Leading up to Tuck Investiture, Friday, June 11, 2021, the Center for Digital Strategies at Tuck has been busy celebrating the unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of its 13 MBA fellows, all of whom are second-year students interested in digital technology and its impact on business. The CDS, and all six centers at Tuck, offer a diverse set of experiences, opportunities, engagement, and experiential learning opportunities both on and off-campus through a suite of courses, programs, and offerings across the Tuck community.
Below, meet seven CDS MBA fellows from the class of 2021 who hope to drive business impact through digital strategy. To see their full responses, visit the CDS blog.
Check out Part II, where we caught up with the rest of the fellows.
Hometown Augusta, Georgia (same as James Brown and Laurence Fishburne!)
Pre-Tuck Employer Chevron
Post-Tuck Plans Apple, Cupertino, California
Why Tuck?
The close-knit community warmly welcomes families and partners (TPs). I liked the size of Tuck. I went to a small school for undergraduate, Tuskegee University, which has about 3,000 students, including the graduate schools. The tight-knit fabric I enjoyed at Tuskegee also seemed present at Tuck.
What is the best part about being involved with CDS?
The Center for Digital Strategies Alumni Fellow community is outstanding. They’re open to sharing their experiences and giving you confidence that the CDS helped them not just on their initial job search and sourcing but throughout their careers and how it helps them still today. CDS Alumni is a group that is constantly reaching out, giving back, and constantly learning.
Do you have any advice for people of color or underrepresented communities who may be looking at Tuck?
I serve as the Diversity and Inclusion Chair for T’21s and T’22s. I’m also on the search committee for the first Senior Vice President for Chief Diversity Officer at Dartmouth. As a member of this committee, I am working with President Hanlon and the Dartmouth Board of Trustees to find the best person for this job.
I am also actively involved in programming for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Tuck. When I was interviewing for Tuck, the last question I was asked was “What will your legacy at Tuck be?” At that point, I hadn’t put much thought into my Tuck legacy and I said I needed to think about my answer.
After some reflection, I came back to my ongoing involvement with Tuskegee. While I was still at Chevron, I was involved with the Advisory Board for the Engineering Department at Tuskegee as a rep from Chevron and was also the lead recruiter for Chevron at the university. In that program, I was able to garner $250k annually from Chevron to give to Tuskegee ($50k went to scholarships, $200k went to maintain a Chevron Lab). Chevron was trying to recruit students from Tuskegee to go into oil and gas, which isn’t always an easy sell. My career at Chevron was challenging and fulfilling, and I wanted to share a similar opportunity to the next generation of Tuskegee students.
Remembering the impact I was able to have at my undergrad alma mater, I realized I wanted my Tuck legacy to connect historically black colleges to Tuck, creating a pipeline where we can have a pool of diverse candidates coming to Tuck. Today, I’m proud to say that I’m working with the Tuck Admissions team to set up a program to look at historically black colleges for recruitment to bring diverse candidates to Tuck.
Hometown Falmouth, Maine
Pre-Tuck Employer Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Post-Tuck Plans Capital One, Washington, D.C.
Why Tuck?
Since I came into business school a bit younger than my classmates, I found Tuck attractive for a number of reasons. First, I wanted a program that used the case method, but was also known for being an outstanding place to learn general management fundamentals, especially in areas like corporate finance. Because of my government background, I knew that a strong core foundation of knowledge from Tuck would put me on the right course. Second, Tuck’s strong community was a huge draw for me. I knew I would benefit from a smaller, more tight-knit community where I could develop close relationships with my peers and professors.
What made you want to be part of the CDS MBA Fellows program?
From my time at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I witnessed the ways digital technologies were changing the fundamental nature of the financial services industry, and I wanted to supplement the cases I was learning in class with more discussion of “what does the future look like?” The CDS offers a place where I can apply what I’m learning in the classroom and think through contemporary issues revolving around digital transformation. I’m especially thrilled by the focus on conversations with my peers in the Fellows program.
What other activities are you involved with at Tuck?
I’m also a fellow with the Center for Business, Government and Society. Additionally, I love storytelling and public speaking, so I’m fortunate to be a co-chair of Tuck Talks. It’s so rewarding to help people find their voice and to hear them tell their stories to the Tuck community.
Hometown Rouen, France
Pre-Tuck Employer Ernst & Young (EY), Vertone
Post-Tuck Plans ServiceNow, Santa Clara
Why Tuck?
Several things drew me to Tuck. First, I wanted to attend a school with a residential campus. I went to college in Paris, but did a one-year exchange at Hamilton College, a liberal arts college in Upstate New York. This was my most memorable academic experience, and I was looking for something similar in business school. Second, I was attracted to Tuck’s personal scale. This allows easy access to professors, recruiters, and of course, classmates. By moving to the U.S., I was leaving behind professional, social, and family circles. I wanted to attend a school where most people would be in the same situation, which facilitates friendships and contributes to Tuck’s tight-knit community. Finally, I was drawn by Tuck’s academic rigor and required core curriculum. I studied political science and international relations in undergrad, and was looking for a rigorous foundation in all aspects of business.
What is the best part of being involved with CDS?
When I was first introduced to the center, Executive Director Patrick Wheeler said something that truly resonated with me. He explained that the CDS focuses on enabling business strategy and innovation through digital technologies, but is not a “Technology Center.” CDS is not reserved to students who want to pursue tech careers, but is rather targeted to individuals who are passionate about the ways in which digital strategies and information technologies drive business transformation. In my opinion, this mission statement drives the best part about being involved with the CDS: the diversity in backgrounds, interests, and opinions of students involved with the center.
What has been the biggest growth moment for yoU?
My most challenging time in business school was the Tuck Technology Conference, which happened virtually on September 25th, 2020. As a Co-Chair of the Tech Club, I was one of the four students responsible for putting this event together. We worked closely with the CDS to bring amazing speakers to the event, most of them Tuck alumni, such as Tracy Sun T’03 (Co-Founder and SVP at Poshmark), Kenny Mitchell T’04 (CMO at Snap, Inc.), Francis Barel T’05 (France General Manager at PayPal) and Michael Aragon T’01 (SVP of Content at Twitch). We decided to open this year’s Tech Conference to peer business schools and brought together 700 participants from 15 leading MBAs around the world.
Hometown Montréal, Canada
Pre-Tuck Employer Lawyer with Stikeman Elliott LLP
Post-Tuck Plans McKinsey & Co, New York
Why Tuck?
First, I love that Tuck doesn’t allow laptops in the classroom. I knew I wanted a place where I could be fully immersed in what I was learning, and I also knew a laptop in the classroom would be distracting to me. Second, I wanted a close knit community that wasn’t in a big city. Hanover’s proximity to Montréal (home) is nice, but I am also happy that Hanover’s location encourages students to be fully present in their MBA experience. Business school is a chance to take two years away from the “corporate world,” and I wanted to make the most of that opportunity. Tuck checked all of the boxes.
What is the best part of being involved with CDS?
I like that the CDS provides a really strong framework for students to think about issues that are important to them, but that they may not necessarily stop to intentionally think of these issues and their impact on our world. The center provides a structure and outlet to consider these issues in a deliberate, thoughtful way. The CDS has also helped me in the ways I approach learning about and understanding the most prominent digital strategies and tech issues that are happening in real time via speakers, my classmates, faculty, and staff.
What speaker have you learned the most from during your time at Tuck?
World-famous shoe designer Stuart Weitzman came to campus last year, and I was chosen to join him and a few other students for dinner. It was fascinating hearing him share how he negotiated with suppliers and grew his business. He was so incredibly candid, which was amazing.
Hometown I’m originally from Rwanda, but Kampala, Uganda is “home” to me, and I have spent most of my professional life in Nairobi, Kenya.
Pre-Tuck Employer Private Equity, Nairobi
Post-Tuck Plans Barclay's, New York
Why Tuck?
My former boss was a Dartmouth undergraduate and also had his MEM from Dartmouth. Throughout my career, all of my bosses had their MBAs. The boss I admired most was a Tuck graduate, and a major reason I considered Tuck was because of him. He embodies the “wise leader” that I aspire to be.
What is the best part of being involved with CDS?
The conversations I get to have with my peers and the speakers we’ve had. I love having a place where everything is viewed through the lens of technology, and I can’t imagine I’ll ever get tired of it. It’s a great bubble to be in!
What are you reading currently?
I like to read many books at once…I usually have 5 going simultaneously! I just finished Post Corona by Scott Galloway. It looks at what COVID-19 has done in terms of digitization and how it has created “dispersion” in so many industries, while accelerating long term trends such as digitization. Who are the winners and losers? Where are the opportunities? I am also reading The Business of Platforms, which explains in depth how platform businesses work, breaking them down into innovative platforms and product platforms.
Hometown Boston, Massachusetts
Pre-Tuck Employer PwC
Post-Tuck Plans IBM, San Jose
Why Tuck?
There are three main reasons I choose Tuck: the community, signaled investment, and unique experiential learning opportunities. Having attended small academic institutions in the past, I knew that I wanted to return to a close-knit community. Visiting Tuck, in this beautiful and secluded setting, the value of the community was obvious. The opportunity to more deeply connect with faculty, staff, and classmates was something I knew would be incredibly valuable. Tuck also signaled to me a willingness to invest and re-invent the MBA program. Whether through restructuring the curriculum or constructing new facilities, the community is committed to maintaining and building on Tuck’s reputation as a premier destination for students. Finally, exciting experiential learning opportunities – like those provided by TuckGO, the incubator, and Center of Digital Strategies–frees students to get their hands dirty and apply our learnings through challenging projects.
What made you want to be part of the CDS MBA Fellows Program?
To start, I had an incredibly positive experience during the MBA Associates program. Each and every student discussion was an opportunity to engage in important and thought-provoking conversation. As I envisioned my second year at Tuck, I definitely wanted to continue these exercises. Second, the experiential learning opportunities were an attractive part of the program. I learn best in a practical environment so support to work on my own research and work with clients like Google promised to be enriching and developmental programs. Finally, the sessions that CDS organizes with amazing alums like Brent Dance T’13, Director, Global Gaming, Google Customer Solutions, Yuri Maruyama T’17 (ScaleAI) and Marcus Morgan T’19 (XBox Studios) are truly inspiring. It is exhilarating to hear from Tuckies and CDS Alumni fellows that I look up to and who, frankly, are crushing it in their respective fields! I absolutely wanted to continue to participate in small group discussions with these professionals.
What other activities are you involved in at Tuck?
Regardless of the technical background prior to business school, as long as you have clear objectives for your MBA experience, you can build a pathway that aligns with those goals. I’ve been very lucky throughout my journey to land in roles with great mentors and managers who taught me so much. The more intentional you can be about your path, the less you must rely on luck and the more you can get out of your time. Take time to plan and purposefully take action. Then you can achieve a transformational experience for your career or your skill set.
Hometown I‘m originally from Canada but grew up in Dallas, Texas.
Pre-Tuck Employer Forward
Post-Tuck Plans CVS Health, Boston
Why Tuck?
I spent most of my undergrad and working years in Silicon Valley, so I sought out something that would be vastly different and provide a new experience for me. Until my move to the Upper Valley, I had never lived on the east coast and hadn’t been to New England, and there was something about living in the woods that was appealing to me. I think people are intentional when they choose Tuck. When I visited campus for the first time, people were so nice and welcoming. There wasn’t anyone I met who I didn’t want to get to know better. It felt comfortable and at home, and I knew I had found the place for me.
What made you want to be part of the CDS MBA Fellows Program?
I didn’t want to lose the “Tech Edge” after leaving Silicon Valley. When I was living in Silicon Valley, I’d be in conversations with people, and they’d bring up tech topics that I wasn’t always familiar with. When I learned more about the center, I felt that it could help me keep my tech knowledge sharp, while also exposing me to other ideas and concepts that I wasn’t as familiar with. My career has been heavily concentrated in health care, and the center has been a great resource to expand my tech “tool kit” and has introduced me to peers who have great insights and experiences into technology and digital strategy across industries.
What other activities are you involved with at Tuck?
In addition to being a CDS Fellow, I am also a Fellow with the Center for Health Care. The Center for Health Care always has excellent guest speakers and a wonderful cohort of students. I am also a Co-chair of the Tuck Volunteers club. We just wrapped up our food drive benefiting a few wonderful community organizations in the Upper Valley! It was so inspiring to see the students and faculty come together and contribute.
Create a profile to learn more about Tuck and receive news and updates
