Meet EMBA 51: Diverse teams tackle GO! Week

Karen Bland wrote the following for the Olin Blog.

Executive MBA class 51 arrived at the Knight Center at WashU on Sunday, September 10, to kick off GO! Week, the first residency in the 20-month WashU EMBA journey. After checking in to their hotel rooms at the Knight Center, they gathered with Olin faculty and staff to begin the week.

The residency includes a heavy focus on team development, and the group of 44 students were assigned to their first team. Innovation, entrepreneurship, strategic management, and critical thinking are also major components of GO! Week. The residency includes lively debate, late nights, hard work, reflection, and some fun along the way, including a scavenger hunt and family night.

Close to 70% of the class is from the St. Louis area, with the rest commuting from Denver, Kansas City, Chicago and Southern Illinois, Indiana, and Arkansas. The program’s once-a-month format makes the commute possible from anywhere. Of interest, the 51st cohort includes a certified yoga instructor, a former NFL player, four doctors, and leaders from the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy.

From bankers to business owners, physicians to entrepreneurs, veterans to miners, the new EMBA class represents 37 different organizations, bringing multiple perspectives into the classroom for dynamic dialogue and discussion. 40% of the students are women. The average age of the entire cohort is 40, with an average of 15 years of work experience.

This 51st cohort of Olin’s Executive MBA program will navigate the areas of growth, global markets, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The program’s capstone course concludes with an innovation project that synthesizes knowledge from the entire curriculum.

Beyond GO! Week, the EMBA cohort will look forward to the Leadership Residency in St. Louis, The Business of Policy residency in Washington DC, and the International Residency in China before graduating April 30, 2019.

Welcome, EMBA 51—we are so glad to have you here at Olin!