NYU Stern Alumni Share Their Experience Making Successful Career Pivots
“It is not unusual for alumni at mid-career levels to make a pivot -- sometimes prompted by changing market forces or sometimes because they’ve developed an interest in a new career path,” said Eliza Shanley, senior director of the CCWP. “The pivot perspectives panel brings together alumni representing different functions and industries to offer insight on methods they used to make changes in their careers -- how they marketed themselves, their mindset and the steps they took to ultimately achieve those career goals.”
Each alumni panelist told how he/she navigated a unique career transition, sharing their assessment of the opportunities available to them, the anticipated and unexpected challenges they faced and what they learned from the process that might make a future transition easier.
All NYU Stern alumni have access to career resources and individual coaching through the Career Center for Working Professionals. They offer programs and support that ranges from advice on how to make an impact within the first 90 days in a new role to guiding those seeking to advance in their careers or looking to make a transition to something new. Learn more about CCWP.
The Pivot Perspective panelists included:
Nyla Dookeran (MBA ‘18), Special Master, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Graduate of the Executive MBA program
Prior to moving into consulting at Deloitte, Nyla had more than 20 years of experience in the chemicals industry in leadership and strategy roles in research and development, engineering, manufacturing operations, supply chain, and corporate finance, and most recently as the Dupont leader for Merge Day One Readiness supporting the DowDuPont merger. Nyla shared why she was seeking a career change when she began the MBA program, how she arrived at the goal of moving into consulting, and how she ultimately made that transition.
Victoria Fabiano (MBA ‘15), Head of Enterprise Customer Development, Google Cloud
Graduate of the Langone MBA program
Prior to joining Google Cloud where Victoria has held sales, solutions architecture and operational roles, she worked in Brand Management for Danone, The Estee Lauder Companies and Bath & Body works. Victoria shared how she made the transition from traditional marketing to business development in tech, and how she packaged her skills to be relevant to the new role she was seeking.
Chris Liang (MBA ‘16), Localization Process and Operations Manager, Google
Graduate of the Langone MBA program
Prior to Google, Chris was a Strategy Consultant at IBM, and an Engineer and Project Manager at a Department of Defense R&D Center. Chris joined the MBA program in 2013 with the goal of transitioning into the private sector where he could combine his interests in business, engineering and creative production/art. Chris shared his strategy for making the career pivot from public to corporate by identifying transferable skills.
Jason Henke (MBA ‘14), Director, Investment Banking, The Bloom Organization
Graduate of the Executive MBA program
Prior to joining The Bloom Organization where he service as an M&A advisor to both sell and buy-side clients in the healthcare space, Jason was a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and has spent over 18 years within the healthcare industry, including 10 years as a Physician Assistant in the acute care setting. Jason shared his experience from two successful career pivots as he transitioned from a clinical role to consulting, and then to M&A advisory and how he marketed himself each time.
Christopher Lemelle (MBA ‘18), Senior Manager, Strategy and Analytics, CVS Health
Graduate of the Executive MBA program
Prior to joining CVS Health, where he is responsible for strategic assessment of opportunities, platform development, and implementation of blue chip programs, Chris was a practiced pediatric anesthesiology. In that role, he progressively worked as an internal consultant on strategic initiatives and digital health tool development. Chris shared his process for determining his career options and how he made the transition to CVS Health where he now leads clinical product development in the long term care division.