In this special episode of the podcast, Andrew Husband (Senior Writer & Editor, Office of External Relations) briefly assumes hosting duties to discuss five years of Sloanies Talking with Sloanies with host-turned-guest Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04.

Reichert reflects on some of his most cherished and memorable conversations with MIT Sloan alumni and faculty—including the late Ed Roberts, SB ’57, SM ’58, SM ’60, PhD ’62, and his son, Mitch Roberts, SM ’92; as well as a joint conversation with Juan Pablo Armas, SM ’92, and Roberto Rigobon, PhD ’97, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the MIT Sloan Latin America Office.

After living and working in Australia for 13 years, Reichert decided to seek out an MBA degree to build on the skills he had developed while founding and managing an IT consulting company. The confluence of business and technology led him to MIT Sloan, where he initially considered the MBA program before a chance reading of a Management of Technology program brochure.

Reichert emphasizes the importance of volunteerism among alumni, and Husband highlights the former’s ongoing work with the MIT Sloan Boston Alumni Association, the MIT Sloan Alumni Board, and the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. This naturally leads to a discussion of MIT Sloan Reunion 2024 and the need for the ongoing involvement of the alumni community at large.

Links:

• LinkedIn Profile
• MIT Sloan Reunion 2024

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To support this show or if you have an idea for a topic or a guest you think we should feature, drop us a note at sloanalumni@mit.edu

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Join host Christopher Reichert, MSc ’04, in a candid conversation with Jawad Ahsan, MIT Sloan Executive MBA alum, as they discuss the transformative power of an MBA, Ahsan's career growth from GE to entrepreneurial ventures, and the role MIT Sloan played in shaping his path. Discover how System Dynamics and MIT Sloan's collaborative ethos inspired Ahsan to pursue a portfolio career, balancing corporate success with creative storytelling and societal impact.

Reichert and Ahsan talk about Ahsan's creative pursuits, including his book "What They Didn't Tell Me," which became an Amazon bestseller, and his involvement in producing books, movies, and investing in startups through his ventures Light Mountain Creative, Light Mountain Capital, and Light Mountain Craft.

Links:

• LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/jawadahsan
• Website: http://www.jawadahsan.com/

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On this episode of Sloanies Talking with Sloanies, host Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, interviews Ian Barkin, MBA ’06, co-founder of 2BVentures. 

Barkin discusses his experience at MIT Sloan and how it influenced his career in consulting and outsourcing. He also talks about the concept of robotic process automation (RPA) and its role in intelligent automation. Barkin shares insights from his book Intelligent Automation and discusses the democratization of technology tools and the importance of harnessing grassroots automation within organizations. 

He emphasizes the need for IT departments to adapt to the changing landscape and support the creativity and innovation of non-IT professionals. Barkin also highlights the evolving role of AI and the availability of big data in driving advancements in automation. 

He concludes by discussing the importance of staying connected with the MIT Sloan community and offering advice for prospective students and alumni.

Links:

• LinkedIn Profile
• LinkedIn Learning courses on Digital Transformation
• MIT Sloan Management Review Article
• Harvard Business Review Article
• Intelligent Automation

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Thanks for listening! Find more episodes on our website Sloanies Talking with Sloanies. Learn more about MIT Sloan Alumni on X (Formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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Support the Show.

Thanks for listening! Find more episodes on our website Sloanies Talking with Sloanies. Learn more about MIT Sloan Alumni on X (Formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To support this show or if you have an idea for a topic or a guest you think we should feature, drop us a note at sloanalumni@mit.edu

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Support the Show.

Thanks for listening! Find more episodes on our website Sloanies Talking with Sloanies. Learn more about MIT Sloan Alumni on X (Formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To support this show or if you have an idea for a topic or a guest you think we should feature, drop us a note at sloanalumni@mit.edu

© MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Support the Show.

Thanks for listening! Find more episodes on our website Sloanies Talking with Sloanies. Learn more about MIT Sloan Alumni on X (Formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To support this show or if you have an idea for a topic or a guest you think we should feature, drop us a note at sloanalumni@mit.edu

© MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Support the Show.

Thanks for listening! Find more episodes on our website Sloanies Talking with Sloanies. Learn more about MIT Sloan Alumni on X (Formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To support this show or if you have an idea for a topic or a guest you think we should feature, drop us a note at sloanalumni@mit.edu

© MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Support the Show.

Thanks for listening! Find more episodes on our website Sloanies Talking with Sloanies. Learn more about MIT Sloan Alumni on X (Formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To support this show or if you have an idea for a topic or a guest you think we should feature, drop us a note at sloanalumni@mit.edu

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Naji Gehchan, EMBA ’22 joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to talk about the life experiences that led him to study medicine, and eventually start Sohati, a comprehensive website in Arabic that provides information about the health medical field, and informs his oncology work at Eli Lilly. 

Naji talks about his chronic condition, which he calls “Impatientitus” and how he balances purpose with speed to build a team culture where he is striving to get things done fast while at the same way the team shares a thinking process, what they believe in, and remains open to one another.  

He also hosts a podcast called Spread Love io, started while at Sloan, dedicated to highlighting the stories of leaders on how they spread love in organizations for people to feel safe to thrive and imagine a better world. Naji shares his insights after interviewing over 80 leaders. 

Finally, Naji talks about the experience of finally arriving on campus, after the mostly remote experience due to COVID, and the strong community of classmates and faculty that they built in that unique educational environment. Naji explains how MIT pushed him to go even deeper in thinking about his leadership style, leadership signature, and leadership beliefs. 

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Captain Brian Erickson, SFMBA ’21, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to talk about his career from a 17-year-old service member in the Coast Guard to its first Chief Data Officer. Capt. Erickson explores leadership and innovation in a 233-year-old organization.

He talks about growing up in a small town in Washington State, and the opportunities and experiences of serving in the U.S. Coast Guard for over 30 years. He’s been an engineer and pilot and had participated in the rescue of over 35 people.

Just before Sloan, Capt. Erickson was a budget reviewer for Coast Guard headquarters operational capabilities offices and was responsible for program requests for $1.3B and over 14,000 personnel. He was the Commanding Officer of a 110-member Coast Guard Air Station serving the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Florida, before being selected for the MIT Sloan Fellows program in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. 

He has some great insights into leadership and innovation as he reflects on his time at MIT Sloan and what it takes to succeed in ever-increasing positions of responsibility, leading to his current role as inaugural Chief Digital Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard.

Capt. Erickson can be reached on LinkedIn and welcomes talking with alumni and prospective students.

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Ohad Tzur, MBA ’12, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to talk about his startup Kahoona (www.kahoona.io) which is dedicated to helping individuals and companies traverse the disruptive online changes for online privacy and data mining.

Ohad talks about growing up in Israel, the transformational experiences of serving in the Israeli Defense Force, working at Google and learning to manage and embrace the sometimes-overwhelming opportunities at Sloan, in particular Action Learning.

Ohad closes with some great tips for prospective students on the power of the community of your classmates, and how to prioritize your experience while at Sloan.

Ohad can be reached on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ohadtzur) and welcomes talking with alumni, prospective students, and anyone interested in online privacy and the new economic models being created that will reshape the Internet as we know it.

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Aditi Javeri Gokhale, SB ’96, MBA ’99, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, for a discussion on her role as the most senior female leader at Northwestern Mutual, where she holds the title of chief strategy officer, president of retail investments, and head of institutional investments. They also discuss her journey from India to MIT, her dedication to leadership and mentoring fellow women, and her commitment to establishing gender equity.

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Rachel Stevens, MBA ’15, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, for a discussion about her journey from corporate mainstream, working at Apple and Tatte; to starting her own business, VIENVIE, a women's fashion marketplace startup that brings together existing designers and consumers—working to solve the problem of fit, style, and discovery for the modern woman. 

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To support this show or if you have an idea for a topic or a guest you think we should feature, drop us a note at sloanalumni@mit.edu

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Ken Pucker, SM ’90, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, for a discussion about corporate sustainability efforts, climate change, and what he believes needs to be done to address these issues. Currently a senior lecturer at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, Ken shares how system dynamics and his time at MIT Sloan influenced his last decade of working at the intersection of climate and capitalism. 

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Jossy Lee, MBA ’12, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to share how her time at MIT Sloan has impacted her current work as a founding member of the New England Innovation Academy, the first middle and high school using human-centered design to prepare future innovators. She is also the founder of Woom, an incubator dedicated to nurturing working moms, and author of "Mommy Goes to Work," a forthcoming storybook celebrating working moms. 

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Sunish Gupta, SDM ’12, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to share how his diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa in 2001, as well as his background in technology and engineering, served as his motivation to focus his work on enhancing the design and implementation of assistive technologies for all disabilities.

MIT alumni are invited to email Sunish for a complimentary accessibility consultation for their company’s website or app, including a 30-minute Simple Experience Evaluation for Disabilities (SEED).  

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TJ Leonard, MBA ’08, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to discuss his career in the marketing industry and how that led to his current role as CEO at Storyblocks, a stock media subscription service dedicated to providing accessible, affordable stock for creatives. 

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Thanks for listening! Find more episodes on our website Sloanies Talking with Sloanies. Learn more about MIT Sloan Alumni on X (Formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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Khalid David, MBA ’19, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to share how his journey working in the construction industry led him to MIT Sloan, where he was able to begin building TracFlo, an online financial tool designed to help contractors manage project risk.

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Beta Boom co-founder Kimmy Paluch, MBA ’11, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to detail her work taking on the racially-biased venture capital model to help underrepresented entrepreneurs succeed. 

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Daya Fields, MBA ’07, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to discuss her career journey in the world of corporate cosmetics. She shares how a trek she went on while at MIT Sloan led her to begin a career in the beauty and personal care space, where she is now the President of Pipette and Purecane at Amyris.

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Edward Crawford, EMBA ’17, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to discuss his role as co-founder and president of Coltala Holdings. He also shares lessons from his time in the Peace Corps, the U.S. Navy, and his experience in the Executive MBA program at MIT Sloan.

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Perrin Quarshie, MBA ’16, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to discuss his career evolution from working as a civil engineer to becoming an entrepreneur in the financial services space. He is now the founder and CEO of RealBlocks, a technology platform that connects advisors and investors to the best alternative investment managers.

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Christina Gordon, SM ’92, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to discuss her role as Co-Founder and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Boston, a nonprofit organization working to make an impact in the economic empowerment of women and girls in the Greater Boston area.

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Kaushik Joshi, MBA ’05, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to share learnings from his role as a Global Managing Director at Equinix and provide insight on the future of 5G and the impact it will have across sectors, particularly in tech and real estate.

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Ore Adeyemi, SB ’00, MBA ’06, joins Christopher Reichert, MOT ’04, to discuss his journey to MIT Sloan and his rise through the ranks at HSBC, where he currently serves as the Global Head and Managing Director for Strategic Innovation of Investments. He also shares how his leadership skills have evolved and his commitment to working on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. 

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