The ExecMBA Podcast

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 Luca Cian. Cian is a member of the Marketing faculty at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and his research area is consumer behavior, with a focus on sensory marketing, aesthetics, and human-machine interac...

In this special edition of the podcast, we are excited to share another installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Professor Mary Margaret Frank. Frank is the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development, the John Tyler Professor of Business Administration and the Institute for Business in Society Academic Director at the Darden School of Business. Her expertise is in the in...

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 Pedro Matos. Matos is the academic director of the Richard A. Mayo Center for Asset Management and a member of the Finance faculty at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. His research focuses on the growing im...

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 Yo-Jud Cheng. Cheng teaches in the Strategy, Ethics and Entrepreneurship area at Darden, and her research focuses on corporate governance and top executives in public companies. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with John Grant and Carter Whitelow. John is a second year student in our Executive MBA Class of 2023, and Carter is a first year student in our Executive MBA Class of 2024. As you will learn from this conversation, John and Carter are friends outside of Darden, and this relationship played an important role in Carter’s MBA journey. We talk with John and...

In this special edition of the podcast, we are excited to share a recent conversation between the Dean of the Darden School of Business Scott Beardsley and Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke about why it has never been a better time to be at Darden. Beardsley and Clarke share insights on a number of topics including the importance of financial accessibility and scholarships, Darden’s...

In this special edition of the podcast, we are excited to share another installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Professor Melissa Thomas-Hunt. Thomas-Hunt is the John Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business and Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and she is also the former Head...

Did you know over half of our Executive MBA students identify as career switchers? True story. In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jim Collins. Jim is a Career Coach with UVA Darden’s Professional Degree Programs, and we talk with him about the career exploration process for working professional students. Jim also shares tips and insights for students seeking to leverage their Part-Ti...

In this episode of the podcast, we talk with Jennifer Windus. Jennifer is a Career Center Executive Coach, and she is the newest member of the Career team that supports Darden’s Professional Degree Program students. We talk with Jennifer about her background, what led her to career coaching, what she enjoys about working with students on their professional goals as well as her advice for prospecti...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Tanveer Kathawalla and Natalie Szmyd. Tanveer and Natalie are second year students in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and they are Co-Presidents of the Executive MBA Venture Capital Club. We talk with Tanveer and Natalie about their backgrounds, how they decided to pursue an MBA, the impact of their Darden experience so far as well as their plans f...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Johnny O’Boyle and Hannah Solomon. Johnny and Hannah are second year students in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and they are also Co-Presidents of the Executive MBA Entrepreneurship Club (EMBEC). We talk with Johnny and Hannah about their backgrounds, their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden and their plans for EMBEC in the year ah...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Matthew Boyd and JB Norcott. Matthew and JB are second year students in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and they are also Co-Presidents of the Black Executive MBA (BEMBA) student organization. We talk with Matthew and JB about their backgrounds, their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden and their plans for BEMBA in the year ahead.

In this special episode of the Darden Admissions podcast, we’re excited to share a recent installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88). Miles is an Executive Fellow and Professor of Practice, and she is also the former Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children, an organization that gives children in the United States and around the world a healthy sta...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Sherri Watson. Sherri is the Assistant Dean for Student Engagement for the Professional Degree Programs at the Darden School of Business, and in her role, she supports Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA students learning out of Sands Family Grounds in Rosslyn. In this wide-ranging conversation, Sherri reflects upon her background, her passion for worki...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Remington “Rem” Roth and Josh Rubbelke. Josh and Rem are second year students in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2023, and they are Co-Presidents of the Executive MBA Consulting Club. We talk with Josh and Rem about their backgrounds, what led them to Darden, the impact of their Darden experience so far, their plans for the Consulting Club and m...

In this episode of the podcast, we spotlight the MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) program with a conversation with James G. “Trey” Maxham III. Maxham is the William Stamps Farish Entrepreneurial Eminent Research professor at UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce and he also serves as one of the Academic Directors for the MSBA program. In this wide-ranging conversation, Maxham reflects upon how the MSBA...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Leah Svoboda. Leah is a second year student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is the newly elected President of the Network of Executive Women (NEW) student organization. We talk with Leah about her background, her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her Darden as well as NEW’s plans for the years ahead. This episode is highly recommended...

Please join our Admissions team for these special micro-podcast episodes giving you a step by step guide to the application process. There are two ways to listen to the playlist... here, on Spotify ► https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2EtyMkjZzi9ErgSjrTxKEl?si=1bffd345fee549ad

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with LaShondra Ervin. LaShondra is a second year student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is also the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Executive Student Association (ESA). We chat with LaShondra about her decision to pursue an MBA, what attracted her to Darden, as well as how she and her family have navigated the firs...

On this episode, we are joined by longtime friend of the podcast, Director of Admissions Katherine Alford, for a conversation that is something of an annual tradition – the application launch episode! Our new Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA applications are now live, and we catch up with Katherine to talk about the applications as well as tips and strategies for Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA app...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we catch up with Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions, Dawna Clarke, to reflect on a truly historic opening week for the Darden School of Business. On Monday, 15 August, for the first time in the history of the School, we welcomed Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, and Executive MBA students to grounds for the start of school. In this episode, we...

In this special episode of the Darden Admissions podcast, we’re excited to share a recent installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke and Senior Associate Dean, Professional Degree Programs Yael Grushka-Cockayne. Grushka-Cockayne leads UVA Darden’s Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA  and MSBA programs, and she is also a member of the...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share the 15th installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Robert Carraway. Carraway teaches in the Quantitative Analysis area, and he has taught in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA and Executive MBA programs, and he will teach Decision Analysis in the core curriculum of the newly launched...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share the 14th installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Andy Wicks. Wicks teaches Ethics in Darden’s MBA and Executive Education programs. An ethicist with a background in religious studies, Wicks examines both the theoretical and practical implications of ethics through thought-pr...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Debbie Herndon. Debbie is a student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and in this wide-ranging conversation she reflects upon her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden and the supportive community she encountered from her very first moments as a Darden student. Debbie also reflects upon returning to school later in her career and the i...