In our Berkeley MBA programs, we believe in developing leaders who champion bold ideas while taking intelligent risks and who lead with confidence and without arrogance.
We've seen a lot of this kind of leadership across campus this fall:
VIDEO: Student vets reflect
One of our Defining Leadership Principles is Beyond Yourself, certainly embodied by our students who are also military veterans or on active duty. This year, we have one of our largest classes of veterans studying at Haas. Here, four veterans who have chosen to further their leadership skills at Berkeley Haas reflect on what Beyond Yourself means to them:
- Poga Ahn, EMBA 18, former U.S. Army captain
- Rodrigo Flores, EWMBA 21, former U.S. Navy submarine officer
- Cassidy Nolan, BS 19, former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence chief
- Katie Rentz, FTMBA 20, former U.S. Navy unmanned underwater vehicles department head
VIDEO: Margo Alexander on being a pioneering woman on Wall Street and on making a difference
Margo Alexander, an undergrad alum of Berkeley Haas, was one of the first female leaders in the global financial services sector. As such, she spent four decades succeeding in the face of pervasive sexism. Now, she's applying her deep knowledge to cultivate entrepreneurs who serve the world's most impoverished people.
From her C-level roles at UBS/Paine Webber to her work as board chair and chair emeritus of Acumen, a nonprofit committed to changing the way the world takes on poverty, Margo spoke candidly about her experiences with Interim Dean Laura Tyson as part of our Dean's Speaker Series.
“The social problems of the country are not just for the government to solve," said Margo, "and corporations have the levers…they can make that decision to improve [society]."
Social impact internships—supported by fellow students
This past summer, Berkeley MBA students interested in social impact devoted their internships to everything from equipping off-the-grid homes in Tanzania with solar power to analyzing the impact of increased guest numbers on visitor safety at Yellowstone to refreshing an arts education plan for San Francisco public schools.
Thirteen students engaged in social impact internships and received stipends from the Haas Social Impact Fund (HSIF), an effort made possible by their peers—who donate one day of pay that they'd expect at a corporate internship. Students raised about $25,000 this past spring.
The MBA, women, and leadership
Finally, in case you missed it, Kellie McElhaney, founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership explored three ways an MBA offers value to aspiring women leaders:
- Confers confidence in your value, so you can ask for what you need and want
- Delivers a high-caliber network for future opportunities, insights, and hires
- Builds the ability to speak the language of business and to executive quantitatively.
If you're interested in building MBA leadership skills, we invite you to explore and compare our MBA programs.
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