Albers' Accounting, Analytics, Executive MBA among top 25 nationwide in 2021 U.S. News Best Graduate School Rankings

Albers' Accounting, Analytics, Executive MBA among top 25 nationwide in 2021 U.S. News Best Graduate School Rankings

17 March, 2020, WA - Albers' and graduate programs in and  were ranked in the top 25 across the country in the 2021 U.S. News Best Graduate Schools Rankings, which were released today.

In the Northwest, Albers' ranked third; Accounting tied for 1st; Analytics, , and Executive MBA came in first.

In the West Coast, Analytics was tied for third, Executive MBA came in 4th, while Accounting was tied for 4th place.

Each year, U.S. News ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine, and nursing, including specialties in each area.

The Best Graduate Schools rankings are based on two types of data: Expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research, and students. 

Albers' Executive MBA and Online MBA Join List of CEO Magazine's 2020 Global MBA Rankings

Albers' Executive MBA and Online MBA were ranked #78 and #57, respectively, in the recently released 2020 Global MBA Rankings of CEO Magazine.

CEO Magazine has been showcasing top business schools from around the globe since it first launched in 2008. In 2012, the publication launched its annual Global MBA Rankings, profiling MBA, Executive MBA, and Online MBA programs.

This year, CEO Magazine reached out to business schools across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), and received data from 161 schools, offering 303 different programs in 27 countries (77 online, 87 EMBA, and 139 full-time and part-time MBA programs).

The complete rankings can be viewed in the latest edition of CEO Magazine, or CEO Magazine online.

Costco founder Jim Sinegal guest lectures at International Business class

Albers welcomed back Costco founder Jim Sinegal who flew in from California on March 2 to do a guest lecture at Associate Professor Rubina Mahsud's International Business class.

Sinegal regaled the class with the story of how he started the retail giant with his partner, Jeffrey Brotman, highlighting the original business plan they created in 1983. Reflecting on Costco's track record, he spoke about how their 'fantastic employees' were an integral part of the company, and a key strength in its continued success. He also shared Costco's core values, which are:

• Obey the law
• Take care of the customer
• Take care of the employees
• Respect your supplier
• Reward your shareholder

Mahsud later gifted Sinegal with an Arjac shawl from the ancient city of Multan, Pakistan. The pattern is block printed by artisans using 3,000 year-old designs. Sinegal proceeded to wear it in the group photo above, taken by student Jaidev Vella.

Lal10 CEO and Co-founder Maneet Gohil chosen as 2020 SU Entrepreneur in Residence

Maneet Gohil, CEO and co-founder of Indian artisan e-commerce portal Lal10, has been chosen as the 2020 Seattle University Entrepreneur in Residence. The program is a collaborative effort between the Albers School and Upaya Social Ventures.

New Delhi-based Gohil was included in Forbes India's '30 Under 30' list in 2019, and he has also spoken at TedX. Read more about Gohil and the Entrepreneur in Residence program in our Global Business program section.

February Executive Speaker Series features Outreach CEO Manny Medina

Pivots are challenging for any business, but they can also be incredible learning opportunities.

Manny Medina, CEO of sales engagement platform Outreach, recounted at the last on February 22 how the company successfully navigated its pivot six years ago and grew the business into what is now a $1.1 billion unicorn. 

Originally a recruitment platform, Outreach segued into a business that manages all customer interactions across email, voice, and social, and leverages machine learning to guide reps to take the right actions. Read more about Medina's insights from the pivot on the .

The next Albers Executive Speaker Series guest on Wednesday, April 22, is John Burke, CEO of Trek Bikes. The event is free and open to the public.

New Appointments Announced for Two Albers Professorships

Claus C. Portner, PhD, Albers' Associate Professor for Economics and the current holder of the Robert D. O'Brien Chair of Business, has been selected as the Howard J. Bosanko Professor of International Economics and Finance for 2020-23.

Portner teachers courses in statistics, micro-economics, and international economic development. His research has been international in scope, and he will use the professorship to sharpen his teaching and research focus on sub-Saharan Africa. His publications have appeared in distinguished outlets such as Demography, Economic Development and Cultural Change, the Journal of Development Economics, and the Review of Economics and Statistics.

Management professor Jennifer Marrone, PhD, has been selected for the George Albers Professorship for 2020-23.

Marrone is well known as an outstanding teacher at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In scholarship, she has published in some of the top journals in her field, such as the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, and Group and Organization Management. She has also co-authored several articles with students and has nearly 3,000 citations of her work. 

Albers Alum Leo Hindery, Jr. Honored as 2020 AACSB Influential Leader

Albers alumnus Leo Hindery, Jr. is one of 25 business school graduates honored by AACSB International (AACSB), the world's largest business education alliance, as the 2020 Class of Influential Leaders.

The annual challenge recognizes notable alumni from AACSB-accredited schools whose inspiring work serves as a model for the next generation of business leaders.

Hindery currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Trine Acquisition Corp., a NYSE-listed special purpose acquisition company that went public on March 15, 2019. Formerly chairman of the National Cable Television Association and of C-SPAN, Hindery has been recognized as one of the cable television industry's 25 Most Influential Executives Over the Past 25 Years and one of the 30 Individuals with the Most Significant Impact on Cable's Early History.

Hindery has long been an advocate for business ethics and the positive role that business can play in society. In this regard, on June 3, 2019, he published an opinion piece, 'How America's Business Leaders Lost Their Way', in The Washington Monthly.

Previously he published two books, The Biggest Game of All and It Takes a CEO, where the themes of appropriate business conduct were explored at length. Hindery has frequently spoken to groups of business school students, including in the Albers Executive Speaker Series at Seattle University, and recently to a group of Jesuit business school deans on the topic of business education.

Now in its fifth year, the Influential Leaders challenge has recognized more than 200 business school graduates for creating lasting impact in business and society. For more information on the program, visit the 2020 Influential Leader Honorees page on AACSB.

Seattle Business magazine announces winners of Albers-sponsored 2020 Executive Excellence Awards

Winners of Seattle Business magazine's 2020 Executive Excellence Awards program, sponsored by Albers, were announced at a gala last January 23rd at the Museum of Flight. The program is a premier C-suite leadership event that recognizes Washington executives who have demonstrated extraordinary, consistent leadership in guiding their organizations to success.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Tom Alberg, Co-founder and Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group

Executive Excellence Awards:

• Eugenio Pace, Co-founder and CEO, Auth0
• Amy Balliett, Co-founder and CEO, Killer Visual Strategies
• Amy Nelson, Co-founder and CEO, The Riveter
• Tom Sebastian, President and CEO, Compass Health
• Beth McCaw, President and CEO, Washington Women's Foundation
• Shauna Swerland, Founder and CEO, Fuel Talent
• Jeremy Wacksman, President, Zillow
• Melba Bartels, Executive Vice President and CFO, BECU
• Jeff Dance, Founder and CEO, Fresh Consulting
• Matt Hulett, President, Rosetta Stone Inc.
• Kieran Snyder, Co-founder and CEO, Textio
• Debbie Crandall, President, Parker Staffing
• Brent Beardall, President and CEO, WaFd Bank
• Mary Knell, CEO, Pacific Northwest Commercial Banking, Wells Fargo
• Rod Diefendorf, COO, PitchBook

January Executive Speaker Series Features Accolade CEO Raj Singh 

Can a business be profitable and still do the right thing by its customers? Accolade CEO Raj Singh shared his reasons for why it can be so at the most recent Albers Executive Speaker Series last January 22nd.

Singh’s chosen topic was ‘Wanted: Contrarians, Disruptors, and Do-gooders’. According to him, ‘Mission based companies are poised to disrupt entrenched incumbents by doing the right thing for consumers and their communities while building a profitable, growing business. This is the new world.’

Singh is one of the Pacific Northwest’s most successful entrepreneurs, from co-founding and co-leading Concur for more than two decades to designing and managing a strategic growth plan for healthcare advocacy company Accolade beginning in early 2016. Last year, he was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the Innovator category.

nutpods CEO and Albers alum Madeline Haydon headlines second Founder Friday

Madeline Haydon, Founder and CEO of nutpods, a plant-based creamer with an online cult following, was the featured guest at the second Founder Friday held last January 24th at ATLAS Workbase.

Haydon's fireside chat topic was 'Raising Capital at Every Stage -- from Crowdfunding to Private Equity'. She launched her company in 2013 while earning her MBA at the Albers and placing as a finalist in the Harriet Stephenson Business Plan Competition run by Seattle U's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center. 

Haydon and her husband, nutpods CFO Geoff, launched nutpods with a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 and brought the product line to market on Amazon in 2015, where it quickly became the #1 bestselling alternative creamer. After growing by 250% in 2018, nutpods raised $33 million in private capital funding the following July to expand its online presence.

Albers among Top 5 Undergrad Business Schools in the West, According to Latest Poets&Quants for Undergrads Rankings

Poets&Quants for Undergrads has ranked Albers among the top 5 undergrad business schools in the Pacific Northwest. Now in its fourth year, the ranking's methodology 'was balanced equally across the three categories of admissions standards, the academic and co-curricular experience as measured by alumni, and employment outcomes.'

A comprehensive article on these rankings can be found on the P&Q Undergrad site. 

New Faculty Member Joins Albers Finance Department

Jun Duanmu, currently on the faculty of Louisiana Tech as the Chase Bank Endowed Assistant Professor of Finance, will be joining Albers in the fall as Assistant Professor of Finance.

Duanmu teaches primarily financial management and investments courses. His research often focuses on hedge funds and he has publications in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis and the Financial Review. His master’s degree is from Arizona and his PhD is from Arkansas. He also served as the department’s liaison with the CFA Institute.

Alan Mulally Shares Leadership Insights with EMBA Students

Albers' Executive MBA students were invited last December 14th to a presentation on leadership by Alan Mulally, former President and CEO of both The Ford Motor Company and Boeing Commercial Airlines. 

Mulally is a senior fellow for the in the Albers School, and provides his time and expertise to the Center, including a once-a-year presentation to ELP/EMBA students.