Simon Bizcast

Join Mitch Lovett, Simon's interim dean and Benjamin Forman Professor of Marketing, for a conversation with Ed Hajim '58. Ed is a graduate of the University of Rochester and served 30 years on the University's Board of Trustees, including an eight-year tenure as board chair. He currently serves as Chair Emeritus. Ed is one of the University's most generous alums and benefactors, and in 2009, the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences was named in his honor—after making the largest gift to the school in the University's history at the time.  Throughout the conversation, Ed gives insight into his more than 50 years of investment and senior management experience at companies such as the Capital Group, E.F. Hutton, Lehman Brothers, Furman Selz, and High Vista, and discusses his two books, On The Road Less Traveled and The Island of the Four Ps. He also shares his best advice for current business school students as they prepare to become tomorrow's business leaders. Learn more about Ed on Instagram: @edhajimauthor  This conversation was recorded in May 2025.  View transcript.

Join Mike Droel, assistant director of admissions, as he chats with Melissa O'Neill, MS program director of career advising and MSF career advisor. Melissa gives insight into how the staff at the Benet Career Management Center start supporting students before they even arrive in Rochester, how students can expect to engage with the Benet Center during their program (including getting support from the Benet Career Peers!), working with career advisors, Simon's dedicated alumni network, and more! View transcript.

We are pleased to share this special episode of Simon Bizcast—an AI and Business Roundtable featuring the following University of Rochester educators: Mitch Lovett  Sr Assoc Dean, Education & Innovation and Benjamin Forman Professor of Marketing, Simon Business School (moderator) Chris Kanan  Associate Professor of Computer Science, Hajim School of Engineering; Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences; Affiliate, GIDS-AI Dan Keating Clinical Assistant Professor and Faculty Director of Academic Support, Simon Business School Liza Mohr Clinical Associate Professor, Simon Business School Huaxia Rui Professor of Information Systems and Technology, Simon Business School The group shares insights on what Generative AI is doing for personal productivity, their predictions for advancements in Agentic AI, thoughts on how AI can create value for businesses, the impact AI is having on education, and more. Special thanks to the University of Rochester Office of Marketing and Communications for making this episode possible! View transcript.

Join April Marroquin, senior associate director of recruitment for Simon's executive and part-time programs, for a conversation with Giovanna Cristofaro de Souza '24S (MBA), a graduate of the Executive MBA program, and Mana Sherman, a current Online MS in Business Analytics & Applied AI student. Giovanna and Mana share what led them to Simon and motivated them to pursue online learning, how they built community as online students, the most impactful skills and concepts they could apply to their day-to-day professional tasks, and more! View transcript.

Join Sharise Kent, associate director of MBA admissions, as she chats with Hawa Sultani '21S (MBA), working in Global Azure Strategy and customer health and growth for Microsoft, and Kshitij Gulati '23S (MS), a business data scientist at Google, about their experience in the field after leaving Simon. Hawa and Kshitij share insights on their career paths post-graduation, what led them to the tech industry, what excites them about the future of tech, and more! If you're interested in a post-grad career in the tech sector, check this one out! View transcript.

Join Emma Audsley, associate director of events and marketing, as she chats with current full-time MBA student Kennedy Graves and current EMBA student Dave Miller about their experience participating in the Singapore Immersion that was held in January 2025. Kennedy and Dave discuss what drew them to the Singapore Immersion, most memorable company visits, how this experience expanded their global business mindset for the future, and more.   Do you have questions about immersions at Simon? Reach out to us at admissions@simon.rochester.edu! This episode was recorded in January 2025. View transcript.

Join Trista Kukucka, director of MS admissions, as she chats with George Boateng-Darko and Jess Friedman, current MBA students and admissions ambassadors. Jess and George discuss why they chose Simon, Benet Center resources, experiences with Benet Career Peers, their advice for prospective students, and more!   Interested in speaking with one of our MBA Admissions Ambassadors? Schedule a chat today! View transcript.

Join Mike Droel, assistant director of admissions, as he chats with Anushka Potdar and Jiayi Li, current MS students and admissions ambassadors. Anushka and Jiayi discuss why they chose their program, their favorite class to date, their advice for prospective MS students, and more!   Interested in speaking with one of our MS Admissions Ambassadors? Schedule a chat today! View transcript.

Join Julie Sadwick, director of admissions and EDI special projects, as she chats with Ricka Marcelus '25S (MBA) and Chavah Greene '26S (MBA) about their experience as members of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management. Ricka and Chavah discuss why they chose Simon, their Orientation Program (OP) experiences, what's been most rewarding about being a member of the Consortium community at Simon, and more.  View transcript.

Join Kathryn Flaschner '17S (MBA), vice president of brand licensing at Hello Sunshine, and Ayanna Sampson, second-year MBA and VP of wellness for the Graduate Business Council, for a wide-ranging conversation on wellness. They reflect on their journeys to Simon and then discuss what wellness means and looks like to them, wellness as wholeness, what they do when they need a reset, advice they'd give to their younger selves, and more.  View transcript.

Join Mike Droel, assistant director of admissions, as he chats with Brittany Grage, director of student life in Simon's Ainslie Office of Student Engagement. Brittany describes the three categories of clubs offered at Simon, how students can get involved, leadership opportunities, special annual events, and more! Learn more about clubs and organizations at Simon. View transcript.

Join Andrew Brayda, senior director of admissions as he chats with Hemnathe Gopal, one of our first-year MBAs who applied by our Round 1 – October 15 application deadline last year. Hemnathe shares insights on his path to B-school, how he decided that Simon was the best school for his MBA studies, life in Rochester, advice for prospective students considering applying in Round 1, and more! Learn more about Simon's Full-Time MBA program. View transcript.

Join Rebekah Lewin, senior assistant dean of admissions & programs, as she chats about Generative AI with Mitch Lovett, senior associate dean of education and innovation, and Dan Keating, clinical assistant professor. They discuss the ways in which AI is transforming the business school landscape, Simon's AI Initiative, new program offerings for those interested in a deeper dive into AI, ways that AI is woven into the curriculum at Simon, and more! Learn more about Generative AI at Simon. View transcript.

Join Sharise Kent, associate director of MBA admissions, as she chats with Yare Ortiz and Sriman Panda, two members of Simon's MBA Class of 2026 who attended Women's Conference last fall. They discuss why they chose to attend the conference, favorite moments, biggest takeaways, advice for prospective MBA students considering attending the conference, and more!  View transcript.

Join Trista Kukucka, director of MS admissions, as she chats with Sylvia Shi '23S (MBA), a consultant at Bain & Company, about her experience in the field post-MBA. Sylvia shares insights on her background before coming to Simon, what led her to consulting as a career switcher, what has surprised her most about the field, her best advice for future consultants, and more! If you're interested in a post-grad career in consulting, check this one out! View transcript.

Join Daniela Alaniz, assistant director of MBA admissions, as she chats with Tess Eustace and Lan Nguyen, members of Simon's MBA Class of 2026, about their experience at the Forté Women's Leadership Conference they attended before beginning classes at Simon. They reflect on their expectations heading into the conference, key insights gained, how the Benet Career Center prepped them before the conference, relationship building, and more! Learn more about Simon's Full-Time MBA program. View transcript.

Join Andrew Brayda, senior director of admissions, as he chats with Mike Alcazaren, Yonnas Terefe, and Tori Vossler, three members of Simon's MBA Class of 2019. They discuss their biggest takeaways from the MBA, the program's impact on their post-MBA journeys, advice for prospective students, critical MBA skills that will carry graduates through each phase of their career, and more! Learn more about Simon's Full-Time MBA program. View transcript.

Join April Marroquin, senior associate director of recruitment for Simon's executive and part-time programs, for a conversation with current Professional MBA student Brigitte Zambrano, senior HR assistant at University of Rochester's Office of Total Rewards of the Human Resources Benefits Office. Brigitte shares her journey to Simon—including earning degrees in Peru and South Korea—and what motivated her to pursue an MBA. She also shares her tips for staying organized and managing her time to balance school, work, and personal responsibilities.    Learn more about Simon's Professional MBA program. View transcript.

Join Andrew Brayda, senior director of admissions, as he chats with LaTanya Johns, assistant dean of the Jay S. and Jeanne Benet Career Management Center. LaTanya discusses a range of topics, including a little about her career path to Simon, what she enjoys most about her job, the role self-care plays in student success (and the emphasis placed on it at Simon), and the importance of celebrating small wins. View transcript. 

Join April Marroquin, senior associate director of recruitment for Simon's executive and part-time programs, for a conversation with our part-time student advocates about what led them to Simon, how to balance work and your course load, and more! Student panelists: Brian Asermily (MMM candidate) Tammy Boak (PMBA candidate) Lauren Bradley (EMBA candidate) John Marchesane (PMBA candidate) Dave Miller (EMBA candidate) Learn more about Simon's Executive MBA program. Learn more about Simon's Professional MBA program. Learn more about Simon's MS in Medical Management program. View transcript.