The GW School of Business (GWSB) was created to prepare the business leaders of tomorrow. In the spirit of sharing the expertise of our distinguished alumni and other thought leaders, we've created the GWSB Proud podcast series.
Hosted by Liesl Riddle, Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Associate Professor of International Business and International Affairs at the GW School of Business
Special thanks to Michael Ferrier, composer and singer of the GWSB Proud podcast series theme song
Anuj Mehrotra, Ph.D., is the dean of the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB). Under Dean Mehrotra’s leadership, GWSB has reimagined graduate business education through its modular and flexible offerings, which feature industry-driven certificates that can be used to create customizable master’s degrees. This innovative design allows the school to proactively respond to the shifting demands of business education. The school has also made changes to its undergraduate offerings by launching new bachelor of science degrees in business analytics and information systems as well as creating a business major for non-business school students. GWSB has also invested in making its programs more accessible through online education. Dean Mehrotra is credited with engaging the alumni and the business communities through innovative programs that focus on student success and lifelong learning. In 2019, alumni giving increased 20 percent and GWSB significantly improved in both national and global rankings while realizing substantial growth in graduate student enrollment.
Prior to coming to GWSB in July 2018, Dr. Mehrotra was at the (now) Miami Herbert Business School where he served as senior vice dean, vice dean for faculty development and research, the Leslie O. Barnes Scholar and professor of management science. He also served as the school's interim dean, vice dean of graduate business programs and executive education, vice dean for faculty affairs, and chairperson of the Department of Management Science. During Dr. Mehrotra’s tenure as interim dean, the school was successfully re-accredited by AACSB, its graduate degree programs grew in enrollment, and the school’s fundraising grew by 70 percent year-over-year. He led the launch of online and hybrid degree programs that helped realize a 70 percent growth in graduate enrollment over a five-year period. Concurrently, the school’s degree and non-degree programs earned recognition among the best in various rankings.
Dr. Mehrotra’s research interests are in large-scale optimization and interdisciplinary applications. His research has been published in top-tier academic journals, including Management Science, Mathematical Programming, Naval Research Logistics, and the Informs Journal on Computing. He has been invited to present his research at national and international meetings, and he co-edited a book as well as a special issue of Discrete Applied Mathematics on computational methods for graph coloring and its generalizations. He has also co-chaired several conferences on optimization and related application areas. Dr. Mehrotra has worked with more than two dozen Fortune 500 companies, and his previous experience includes visiting positions at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and at the T.J. Watson Research Center.
Dean Mehrotra received his doctoral degree in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology, his master’s degree from Virginia Tech, and his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India.
Andrew Seal is a commercial leader in General Electric’s Renewable Energy business, and has closed over $3B of orders and commitments with some of the largest domestic and international businesses in the industry. He advises customers, lenders, and independent engineers on all transactions, studies, estimates and formal offerings during project development through the financing, construction, and project management phase. In this capacity, he is the principal owner of all technical, financial, and commercial aspects of sales strategy development, and project risk management, successfully enabling 3,000MW+ of Renewable Energy projects while managing a $10.9B+ pipeline.
Prior to his role inGeneral Electric Andrew held roles in clean technology consulting and venture capital. He is a Marine Corps Officer combat veteran, and completed three tours throughout the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and Asia.
Andrew earned an MS in Engineering andManagement Systems at Clarkson University, an MBA at the George Washington University with concentrations in International Business and Energy Finance, and BA at Franklin and Marshall College with a dual major in Government and Philosophy.
Gaurav Sharmais New Zealand doctor and politician. He has a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree from the University of Auckland and a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University. He was a candidate for Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party in 2017 from Hamilton West.
John Samuel
John G. Samuel is an award-winning business development leader, with over thirteen years of experience building strategic partnerships, designing profitable business models, and transforming organizations around the world.
He is currently the Head of LCI Tech and responsible for launching the new technology services business for LCI, which is one of the largest employers of Americans who are blind. John has a proven record of accomplishment of leading startup initiatives, previously helping build Homestrings, a fintech platform focused on diaspora investments, and starting a highly successful Joint Venture in Cameroon for Aster, a global telecom infrastructure company.
John holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from North Carolina State University, Poole College of Management and a Master of Business Administration from the George Washington University, School of Business. He is also a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC). In 2019, John received the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Leadership award.
Nicole Samuel
Nicole Samuel is a strategy consultant in the technology industry with fifteen years of experience in the private, non-profit, and public sectors. Nicole graduated from the GW GMBA program in May 2014, and is an Associate Director in the Consulting unit at Gartner, Inc. Her focus is on working with organization leaders to solve their most pressing enterprise challenges, build comprehensive strategic plans and implement data-driven solutions.
While at Gartner, Nicole has worked on a wide variety of projects and has experience with the following: defining technology strategic planning process to effectively and efficiently prioritize and capitalize on emerging technology opportunities, conducting application rationalization efforts, performing skills assessments, assessing data and analytics capabilities, supporting system modernization efforts, assisting in digital transformation efforts, and capturing business needs to develop user stories for system requirements. Additionally, she has experience in project and program management, hiring and training, and was responsible for the professional development of staff.
In addition to client delivery, Nicole serves on several internal committees, which include: contributing to go-to-market strategies, supporting the development of Consulting Academy – Gartner’s internal training program, and was a former lead of the Gartner Women of Arlington group. Nicole also works closely with the recruiting team, and helped develop the 2015 GW Business Case Competition for 1st year MBA students.
While at GW, Nicole worked as a consulting intern for the Mahindra Group in Bangalore, India. Additionally, she participated in case competitions, provided pro bono consulting through the Consulting Club and Strategy Class Practicum, and was President of the International Business Club.
Nicole’s education includes a Masters of Business Administration from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with a concentration in Strategy. She also earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Saint Louis University with a concentration in Change Management.
Rachel Goldstein is the global sustainability senior manager for Packaging and External Reporting at Mars, Incorporated. She leads an internal sustainable packaging working group and Mars’ external engagement in key partnerships such the New Plastics Economy, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and the Sustainability Consortium. Rachel is on the Board of Directors for Green Blue. She leads the external sustainability reporting work across a range of platforms and disclosures such as CDP and customer scorecards. She also implements programs on sustainability related claims, and is the sustainability subject matter expert for Mars’ Global Horizon Scanning capability.
Prior to Mars, Rachel was the Team Leader of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), a voluntary program that encourages methane emissions reductions through the capture and beneficial use of landfill gas. She was also the lead for this work in India, China and Southeast Asia under the Global Methane Initiative. Rachel was in the health, safety and environmental field before joining EPA.
Rachel has an MBA with an Environmental Management Concentration from The George Washington University, and a B.S. Human Factors Engineering from Tufts University.
Michael Ferrier graduated from the George Washington University in 2020 with a BA in Organizational Sciences. He is also a Posse Foundation scholar.
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