal of making Darden the graduate business school of choice for women leaders across the world.

ExecMBA Podcast #309: Darden’s Global Courses | Marc and Shizuka Modica

In this special edition of Darden Admissions’ podcast, we talk with Marc and Shizuka Modica about Darden’s global course offerings. Marc is a Senior Lecturer in Business Administration with broad international experience in negotiation, communications and conflict management teaching and consulting. Shizuka is a lecturer and adjunct faculty member, and she is an expert on high performance, meaningful work, leadership and change management. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with Marc and Shizuka about their backgrounds, what led them to Darden, what they enjoy about leading global courses and more. They also share insights about Darden’s global course offerings in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

ExecMBA Podcast #308: Executive MBA & Part-Time MBA Career Round-Up

In this episode of the podcast we catch up with UVA Darden’s Professional Degree Programs Career Team, Gopika Spaenle, Jennifer Windus and Jim Collins. We talk with Gopika, Jennifer, and Jim about the recent Professional Advancement Course (PAC), as well as career-related news and updates for Darden’s current Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA classes.

ExecMBA Podcast #307: Student Spotlight | Pam Peace, Executive MBA Class of 2024

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Pam Peace. Pam is a second year student in Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2024, and she also serves as the Executive MBA Student Association’s VP, Outreach. We talk with Pam about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, her work as VP, Outreach, what she’s enjoyed about the second year of the Executive MBA program, the impact of her time at Darden and more.

ExecMBA Podcast #306: Student Spotlight | Kirby Landon, Part-Time MBA Class of 2025

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Kirby Landon. Kirby is a second year student in Darden’s Part-Time MBA Class of 2025, and she also currently serves as VP, Community for the Part-Time MBA Student Association. We talk with Kirby about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her Darden, what she’s enjoyed about the program so far and more. Kirby also gave birth during her first year, and we chat with her about balancing the demands of work, school and parenthood.

ExecMBA Podcast #305: Alumni Spotlight | Dan Biga (EMBA ’21)

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Dan Biga. Dan is a graduate in our Executive MBA Class of 2021, and he currently works for Deloitte as a Lead Specialist, Social Impact Portfolio, Deloitte Leadership and Human Potential. We talk with Dan about his service in the United States Marine Corps, his experience teaching in Chicago, his decision to pursue an MBA, what he’s been up to since graduation and more.

ExecMBA Podcast #304: Office Hours Spotlight | In Conversation with Professor Jim Naughton

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Jim Naughton. Naughton is an Associate Professor in the Accounting area at Darden, and his research examines how financial, legal, and regulatory institutions shape both financial disclosure and economic choices. We talk with Naughton about why he’s passionate about the case method, Darden’s approach to Accounting, his interest in ESG disclosures and more.

ExecMBA Podcast #303: Office Hours Spotlight | In Conversation with Professor Les Alexander

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Les Alexander. Alexander is an experienced professor, venture capital and private equity investor, corporate executive, and investment banker, and he is a Professor of Practice in the Finance and Strategy, Ethics & Entrepreneurship areas at Darden. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with Alexander about Venture Capital (VC), Private Equity (PE), his Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) elective, plans for the UVA Venture Capital Conference, his advice interested in VC and PE and more.