Tahir Awan
Executive MBA, Class of January 2016
In 2013, Tahir Awan started an entrepreneurial adventure by launching an IT consultancy firm called MSCS, Inc. He was able to secure work through his reputation within his existing network of contacts but quickly realized that his venture required a solid business plan and a longer term strategy. With the motivation to pursue an MBA, Tahir started to research programs and found that the highly experienced Executive MBA cohort at Stern could contribute some of the insights he needed to run a business. “I wanted to be able to sit down with CIOs, CFOs and CTOs and understand what technology means when it comes to making smart decisions around your budgets and financial constraints,” says Tahir.
While his firm was a work-in-progress, Tahir took an opportunity at Cisco Systems as a technical consultant where he started to see the dividends of the Executive MBA program quickly. Says Tahir, “I started looking at the financial side of technology whenever I thought of a project. It was an interesting paradigm shift from the way I used to think as a technical engineer.” Tahir is now consulting with Booz Allen Hamilton Cyber Security Networks to help build a next generation cloud system for their customers. The company approached Tahir, looking for someone with both technical and business skills to help to build a new line of business. This experience will help him to continue to execute on the plan for his own firm, and he explains “Going to the Stern School of Business not only helped me in branding myself but is also transforming me into a successful business leader.”
While his firm was a work-in-progress, Tahir took an opportunity at Cisco Systems as a technical consultant where he started to see the dividends of the Executive MBA program quickly. Says Tahir, “I started looking at the financial side of technology whenever I thought of a project. It was an interesting paradigm shift from the way I used to think as a technical engineer.” Tahir is now consulting with Booz Allen Hamilton Cyber Security Networks to help build a next generation cloud system for their customers. The company approached Tahir, looking for someone with both technical and business skills to help to build a new line of business. This experience will help him to continue to execute on the plan for his own firm, and he explains “Going to the Stern School of Business not only helped me in branding myself but is also transforming me into a successful business leader.”