Both were experiential learning opportunities available through the Feliciano School of Business’ Accelerated MBA program.

“There’s a big difference between talking about strategies and actually developing them,” said Geoff Chellis, an instructional specialist for the MBA program leading the Business Consulting Experience courses. “The fact that these students can say, ‘we worked directly with American Dream and I can give you the names of the executives involved’ is huge.”

The full-time, Accelerated MBA programs, aimed at recent graduates (12 month program) or those nearing graduation as part of a 4+1 program (completed in 17 months), were launched in 2019. Classes are both in-person and online, enabling students to learn flexibly, as cohorts, and network as part of their experience.

Nicole Koppel, MBA director and a professor of information management and business analytics, said the Accelerated MBA program helps students advance their business careers through a combination of traditional classwork and hands-on experience working with global companies. The program also offers individualized career development together with insights from business leaders through the MBA Executive Speaker Series.

One way Accelerated MBA program students can build their business experience is through co-ops, which match students with local companies to work on real-time projects for company leaders and managers. During 2021, students worked with clothing brand True Religion on its DEI strategy. Students met with company leaders, including the chief executive officer, to understand the challenges and opportunities around programming, and developed employee surveys to collect data. While many students were familiar with the brand as retail customers, they got deeper insights into its corporate culture and how other companies approach these very current issues.

“They had unprecedented exposure to these C-level executives,” Koppel said. “They came out of this with a terrific experience that they can highlight on their resumes and in job interviews.”

During business consulting experience courses in Fall 2021, student teams worked with American Dream to help its developers and executives identify strategies for attracting both retail and business to business customers. The more than 3 million square-foot center, which boasts the country’s largest indoor theme park ski slope and roller coaster, opened in late 2019 but was shuttered in March 2020 for more than seven months due to the pandemic. Student teams took different approaches, with some presenting plans to attract large corporate and conference events, and others seeking to attract the region’s diverse communities by hosting cultural and holiday events.

Students presented their plans in the boardroom of the company’s headquarters to the chief operating officer and other top executives.

The winning plan recommended  marketing Big SNOW as an indoor skiing trade show experience to ski and snow equipment manufacturers during the crucial summer months when retail buyers are finalizing holiday orders.

“This type of work was two or three levels higher than the jobs they would initially get hired for,” Chellis said. “Reporting to C-suite executives – that may never happen in your career, but here, students got that experience first-hand.”

Leandra Merola (MBA ’21), said her 15-week business consulting experience project with sportswear manufacturer adidas during Spring 2021 felt like working in a corporate environment as the student teams researched the brand, analyzed the market and came up with innovative ideas to help it build loyalty and trust with a new generation of runners. Presenting strategic recommendations to brand leaders in Germany and the US also helped her build confidence.

“It took us through the life cycle of a project and consulting with a company,” Merola said. “When I am in my next position, I will know that I am capable of giving presentations to clients, doing data analysis and coming up with really cool ideas to solve problems.”

That’s thanks to her coursework at the Feliciano School of Business and �鶹��ý����’s collaboration with ADP to prepare students for the world of work. As a Business Administration major with a Marketing concentration, Calderone also earned a certificate in Professional Selling and Sales Management, part of a dedicated sales curriculum directly tied to today’s business needs developed collaboratively by Feliciano School of Business faculty and ADP professionals.

“Having the sales certification on my resume and the experience of sales training helped prepare me for the interview, and I think helped me stand out among the candidates,” says Calderone.

The certificate program involves 12 credits of coursework, with students completing a marketing course along with Professional Selling, Sales Management, and Sales Leadership and Negotiation courses, and builds students’ analytical, leadership, customer service and communication skills.

Devon Johnson, associate professor of Marketing, started work developing the program in 2015. After conducting several focus groups with industry sales practitioners and meetings with the Feliciano School of Business Undergraduate Committee, it was decided that a program was needed that prepared students for success on day one. This would be realized through an emphasis on three features: strong relational and personal interaction skills, innovative technology focus and an executive/professional presence in the classroom.

“We were inspired to create a practical sales initiative that combines rigorous academic structure along with practice-oriented industry involvement,” says Johnson. “ADP has been part of the development and the execution to create this successful model, and it is delivering value for our students.”

The integrated learning experience involves ADP sales professionals working with professors and coming to the classroom a few times each semester. ADP associates share successful selling techniques, details on the technology and real-world applications, and serve as role-playing coaches and mentors to provide feedback for students.

Instructor Tom Miller says the certificate program gives students lifelong skills for selling. “You use sales techniques in all parts of life,” says Miller. “Through the certificate experience, students realize if they want to go into sales as a professional job, and they learn life skills of how to be persuasive.”

“I especially remember the lessons on building rapport and the art of closing,” says Calderone. “The sales program at �鶹��ý���� gave me excellent training, and having the ADP leaders come into class reinforced specific selling techniques and increased my interest in sales.”

Calderone aced the interview and landed that first job before graduation, beginning her career in June 2019 as an associate district manager at ADP. Hitting her numbers, she was promoted to district manager in the Parsippany office within a year.

“Today’s sales environment is continually evolving,” says Barat Dickman, SVP, Worldwide Commercial Operations at ADP. “With the rise of hybrid and remote selling and new tools aimed at tailoring the sales process to each prospect’s unique needs, modern sellers need to be adaptable. At ADP, we’re passionate about training the next generation of sellers to focus on the client’s dynamic needs, to provide solutions that meet the needs of the moment and those of the future.”

Gabriella Calderone ’19 aced landing her first job before graduation, beginning her career in June 2019 as an associate district manager at ADP.

Learning from leaders

From complementing the curriculum to supporting the University’s students and the workforce’s next generation of talent, ADP leaders are directly involved in sharing their skills with the University. Dickman serves on the Feliciano School of Business Advisory Board, and ADP’s Chief Human Resources Officer Sreeni Kutam serves on the University Board of Trustees.

In April, Kutam spoke on campus to students and alumni as part of the Feliciano School of Business MBA and Graduate Programs Office executive speaker series, describing his career and personal journey along with insights on the human resources profession.

“I love complex problem-solving, and humans are the most interesting problem-solving opportunity,” Kutam said in explaining how he landed in human resources. Kutam earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Andhra University, India, and began his career teaching software programming. He went on to earn his MBA from Purdue University.

“Leadership and teaching are noble professions … they are enabling functions focused on unlocking people’s potential,” says Kutam.

Describing the role of human resources as being “the architect of the DNA of an organization,” Kutam cites problem-solving and critical thinking as among the most important skills students can demonstrate to stand out to employers. “You want to bring quantitative skills to qualitative problems,” he says.

In transforming today’s students into tomorrow’s business leaders, the Feliciano School of Business prepares students to build the skills needed to excel when entering the professional workforce.

“We believe that strong industry partnerships are critical to preparing our students to succeed in an evolving marketplace. The collaboration with ADP is an excellent example of the practical, impactful learning experiences we offer at the Feliciano School of Business,” says Dean Kimberly Hollister. “We’re proud to be working with ADP.”

“I came out of college with a job and felt confident in my sales training thanks to the course approach and direct exposure to industry leaders,” says Calderone. “I was prepared – �鶹��ý���� opened the door to sales for me and has helped me succeed.”

Industry experts W. Scott Stornetta, a co-creator of early blockchain technology, Sean Stein Smith, an assistant professor at CUNY-Lehman College and founder of the Institute for Blockchain & Cryptoasset Research, and Rashmi Jain, Department Chair and Professor of Information and Operations Management for �鶹��ý����, shared insights on how the technologies are creating new challenges and new opportunities in a panel discussion for the Feliciano School of Business Executive Speaker Series on Feb. 15.

The panel, moderated by Accounting and Finance Department Chair Deniz Appelbaum, highlighted how blockchain and cryptocurrency requires careful thinking about how it evolves.

Cryptocurrency – such as Bitcoin – is a decentralized digital currency is exchanged between two parties without involving intermediaries like banks or other financial institutions, or the fees such transactions would otherwise incur. Blockchain is a tamper-resistant, digital ledger that facilitates those transactions.

Stornetta said blockchain technology should be treated like other emerging technologies with underlying value creation and forecast rapid evolution in the years to come. Considered one of the founding fathers of blockchain, Stornetta has spoken widely – including in Congressional hearings – about the need to move away from a regulatory environment focused on protecting-the-status-quo to an approach that reflects the power of the blockchain.

Stein Smith, a certified public accountant, said blockchain technology and cryptocurrency have evolved positively since its inception, raising questions about how to establish public policy around it. Because crypto is an umbrella term known from an international standpoint, panelists suggested agency oversight could offer one approach.

Noting that blockchain is a distributed ledger system, Jain urged caution in any regulation.

“Cryptocurrency is something that is very different and complex; one has to be very careful in understanding the emerging consequences,” she said. “So long as the dollar continues to be strong and used as a reserve worldwide, I think we need to be the leaders in the space of regulating crypto and blockchain.”

Opportunities offered by blockchain reach well outside the business community, Jain said, pointing to potentially life-changing value for students the school’s entrepreneurial and arts programs.

“I would say that we need to tell our students in the performing arts program about the value of NFT and how they can digitize their talent,” she said.

To watch panel discussion video: MBA Executive Speaker Series – Blockchain/Cryptocurrency Panel – YouTube

The �鶹��ý���� students were among the 5,200 teams from more than 250 universities in 52 countries competing in the simulation worldwide during the last year.

BSG is an online game in which student teams run fictitious athletic footwear companies in head-to-head competition against each other. Similar to real athletic footwear companies, the simulation firms operate in a global market, selling branded and private-label products across geographic regions, and making some 100 decisions each week for ten weeks over the course of the semester to manage the complexities of production, distribution, marketing, operations, facilities, celebrity endorsements, compensation, training and finance.

“Teams have to develop a strategy and then have to do some deep analytic thinking as to how to execute that strategy and that analytic thinking is one of the main things employers look for,” said Jeffrey J. Monacelli, assistant professor of management, who integrates BSG in his MGMT 439 capstone curriculum.

Teams are measured weekly on five financial and operational measures, such as earnings per share, return on equity, credit rating, image rating and stock price. Based on those results, the top 100 teams worldwide are recognized each week – a distinction �鶹��ý���� has attained most weeks for the past decade, although this was the first time the school enjoyed multiple teams in the top position simultaneously. Only two other �鶹��ý���� teams have tied for first place in the world during the last 15 years, Monacelli said.

Heather Reissner, a senior majoring in business administration and a member the 1st place team from Monacelli’s class, said the experiences gave her a deeper understanding of the complexities of running a business and importance of team collaboration.

“It’s all about the big picture,” she said. “We had to work hard individually and also as a team.”

Reissner said the simulation helped bring the curriculum alive, giving her an appreciation for the importance of different stages in production and distribution that she hadn’t considered before.

“This really made these issues more of a reality that I could experience as they played out rather than just reading about it,” she said.

Other students on the teams who tied for #1 in the world include: Kaitly Arcede, Ashley Colon, Julia Maltagliati, Zoe Ziebell, Anthony Arroyo, Jessica Park, Tomas Rivera, Sherri Way, Jakub Mazgaj, Deukkyun Park, Diana Pikalova and Alejandro Pimentel.

“Working on the Red Hawk Student Managed Investment Fund is a hands-on, real-world experience,” says Ashton Corley, who will complete her MBA in December 2021. “The program gave me the opportunity to do the work, and through that I developed confidence in my abilities. As a result, I’m considering a double MBA in Business Analytics and Finance – and perhaps even a PhD.”

Students manage a live institutional portfolio to experience what it takes to work in investment management.

“We run this portfolio as part of the broader University endowment,” says Feliciano School of Business Finance Professor Michael G. Radin, who helped design and now leads the program.

“The Fund has a multi-asset mandate where students invest within and across broad asset classes such as global equities, equity sectors, fixed income and alternative assets,” Radin explains. “Students learn about various types of alternative strategies in the classroom and then research which funds they believe will be additive for inclusion in the Red Hawk portfolio. These are the same types of investment decisions made by large, sophisticated university endowments and pension funds.”

“Our school’s mission is to prepare students to thrive in a world of constant change. Our Student Managed Investment Fund program is a perfect vehicle for teaching discipline and responsiveness in the very real and dynamic context of the financial marketplace,” says Kimberly Hollister, dean of the Feliciano School of Business.

James W. Merli ’83, a member of the �鶹��ý���� Foundation Board as well as the Feliciano School of Business Advisory Board, has been instrumental in steering the Fund and its reality-based model. “I wanted �鶹��ý���� students to have a broader investing experience,” he says. “Real pension fund and endowment investing would never be restricted to analyzing just one type of asset.”

Merli, who retired as global head of Debt Syndicate and head of Global Finance Americas for Nomura Securities, is also an executive-in-residence and adjunct professor of the Feliciano School of Business. Merli engages members of the School’s Advisory Board to mentor students and act as a professional sounding board for students giving presentations at semester’s end. Donations to support the Fund add to the investment and have a direct impact in launching students on their investment journey and building their career know-how.

“Students come out of this program ready to compete against graduates of elite business schools,” adds Radin. “Their knowledge of investment analysis comes across in interviews. One of our graduates was hired by a very prestigious private equity firm and another landed a role at Goldman Sachs.”

Andres Villanueva ’19, a real estate and infrastructure private equity associate at CIM Group in Los Angeles, is among the Red Hawk Fund participants who are enjoying early success in their careers. “Being a part of this program was a very rewarding experience,” Villanueva says. “In my opinion, the Red Hawk Fund was the closest thing to a real-world experience a finance student could achieve at �鶹��ý����. It created a solid base for understanding institutional investing and portfolio management and helped me develop an understanding of how institutional investors allocate their capital.”

Kishan Rana ’21, a portfolio monitoring and valuation analyst for the growth equity firm TCV, points out that the program also helps students develop their communication, presentation and overall business skills. “The collaborative work, the due diligence and the professional proposal are the quintessence of invaluable technical and soft skills and will help me tremendously as I begin my career,” he says.

The Red Hawk Fund is distinctive in its emphasis on continuity. “Our students engage in investment research throughout the semester and then make recommendations based on their work to an oversight board composed of experts in the finance arena, much like they do in other, similar programs,” Merli says. “However, at other institutions, the class re-starts its investment fund from a zero balance at the beginning of the term. At �鶹��ý����, each new cohort inherits the fund from the previous one, so that students can experience fund growth over time.”

“By setting the program up this way, students who have completed it stay engaged, they stay in touch,” Merli continues. “In fact, several former students dialed in to the spring 2021 presentation, just to see how the Fund was doing. After its sixth semester, the Fund is valued at just over $325,000. There is an enormous sense of pride and personal accomplishment among the program’s current, and former, participants.”

Engagement in the program with alumni and friends results in high returns in more than just the investment portfolio. As graduates find professional success, they are paving a path for each other into the competitive world of finance. “There is an ongoing relationship-building aspect that is benefitting our students in a very real, very lucrative way,” Radin points out.

Kevin Sherman ’19, who is now a structured finance analyst at Crédit Agricole CIB, credits the Fund with helping secure his first career position at MidRail LLC, a middle-market private equity firm. “The Red Hawk Fund served as a quasi-internship for me, opening doors to various roles on Wall Street,” he says.

The Red Hawk Student Managed Investment Fund program is a source of pride all around. “This course provides students with an outstanding opportunity to top off their finance education with a unique investment management experience that accelerates their preparedness for the real world of finance,” says Ronald J. Strauss, senior associate dean at the Feliciano School of Business. “Our entire faculty takes great pride in the success of the Red Hawk Fund course and is grateful to the University Foundation and donors who have made this program possible.”

Story by Development Writer Michele Hickey