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27 August 2007

Exit interview with Tanisha Drummer, MBA 2007


Tanisha (right) on a hiking trip in Porto Alegre, Brazil during the Brazil Service Learning Trip. Left to right: Terry Cumes MBA 2004; Katherine Boas MBA 2007; Pete Clarke MBA 2006; Tanisha Drummer MBA 2007.

Rita Winkler: Hi Tanisha and congratulations on your recent graduation. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Tanisha Drummer: I'm a Midwest girl at heart with a little East Coast flare. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, but call Chicago home. I moved to Chicago for college and never left. In fact, I'll be returning to Chicago after graduation.

RW: Before you applied to the GSB, what did you do professionally?

Tanisha: I was a Strategy Consultant at Accenture in the Retail and Consumer Industry where I worked on a range of clients in apparel, hardlines, drug stores, and service.

RW: Why did you apply to Stanford?

Tanisha: Because I was looking for the greatest growth experience possible. Stanford represented this for me. I love the small, inclusive, collaborative culture. I'd lived and worked in the Midwest and East Coast, and the West Coast represented a completely different environment in which to live and learn. I liked the emphasis on social innovation and entrepreneurship. And the School's culture and values were directly aligned with my personal values and career goals.

Continue reading "Exit interview with Tanisha Drummer, MBA 2007" »

Posted by Rita Winkler on August 27, 2007 3:40 PM |



29 August 2007

Interview with Uri Pomerantz, MBA 2008

Rita Winkler: Hi Uri, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?

Uri Pomerantz: I was born in Israel and moved to California during my childhood. I attended Stanford University as an undergraduate, after which I moved to Boston to work full time. I'm currently pursuing my MBA at Stanford and my MPA in International Development at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

RW: Describe your professional background pre-MBA.

Uri: Prior to the GSB I worked full-time at Microsoft in business development and part-time at a microfinance company I co-founded during college.

I first became interested in social entrepreneurship when my great-aunt was killed in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem in 2002. The event prompted me--an Israeli American who believed in peace--to critically assess the approach the international community had been taking to address the Arab-Israeli conflict. The issue of economic prosperity was being largely ignored.

Since 2000, over 120,000 young skilled Palestinian workers were left frustrated and unemployed, unable to commute to jobs within Israel. Governments were slow to respond to changes on the ground, and private-sector companies were waiting for tensions to subside before resuming investments.

I joined together with an experienced Palestinian businessman and an American entrepreneur to co-found The Shurush Initiative: a non-profit microfinance organization focused on alleviating poverty by funding small businesses throughout the West Bank and Gaza.

We raised our initial funding after winning the Stanford Social Venture Competition; since that time we have developed a joint partnership with the YMCA of East Jerusalem, distributed our first loans as part of a revolving (self-sustainable) loan fund, and to this day we have funded over 20 businesses.

We've also partnered with Kiva.org to allow donors to fund entrepreneurs directly through the internet. [Editor's Note: Kiva.org was co-founded by Jessica Flannery, MBA 2007]

Since starting graduate school, I've also had the chance to assist in setting up the first private equity fund in Sierra Leone and to work in the fledging South African venture capital industry.

Most recently, I've spent my summer working in Goldman Sachs' financing group. I hope to use the power and efficiency of the capital markets to engender economic change on a much larger scale. By developing new financial instruments, or building new funds to support entrepreneurship in the developing world, I hope to bring this dream one step closer to a reality.

Continue reading "Interview with Uri Pomerantz, MBA 2008" »

Posted by Rita Winkler on August 29, 2007 8:43 PM |



26 May 2009

Management Values That Count: Reflections by Dean Robert Joss

Bob Joss announced that he will retire as dean of the Graduate School of Business at the end of his term, completing a decade of service to Stanford. Recently published in the Financial Times, this essay gives you insight on the experiences that shaped Dean Joss, who in turn helped shape the GSB and the future of management education.

>> Read the essay

Bob Joss

Posted by Victoria Hendel De La O on May 26, 2009 10:07 AM |



27 September 2011

A New Academic Year Begins

Fall is an amazing time at the GSB. As new students arrive on campus, the air is thick with enthusiasm. New friendships are forming, ideas are flowing, and some students are taking the time to reflect on the beginning of their journey. Or as new student Hanif Jhaveri said in a recent Facebook post to his classmates:

"guys, i just woke up in the middle of the night and i couldn't figure out why.. and then i did... the past few days have been incredible...i'm so excited i can't even sleep... you guys are all awesome... every few hours i meet another incredible person with a phenomenal story and a super interesting passion--whether that's travel & logistics or biotech & life-extension mechanisms... thanks for the privilege of being your classmate..."

Welcome to the Class of 2013!

Posted by Victoria Hendel De La O on September 27, 2011 10:34 AM |



10 April 2012

Stanford GSB alum gives away $1 billion to tackle the world's biggest problems

Read the full article in Stanford Magazine.

Posted by Allison Davis on April 10, 2012 11:41 AM |



23 October 2013

What Will You Do With an MBA?

When Robyn Sue Fisher '07 came to the GSB, she already had a successful consulting career in biotech under her belt. But like many Stanford MBA students, Robyn decided to change her course in pursuit of a dream.

At the GSB, Robyn developed a business plan in her Startup Garage course. Today, she is the owner of Smitten, a San Francisco ice cream company that uses high-tech methods to make a very old-fashioned favorite. Learn more about Robyn, her ice cream, and her journey to entrepreneurial success in this short video.

Obviously, not all Stanford MBAs start their own ventures. To see how GSB alumni are impacting their corners of the world in very different ways, take a look at the article, 17 Stanford Business Students Who Are Going to Change the World.

Posted by Victoria Hendel De La O on October 23, 2013 9:54 AM |