Part of the commitment to education practiced at the Grossman School of Business at ̽̽ (̽̽) is the access students have to thought-leaders and moguls across the various sectors of today’s business world. Over a decade ago, Grossman School began hosting the Careers in Finance panel and gradually has expanded the series to now include five different panels and summits, each providing students with opportunities to deeply explore various career paths.
These events not only provide insights from a wide variety of experts in their field, but time is also set aside for smaller group sessions where students can speak to each guest more directly. Students are often seen pocketing business cards and exchanging email addresses with prominent alumni, leaders in the industry, and recent graduates who have up to date advice when it comes to breaking into and finding success in business.
Meeting Supply and Demand
This year a new addition of Careers in Operations and Supply Chain Management was added to the series. In his introduction to this inaugural event, Dean Sanjay Sharma acknowledged that events like the pandemic in 2020, the grounding of a giant container ship in the Suez Canal in 2021, and an ever-changing global landscape have put a spotlight on this sector of business. Grossman School added this panel as another way of preparing students to become the passionate leaders of tomorrow.
Companies ranging from Wayfair and Curtis Packaging to OnLogic and Burton Snowboards were represented by the panel, which was similar in makeup to others hosted in the series with its blend of alums Don Droppo, Jr. ’96, Chuck Bruch ’09, and Michaela Madden ’15, who were joined by industry experts Jill Barsky and Reed Doyle. Droppo, who also serves on the Grossman School Board of Advisors, embellished his presentation with a few props – showing off examples of the products that led his company, Curtis Packaging, to success, including winning the Oscar of the industry this year, the “Folding Carton of the Year” award from the Paperboard Packaging Council, for their innovative sustainable packaging of The Master’s tournament Titleist Pro V1 golf ball.
Sustainability was also a core topic with other guests, and Reed Doyle spoke to the challenges and rewards of sustainably sourcing ingredients for the health and beauty industry for Robertet Group, a global French fragrance and flavor manufacturer that specializes in natural and bio-active raw materials. There were also moments of levity, including all the panelists chuckling as they agreed that mastering Microsoft Excel might be the best advice they could give to a group of eager students, and the event was capped off with a networking lunch.
Series Continuing in the Spring
The “Careers in…” series continues in the spring semester of 2025. Grossman School will host the Careers in Marketing Summit on February 24, and on March 21 the 13th Annual panel, organized by alum and Grossman School Board of Advisors member Jamie Flicker ’87. A panel focused on sports business careers is also a planned addition for the spring of 2025. All events will be open to ̽̽ students and Grossman School students are strongly encouraged to attend and earn PEAKS points. Sign-ups for these events will become available in the winter of 2025.
Grossman School hosts a variety of annual events including guest speakers who are creating innovative business practices and robust panelists of industry experts.
Photos: Josh Wallace and Ben Chiappinelli