Atsushi Osada
"Every moment in this program has affirmed that I made the right decision to attend. I feel so particularly: 1. when my mind has been stimulated through interactions with my cohort, 2. when I learn something new from a class, and 3. when I can execute learnings from the program immediately in my business. The last part is one of the beauties of the Executive MBA.”
Global Executive MBA
Industry:
Prior Education:
Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences
BS Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration
Reflections
I loved every single course, but Global Markets and Institutions has been the best. We discussed diverse topics like history, technology, economics, leadership, etc., to think through some of the largest problems facing our world today. We discussed many relevant topics, including when Russia invaded Ukraine. Professor O'Driscoll gave an assignment about that so we could apply our individual knowledge and discuss it in real time. Regarding social problems, GMI doesn’t expect to generate an explicit right and wrong answer, so some people might feel uncomfortable in that middle space. But, we deal with similar issues in our daily lives, so GMI encourages us to embrace such ambiguity. My favorite portion of GMI was the Personal Insight Journals assignment. Each student elaborated on a burning question that emerged from the class and provided feedback to each other. This reminded me that each person has a unique interest, perspective, and idea.
Before Fuqua
I have dedicated my professional career to pharmaceutical R&D for over 15 years. In start-ups like small biotech, an employee must wear several hats. Although my primary responsibility was to lead a multi-functional R&D team for a specific project, I also worked on business development activities and investor meetings.
After Fuqua
I’m going to pivot my career from the R&D side to the revenue-generating/marketing side. I’m so grateful to this program, CMC, and my amazing cohorts (special thanks to Bob!) for supporting me in going through such a big change.
Five Tips for Working with the Career Management Center
- Get in touch with the CMC from the beginning, even if you are not interested in a job change right away. You’ll be more prepared when the time comes.
- Utilize the programs and resources provided as much as possible. There are many valuable resources on the CMC website. If you cannot find out something, just ask the CMC team.
- Be creative in how to collaborate with the CMC, tailoring what you want them to do for you. At the end of the day, you’re fully responsible for your career development.
- Meet up with many CMC folks, not just your career coach, so you can obtain multiple inputs, expanding your idea. Also, you should be open to listening to different opinions, although the decision is totally yours.
- If you want to have a great start, look at the LinkedIn profile of Fuqua alumni, seeking formats or contents in common and update yours accordingly in advance.