The ExecMBA Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Caroline Holt. Caroline is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2026, and we recently connected to talk more about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, how she’s leveraged Darden’s entrepreneurial resources, her advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

Zoe Mayfield Boykin, Associate Director of Admissions for Professional Degree Programs at the Darden School of Business, shares invaluable insights on selecting working professional MBA programs. She emphasizes starting with self-reflection to guide your choices. Zoe discusses the significance of classroom composition and peer experience for effective learning. The episode highlights the benefits of class visits and outlines Darden's unique offerings, like global residencies and strong career support, ensuring you make an informed decision in your MBA journey.

Professor Raj Venkatesan, a marketing faculty member at the Darden School of Business, shares his insights on preparing students for the AI age. He discusses the innovative structure of the MSBA program, emphasizing hands-on projects and the integration of AI into the curriculum. Raj introduces the concept of 'chimeric talent,' blending domain expertise with AI skills as essential for the future job market. He also delves into ethical AI, the impact of generative AI on marketing, and how companies are navigating the AI landscape.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Elizabeth Berry and Jackie Jacobson. Elizabeth and Jackie are leaders of Darden’s Network of Executive Women (NEW) student organization, an organization dedicated to the professional development and advancement of females in Darden's Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA programs. We talk with Elizabeth and Jackie about their respective backgrounds, their decision to pursue an MBA, how they decided to get involved with NEW, what they’ve enjoyed about their Darden experience and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Pnina Feldman. Feldman is a member of the Technology and Operations Management faculty at Darden, and her research focuses on how digital technologies affects operations strategy with emphasis on services, platforms, pricing, and consumer engagement. We talk with Feldman about her background, her research, her Managing Service Operations elective, her recent paper on ticket reselling, her thoughts on AI and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Laura Bordoni. Laura is a member of the Darden faculty, and she currently leads the Experiential Learning, a 6.0 credit course sequence that gives Executive MBA students a dedicated opportunity to explore their professional and personal goals. We talk with Laura about the Experiential Learning course, what she enjoys about leading this course, why she’s so passionate about helping students grow and develop, her advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Keith McCormick. Keith is the Bodily Bicentennial Professor in Analytics at the Darden School of Business. The Bodily Bicentennial Professor in Analytics position was created to honor the contributions of Sam Bodily, the John Tyler Professor Emeritus of Business Administration to the field of decision analysis, and this visiting position allows a leader in the field of analytics to step away from their normal activities and collaborate and share insights with the Darden and broader University of Virginia community. We talk with Keith about his background, what he’s enjoyed about his time at Darden, Darden’s upcoming AI conference, how AI has transformed the field of analytics, and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Alex Cowan. Cowan teaches several courses in the area of design and digital innovation, and with Darden, he also created the Coursera specialization,  'Digital Product Management', one of the top 15 specializations on Coursera.  His work on hypothesis-driven development is widely used by practitioners and instructors as a systematic approach to developing new products and businesses. We talk with Alex about his entrepreneurial background, his classes, his thoughts on essential skills for tech product managers in an AI age, where he believes AI is heading and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.  

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Associate Director of Admissions, Professional Degree Programs, Zoe Mayfield Boykin. We talk with Zoe about application timing, what can slow an application down in the admissions review process, how to discuss a work disruption when applying to business school, how to choose between a working professional program and a Full-Time MBA program and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with David Carver and Shafile Rashid. David and Shafile are second year students in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2026, and they are also leaders in the Executive MBA Student Association (ESA). We talk with David and Shafile about their respective backgrounds, what attracted them to the Executive MBA program, what the ESA is all about, what the ESA has planned for the months ahead and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.