Francine Blei
Executive MBA 2010
As Professor of Pediatrics and Surgery at NYU School of Medicine, Medical Director of the Vascular Anomalies Program, and a practicing Pediatric Hematologist, Francine Blei enjoys a demanding career. However, Blei found the Executive MBA program at NYU Stern a welcome challenge of an altogether new and different kind, “Medical school was hard – you had to memorize so much – but the MBA was more difficult and rigorous in a completely different way.”
For Blei, the hard work, which she squeezed into scarce free moments at the hospital and late nights at home, paid off. The information she acquired at Stern has proved more broadly applicable than anticipated. Blei believes her MBA studies enriched various aspects of her life, from conversations with her two sons, to her understanding of current events, to her role as a medical professional.
“Originally, I wanted to get an MBA degree to deepen my knowledge of business practices and management, to supplement my years as a practitioner, and to have a better foundation for understanding current changes in the medical field. But now,” says Blei, “I see myself examining every situation, in and out of work, with sharper analytical skills and a heightened global awareness. The MBA experience really forced me to remove the blinders that form after years in the same professional environment and open my eyes.”
Blei attributes much of her satisfaction to the dynamism of the Executive MBA classroom, where she and her peers enjoyed constant “intellectual tennis” with their professors. Blei notes that Stern instructors set the bar high from the beginning, expecting students not only to comprehend material, but also to take the knowledge a step farther in order to solve new, more complex problems. Of her classmates, Blei marvels that “the friendships you build in the Executive MBA program are amazing! We shared the tough times, as well as the great team-building and happy times, both in and outside of class.”
Blei acknowledges that earning an MBA was a rigorous challenge and a huge commitment. She is quick however, to add that the Stern Executive MBA program is the sort of experience she had been searching for to satisfy and invigorate her intellectual and professional curiosities.
For Blei, the hard work, which she squeezed into scarce free moments at the hospital and late nights at home, paid off. The information she acquired at Stern has proved more broadly applicable than anticipated. Blei believes her MBA studies enriched various aspects of her life, from conversations with her two sons, to her understanding of current events, to her role as a medical professional.
“Originally, I wanted to get an MBA degree to deepen my knowledge of business practices and management, to supplement my years as a practitioner, and to have a better foundation for understanding current changes in the medical field. But now,” says Blei, “I see myself examining every situation, in and out of work, with sharper analytical skills and a heightened global awareness. The MBA experience really forced me to remove the blinders that form after years in the same professional environment and open my eyes.”
Blei attributes much of her satisfaction to the dynamism of the Executive MBA classroom, where she and her peers enjoyed constant “intellectual tennis” with their professors. Blei notes that Stern instructors set the bar high from the beginning, expecting students not only to comprehend material, but also to take the knowledge a step farther in order to solve new, more complex problems. Of her classmates, Blei marvels that “the friendships you build in the Executive MBA program are amazing! We shared the tough times, as well as the great team-building and happy times, both in and outside of class.”
Blei acknowledges that earning an MBA was a rigorous challenge and a huge commitment. She is quick however, to add that the Stern Executive MBA program is the sort of experience she had been searching for to satisfy and invigorate her intellectual and professional curiosities.