Life moves pretty fast. Just ask Cameron Porter. Over the past three years, he became a father to a baby girl and transitioned from the U.S. Army to Amazon Web Services. Here, he quickly earned a promotion, which required him to move his family from Colorado Springs to Amazon’s Atlanta office. Along the way, Porter found the time to complete an online MBA degree from Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business – all while pursuing another Master’s degree in Information Systems.
Ambitious? The cross-country move was a familiar routine for Porter. After all, he had re-located 17 times earlier, growing up in the military and serving in elite units like the 82nd Airborne Division and 10th Special Forces Group. Between various deployments and leadership roles, Porter learned to shoulder big workloads and pivot as conditions shifted. Even more, Porter’s service reinforced his appreciation for teamwork and how he was only as strong as those around him. That was particularly true at the Harbert College, where he found allies among faculty and support staff who adapted to the ebb-and-flow of his work and family demands.
Cameron Porter, Auburn University (Harbert)
“MY SUCCESS WAS THEIR SUCCESS”
“They worked with me to customize my schedule, provide academic accommodations when needed, and ensure I stayed on track amid the chaos,” he tells Poets&Quants. “I never once felt like just another number. They proactively checked on my well-being, celebrated milestones with me, and made it feel that ‘my success was their success’.”
Currently, Porter helps government clients implement cloud technologies. That is one area where his MBA programming came in handy, teaching him the fundamentals of driving digital transformation. More than that, he adds, the MBA coursework provided an immediate return on investment. After learning an academic framework – or discussing a situation with a classmate – Porter could test out potential solutions and produce results right away, increasing his credibility and value in the process.
“I took analysis from my marketing courses and directly applied them into a go-to market strategy I was building. I also took a statistics class where I applied the same functional formulas to calculate various KPIs for a project I was working on in my current job. The MBA program fundamentally transformed how I approach business strategy and decision-making holistically. I also have frameworks for assessing value creation opportunities, how to appropriately measure risk versus return, and the program equipped me with the tools to become data fluent in a digital world.”
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TOP PROFESSIONALS ATTENDING TOP SCHOOLS
Porter is among the 54 graduates chosen for Poets&Quants’ 7th annual Best & Brightest Online MBAs feature. Each spring, P&Q invites the world’s top-ranked online MBA programs to submit nominees from the Class of 2024. Like previous years, these Best & Brightest MBAs were chosen by students and faculty based on criteria like academic excellence and class contributions, always going back to this question: “Which students are so fundamental that you can’t imagine the class without them?” Overall, P&Q chose 36 top online MBA programs to participate, with 35 ultimately submitting candidates. These included each of the 20 highest-ranked programs in the 2024 P&Q Online MBA Ranking, such as Indiana University’s Kelley School, Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School, and the University of Washington’s Foster School.
Dr. Megan Cahill, University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium
This year’s class features 30 women and 24 men, whose ages stretch from 27-56 – or in the words of Indiana Kelley’s Ana-Maria Visoiu-Knapp: “Old enough to have wisdom through experience, young enough to shape tomorrow.” As undergraduates, they studied at institutions ranging from MIT to North Carolina A&T, majoring in disciplines as divergent as Pastoral Ministry, Physics, and Food Engineering. As professionals, you’ll find this year’s Best & Brightest working at firms as prestigious as Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase, Google, Apple, Raytheon, and Cargill. They are entrepreneurs, computer scientists, sales managers, lawyers, investors, and doctors. While some took online classes within 20 miles of their business schools, you’ll find other digital commutes that stretched from San Diego to Boston and Saudi Arabia to Virginia.
Dr. Megan Cahill is a Division Chief of the Medicine at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Michigan. That would be a nine-hour drive from the University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium, where she took her graduate business courses. The online format worked perfectly for Cahill, who is a mother to five children under five years of age (and wife to a husband busy with his PhD dissertation). Beyond providing the flexibility for Cahill to operate on her own schedule, the Consortium’s MBA program also differentiated her from her peers and positioned her for leadership.
“When I started the program, I was working full-time as an Emergency Medicine Physician,” she writes. “After about a year in the program, my track record of success and investment in my professional development had caught the eye of senior leadership. It was at this time that I was invited to apply for a position as the Division Chief of Medicine. After receiving this new role, I scaled back my clinical hours and currently oversee 750 physicians and Advance Practice Providers across 20 medical specialties.”
PHYSICIANS, ENGINEERS, AND FINANCIERS
Cahill isn’t the only physician represented in the Class of 2024 Best & Brightest. Like Cahill, Dr. Daniel Novak served as an Emergency Room Physician – before earning his MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Isenberg School helped him land the role of Assistant Medical Director at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn. While studying at Hofstra University’s Zarb School, Dr. Jason D. Hanks headed up Anesthesia at the Melville Surgery Center. Across the Atlantic, Amit Chawla worked as an Orthopaedic Surgery Resident while studying at Warwick Business School. Engineers also took advantage of the online format. By day, Jason Chan managed valve engineering at the Naval Nuclear Laboratory before turning his attention to his online MBA with Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School. By the same token, Rita Elizabeth Saikali operated as a Government Project Director in the rugged Canadian Yukon, where she led the largest bridge replacement project in the province’s history. It was a job that often involved 70-hour work weeks…among her other activities.
“During that same time, I applied for and obtained my Professional Engineering (P.Eng.) licenses from two different provinces,” adds the Isenberg grad. “I also authored research papers with my previous professors from York University, where one of them was published in the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Structural and Materials Journals. I completed these milestones concurrently while studying for my MBA degree.”
Ana-Maria Visoiu-Knapp, Indiana University (Kelley)
Other online graduates boast a distinctive set of experiences. John Behrens, a graduate of the University of Illinois’ Gies College, studied for the ministry before moving into advertising, marketing, and brand strategy. A first-generation college grad, Daniel Rodriguez brought financial leadership experience from companies like Amazon, NBC Universal, USPA Global Licensing to classmates at the University of Florida’s Warrington College. In her spare time, Ana-Maria Visoiu-Knapp is the managing director for Golden Seeds, an investment firm that supports female-run ventures in spaces like tech and healthcare. Beyond that, she has built a career that would be the envy of anyone in any MBA class.
“I am proud to have lived and worked on three continents, most notably leading a pioneering team in Zambia to execute Johnson & Johnson’s groundbreaking HIV-1 Vaccine Efficacy Clinical Trial. I’ve also navigated the intricate worlds of state and national governments, collaborating with entities like the Department of Defense and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), while working in Mozambique; partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) while living and working in Hawai’i; and championing impactful policies for disease prevention on Capitol Hill while living in D.C. Today, I am proud to be at Regeneron, a leading biotechnology company bringing life-saving medicines to patients.”
DEVELOPING APPLE’S FIRST CARBON NEUTRAL PRODUCT
Outside of Warrington College, Maja Lacevic is the Associate General Counsel for Unified Women’s Healthcare, which is affiliated with 2,700 American healthcare providers for women. As a student at the University of Michigan’s Ross School, Rachel Feinberg was promoted to Director of Global Financial Processes and Integrations at Omnicom, a media and communications giant, where she works across over 1,500 agencies. Currently, Lehigh University’s Forest Harger serves as Chief of Staff for Burton Snowboards in Vermont. Before that, she held the same position with a division of Boeing and worked as a Deputy Assistant Chief in the U.S. Department of State. However, her favorite role came when she worked for former U.S. Senator Kay Hagan for four years.
“I helped to get my boss elected and had worked on the campaign because I knew her and wanted to see her win. But once I got into public service, I felt I had found my calling. We had an energetic, hard-working, and dedicated staff and I LOVED working for the people of my home state of North Carolina alongside others who cared as much as I did.”
Class members also held roles that would stand out on any resume. Warwick Business School’s Sasha Kirkham spent nine years in the United Kingdom’s armed forces, completing deployments to 13 countries before joining Bank of America. North Carolina State grad Joseph Pinkney oversees the launch of new automated grocery distribution centers at Walmart. At PepsiCo Frito Lay, the University of Texas at Dallas’ Richard Lindeman is a key decision-maker in global supply chain strategy. As an Apple product manager, Marcus Brown made an impact in The Apple Watch, which he describes as the company’s “first carbon neutral product.”
“There were several challenges that required cross functional collaboration across several teams,” explains the graduate of USC’s Marshall School. “I was able to work with multiple stakeholders to help maximize the recycled material used for Apple Watch. The Apple Watch really taught me what it meant to have purpose and product align with each other. It’s amazing how hard you can work when you believe in the mission.”
Parag Murlidhar Shirnamé, Boston University (Questrom)
A PERFECT START TO 2024
Brown wasn’t the only Marshall MBA making a difference. Before business school, Heather Forst had joined a startup that jumped from 6 employees to 250 – and fetched a half billion dollars when it was sold. When Marco Gam was 20, the IE Business School MBA started a company that has grown to 40 people (with plans to triple that number). Speaking of growth, check out Parag Murlidhar Shirnamé. In just three years, the Boston University MBA facilitated trade between Queensland and South Asia that has more than doubled to $10 billion dollars. According to Imperial College’s Jakob Lindner, his biggest achievement involved building the German Armed Forces Cyber Innovation Hub.
“As the right-hand man to the CEO, I navigated the complex government environment to establish this first-of-its-kind innovation unit in Germany and grow it from an initial team of four to thirty members. This initiative not only demonstrated my leadership skills and strategic thinking in a challenging bureaucratic landscape, but also significantly advanced the digital transformation within the military.”
Looking for notoriety? The University of Nebraska’s Scott Holweger designed the Motorola PEBL 2005 – which was featured in a Super Bowl commercial! Madeline Robles, a University of Utah Eccles School grad, earned an invite to the White House for the effectiveness of her nonprofit’s work. Alas, some achievements are as subtle as they are profound. Case in point: Samantha Choy. As a student at the Indiana University’s Kelley School, she achieved the triple crown. She notched a promotion, gave birth, and earned her MBA – the latter coming a term early, no less.
“Being put up for a promotion came with a set of challenges, including securing the correct platform, networking with key stakeholders, and ensuring my performance was unquestionable,” writes Choy, who is now a VP of Pricing Strategy for JP Morgan Chase’s Corporate & Investment Bank Securities Services division. “While the days were long, I am proud to say my hard work paid off with my first child being born in early January, my promotion being announced at the end of January, and my completion of my MBA in early February (talk about starting off 2024 with a bang).”
Go to page 3 to access in-depth profiles for over 50 Best & Brightest Online MBAs.
Lorien Stringer, University of Washington (Foster)
FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A TWIN BROTHER
Outside business school, the Class of 2024 is as versatile as it is accomplished. Parag Murlidhar Shirnamé holds a PhD and speaks 6 languages – and the University of Illinois’ Padmarchana Kandi has mastered 5 languages (while holding 3 Master’s degrees). ESMT Berlin’s Jocelyn Tillner is a professionally-trained beer taster, while Durham University’s Mandy Gardner is currently learning how to walk a tightrope. The University of Washington’s Lorien Stringer has sung the National Anthem at the College Series. And Rice University’s Sunny Ahmed is a recording artist…sort of.
“I was in an R&B/pop boy band in my undergraduate years at the University of Texas at Austin. After winning multiple talent shows across campus, we recorded a full studio album of originally produced and written songs.”
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Erik Franey got married on Mount Rainier (in the rain in typical Pacific Northwest fashion). Outside of being a Medical Director and an MBA student at Southern Methodist University, Jason DeMattia raises cattle, chickens, and honeybees. And how is this for staying busy…
“In the last six years, my husband and I married, had two kids, traveled to eight countries, moved six times, flipped three homes, and I completed my MBA,” says Heather Forst. “We’re busy people!”
For Kitty Whitehead, earning her MBA degree from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler School was a full circle moment. As an undergrad, her twin brother had studied at UNC, passing away before earning his degree.
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
Ask the Class of 2024 why they chose an online MBA program and you’ll hear words like convenience, accessible, and especially flexible. This flexibility took many forms for the Best & Brightest. For some, the online format enabled them to work their education around their job and family. They could attend their classes and complete their assignments on their schedule. That way, they risked neither stalling their careers nor missing their children’s sporting events or recitals. Bottom line, online education enabled them to maximize their options and minimize their risks.
“In addition to working full time, I am a husband and father of three,” explains John Behrens. “Time is at a premium. I needed the flexibility of a program that could fit into our family’s schedule, not supplant it. A residential program that would have required pausing my career or relocating my family simply would not have been feasible.”
Not only could the Best & Brightest take their coursework anytime, but also anywhere with the online format. That was the perfect arrangement for Sunny Ahmed, a Global Alliance Director for Amazon. He says his role requires “constant availability” with its “travel, unexpected meetings, and addressing urgent matters across different time zones.” The format was equally advantageous to Rita Elizabeth Saikali, who often worked long-term assignments away from home.
Rita Elizabeth Saikali, University of Massachusetts Amherst (Isenberg)
“The flexibility of the online format allowed me to live and work in various communities and provinces throughout my degree. My role often requires travel to construction sites for weeks at a time to oversee projects, and the ability to study from anywhere—be it airports, coffee shops, construction trailers, construction rooms, train/boat rides, hotel rooms—meant I could seamlessly manage job relocations and time zone differences without interrupting my education. I sometimes took my exams while on vacation; it was a great way to start my morning looking at the beach and sunrise!”
STUDYING FOR GROWTH, NOT FOR A GRADE
An online program has its ups-and-downs. There are late nights and early mornings. At work, the Best & Brightest grappled with the same unforgiving deadlines, unexpected departments, and unreasonable demands as everyone else. They had to learn to delegate and sometimes shoot for good over perfect. On the home front, children still fell sick and housework still piled up. Despite this, the benefits of online learning made these situations more tenable. The Class of 2024 operated at their own pace, learning in ways that worked best for them. Better still, they were taught by the same professors and completed the same projects and courses as their Full-Time and Executive counterparts.
“The professors do an excellent job ensuring that the quality of education is the same,” explains Joseph Pinkney. “Multiple times, I was in classes where the online and the in-person students were combined, taking the same assessments. This means that we were receiving the same high-quality education, just in the format that works best for us.”
For John Behrens, the online format allowed him to interact with a more diverse cohort, with his classmates hailing from countries like “Germany, Australia, Egypt, Morocco, India, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, [and] Costa Rica.” More than that, adds Samantha Choy, students have evolved far beyond their narrower pursuits as undergrads, further enriching the online experience.
“I think my undergraduate experience was full of “studying for the exam” and figuring out where you fell on the grading curve. An MBA, especially online, is all about learning from each other and not so much about trying to be in the top 10% of the class. As online students, we are all striving to complete an MBA while balancing everything else life has in store for us. My classmates were much more focused on sharing knowledge and applying what we learned in class to their current work situation and less worried about if the answer to question 30 on the final exam was A or D. It was extremely refreshing to have more open dialogue and be able to bounce ideas off other working professionals.”
FAR MORE THAN WATCHING RECORDED LECTURES
Marcus Brown, USC (Marshall)
The Best & Brightest weren’t just relegated to playing lectures online, either. At USC Marshall, Marcus Brown was attracted to the “Flipped Classroom”, where students met live twice a week with classmates and faculty to discuss what they’d learned. In contrast, Cameron Porter took advantage of the opportunity to learn about international business by joining an excursion to Dublin, Ireland and Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“We partnered with the vast international Auburn Network. Here, a [Senior VP] at AFLAC provided a unique insight into what it is like to expand a U.S business into foreign markets leveraging local commerce programs, incubators, and other innovative ways to drive growth in other areas. We also had the opportunity to meet Belfast’s High Sheriff and other business leaders, where we learned about their future growth strategies, economic propositions, and the amazing work the city is doing to attract high-quality talent.”
During his time at the Kenan-Flagler School, Ken Frederick participated in extracurricular activities, such as serving as a student ambassador and a member of the Student Advisory Board. Despite being in the Online MBA program, he could also take courses from the Full-Time, Executive, and Masters of Accounting programs. Best of all, the school’s support will continue long after he crosses the stage and collects his diploma.
“An attractive aspect is UNC Kenan-Flagler’s “Business for Life” mantra,” Frederick adds. “As a part of the school’s commitment to lifelong learning, alumni are offered the opportunity to return to the classroom and further their business education at a reduced rate.”
THE GOAL: BE IN THE ROOM
Time-wise, the Best & Brightest MBAs committed heavily to their MBA programs. On the high end, Hofstra’s Jason D. Hanks broke it down to 2-3 hours a night on weekdays and 4-6 hours on weekends. In contrast, Boston University’s Rachel Grusin, who works in legal aid, would peg the commitment at 8-10 hours a week. That said, the Class of 2024 stands by the return they received from their varying programs. At Microsoft, Kathleen McLellan was among the few engineers tapped to review the firm’s FY24 Initiatives and FY25 Priorities and Values. In addition, the Tepper grad was selected to be a member of Microsoft’s v-teams – which she says “drives culture at the organization level.” IE Business School’s Marisol Morales Martínez was given the chance to launch a new sales channel as the “direct result” of her MBA. For John Behrens, the biggest return has been something intangible: Confidence.
“One of my goals in earning my MBA was to learn the language of business. Every day since I started the program, I have come to work with a better understanding of the needs of the business and the perspectives of executive leadership. I’ve learned to ask the right kinds of questions and gained a deeper understanding of how my role plays a part in the bigger picture of our company’s operations.”
John Behrens, University of Illinois (Gies)
Where does the Class of 2024 hope to go now that they’ve earned their MBAs? Parag Murlidhar Shirnamé pictures himself someday starting his own private equity firm. Daniel Rodriguez may have found a home in academia: he imagines “inspiring future generations” as a college professor. Joseph Pinkney set two ambitious goals after graduating. He plans to climb to Vice President in a corporate environment – and become a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force along the way. While John Behrens isn’t focused on a specific company or role in his future, his eyes are fixed on making a difference.
“My long-term professional goal is to be in the room where the biggest challenges are being tackled, the hairiest problems solved, the most meaningful change initiatives considered, and the most important strategies devised. I’d like to maximize the impact I’m able to have in the lives of others.”
ADVICE TO FUTURE MBA STUDENTS
When it comes to future Online MBAs, the Class of 2024 offers advice ranging from the practical to the idealistic. Baylor University’s Greg Woolen urges students to be “reasonable” with their course loads so they don’t shortchange themselves in learning. Jocelyn Tillner – who enjoyed her experience at ESMT Berlin so much that she took a job with the school – cautions students not to go it alone; there will always be times when you’ll need to leverage another’s experience (or vent to them when times grow difficult). When you can, return the favor, adds Jason DeMattia.
“Ask every question you have because everyone else has the same question but is too afraid to ask.”
Whatever the next class does, adds Rice University’s Elizabeth Garrett, the best thing they can do is stay focused and push through the discomfort. It doesn’t last.
“Get into a study routine early, establish the non-negotiable times for family, for work, and for school. Be realistic about the support you need, and make it a priority to engage others early (tutors, babysitters, family, friends) to help you through the day-to-day. Stick with it through the hard days, and the prize at the end will be so worth it!”
Go to next page to access in-depth profiles for over 50 Best & Brightest Online MBAs.
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MBA Student
MBA Program
Hometown
Undergraduate Alma Mater
Employer
Austin F. Garrido
University of Arizona (Eller)
Northridge CA
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Raytheon Missile and Defense
Geno Malaty
Arizona State (W. P. Carey)
Chandler, AZ
Arizona State University
Salt River Project
Mary Layton Lancaster
Auburn University (Harbert)
Spartanburg, SC
Clemson University
East Alabama Apothecary
Cam Porter
Auburn University (Harbert)
Peachtree City, GA
Presbyterian College
Amazon Web Services
Rachel Booth
Baylor University (Hankamer)
Austin, TX
University of Texas
Rise School of Texas
Greg Woolen
Baylor University (Hankamer)
Hutchinson, KS
University of Kansas
BNSF Railway
Rachel Grusin
Boston University (Questrom)
San Diego, CA
University of California, San Diego
Legal Aid Society of San Diego
Parag Murlidhar Shirnamé
Boston University (Questrom)
Waltham, MA
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Aurus
Jason Chan
Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)
Pittsburgh, PA
MIT
Naval Nuclear Laboratory
Kathleen McLellan
Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)
Redmond, WA
University of California, Irvine
Microsoft
Emma Mathews
University of Cincinnati (Lindner)
Albuquerque, NM
University of New Mexico
University of Cincinnati
Mandy Gardner
Durham University
London, UK
Plymouth University
Fairtrade Foundation
Jocelyn Tillner
ESMT Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Technical University Berlin
ESMT Berlin
Maja Lacevic
University of Florida (Warrington)
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
University of South Florida
Unified Women’s Healthcare
Daniel Rodriguez
University of Florida (Warrington)
West Palm Beach, FL
Florida Atlantic University
USPA Global Licensing
Jason D. Hanks, MD
Hofstra University (Zarb)
San Ramon, CA
San Francisco State University
Northwell Health
Marco Gam
IE Business School
Aarhus, Denmark
Aarhus Business School of Science
Conmedia
Marisol Morales Martínez
IE Business School
San José, Costa Rica
NA
Almosi
John Behrens
University of Illinois (Gies)
Crystal Lake, IL
Martin Luther College
Heartland Business Systems
Padmarchana Kandi
University of Illinois (Gies)
Hyderabad, IN
Karnataka University, India
Undecided
Jakob Lindner
Imperial College
Lüneburg, Germany
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Freelance Consultant
Samantha Choy
Indiana University (Kelley)
Orlando, FL
University of Florida
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Ana-Maria Visoiu-Knapp
Indiana University (Kelley)
New York City, NY
University of South Florida
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Mujeeb Alrhman Idaros A Madkoor
Jack Welch Management Institute
Gizan, Saudi Arabia
Jazan University
King Fahad Central Hospital, Jazan Health Cluster
Fatimah H. Alzauri
Jack Welch Management Institute
Qatif, Saudi Arabia
Ease Tennessee State University
Jazan Health Cluster
Forest Harger
Lehigh University
Greensboro, NC
New York University
Burton Snowboards
Mike Barbalace
University of Maryland (Smith)
Baltimore, MD
University of Maryland
Savills, Inc.
Daniel Novak
University of Massachusetts Amherst (Isenberg)
Brooklyn, NY
Brandeis University
Maimonides Medical Center
Rita Elizabeth Saikali
