EMBA News 

Shawn and Megan Pace were celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary with a trip through Europe and Africa when the war in Ukraine broke out. The couple curtailed their trip and booked a flight to Poland to offer aid in refugee camps. BYU Marriott School of Business alum Shawn Pace helps meet people’s needs by working shoulder to shoulder with others at the ground level, whether in an executive board room or Ukrainian refugee camp.

Jeffrey Burningham, BYU alumni, donor, and partner to the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, believes that the creative process is a pivotal piece to a fulfilling life. From creating startups in college to venture capital, to owning Peak Capital Partners, Burningham teaches and mentors with the message that everyone is capable of creating new ideas that can better lives and society.

As an undergraduate student at the BYU Marriott School of Business in 1983, Brad Agle was puzzled and intrigued by why people act unethically. After amassing renowned expertise in the field, Agle returned to the school in 2009 as a professor, where he now helps students crack tough ethical questions.

BYU Marriott executive MBA student JohnPaul Parraga's day usually starts at 3:30 a.m. with a morning workout. His dedication to his fitness goals is a reflection of his committed approach to life in general, including recently achieving a career goal he has worked toward for 25 years.

Although Mike Drake was raised in Nevada, he calls BYU home. He spent three years at the BYU Marriott School of Business as a student, where he made lifelong memories, including meeting his wife McKenzie, then returned to the school as a professor out of a desire to feel at home again.

Shawna Gygi is a matchmaker at the BYU Marriott School of Business, but her efforts aren’t focused on pairings that result in weddings. As an assistant director for the BYU and MBA Career Management program, she is dedicated to creating business-oriented relationships by connecting MBA students with their dream jobs, a role she feels is particularly meaningful because she works in her own dream job.

Growing up, Shannon Peterson always wanted to attend BYU. However, finances prevented her from pursuing that option. Despite that, Peterson never gave up on her dream, which she is now fulfilling 25 years later as a student in the executive MBA program at BYU Marriott.

While growing up in a military family, Roland Griffith was also surrounded by members of the military who served as his leaders in youth programs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The influence of these leaders inspired him to join the United States Army. Now, as the operations officer for the Army ROTC program at BYU, which is operated by the BYU Marriott School of Business, Griffith is committed to being a similar role model for his cadets.

In a drawer in Mike Bond’s office are all the notes he took in training meetings during his 11 years as a brand manager. Bond, an associate teaching professor of marketing at the BYU Marriott School of Business, uses this two-feet-deep pile of notes to plan lessons for his students, who he hopes to prepare for success in the marketing industry.

With no experience in assisted living, starting a company in that field was a daunting task for Candice Rail and her husband, Andrew. Despite their inexperience, the two relied on each other and their faith to grow a thriving business. Rail is now working on her next big milestone: earning an MBA from the executive MBA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

As Bob Ycmat arrives early at his office every day, he finds himself reflecting on his career path, which began in marketing and will end in finance. As CFO of Revere Health, Ycmat is proud of the lessons he has learned and the impact he has had throughout his career, a journey he says was reenergized by his participation in the executive MBA program at BYU Marriott.

Eduardo Dallagnese's wedding day was memorable in more ways than one. Shortly after getting married in the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple, he received a long-awaited call from the admissions office of the BYU Marriott School of Business. The call informed him that he had received the Cardon International Scholarship (CIS) from the Whitmore Global Business Center (GBC) and that he was accepted into the school's MBA program.

The office door of BYU Marriott School of Business professor Jim Brau is always open. Brau, an Airborne Ranger Army veteran, believes making connections with his students is the most important part of his job. He continually strives to facilitate moments where he can create those connections. Brau’s consistency in leaving the door open through the years has resulted in countless opportunities to serve those around him.

The journey to becoming the first-ever chief operating officer and chief safety officer for the Natural History Museum of Utah was not one that Abby Curran expected. Curran says she owes her success to the MBA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business and her life experiences that taught her to never stop improving.

After decades of leading educational institutions such as the Harvard Business School and BYU–Idaho, Kim B. Clark is still sharing intellectual and spiritual knowledge with students as the NAC Professor of Business at the BYU Marriott School of Business. With a career in education that spans more than forty years, Clark considers his work at BYU Marriott to be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

BYU Marriott School of Business dean Brigitte C. Madrian announced the appointment of Daniel C. Snow as the new director for the BYU Marriott MBA programs.

BYU Marriott School of Business dean Brigitte C. Madrian has announced the appointment of Bonnie Anderson as the school’s newest associate dean. Anderson takes over for previous associate dean Keith Vorkink on 18 May.

Using experience and lessons from his own success, BYU Marriott EMBA alum Reed Quinn hopes that he can be a business leadership example to future entrepreneurs.

Whether she’s planning cultural activities for tourists, raising two boys, or consulting for companies in American Samoa, the life path of BYU Marriott EMBA alumna Noelani Wayas has taken exciting twists and turns.

A life with challenges and opportunities has pushed BYU Marriott alumna Lisa Bateman Quist out of her comfort zone to become an advocate for women in business.