Finding Success and Having an Impact, on Her Own Terms
Marguerita “Rita” Cheng ’93 knows what it means to find success on her own terms. Early in her career, she was working at a large firm, when her sales manager expressed a concern. He said she spent too much time listening to clients. “He led me to believe that being empathetic and patient was a liability,” she said. “I was devastated when he told me that I was a lousy financial planner.”
Balogun, on Soccer, Business and Making Goals
As a soccer player, Yewande Balogun, ’11 and MBA ’16, has always wanted to play against the best of the best. In the summer of 2021, she got that chance.
Maryland Still Has Her Heart
Villanova management professor Quinetta Roberson, PhD ’99, has always been fast. She won races as a University of Delaware sprinter. And later, during her Smith PhD years, she competed against undergraduates on the Terrapins intramural track team.
Seeing Failures As Stepping Stones To Success
Entrepreneur Jitin “Miki” Ahuja ’97, MBA ’02, calls himself a late bloomer. He grew up in Bowie near the University of Maryland and stayed in his comfort zone during his freshman year.
Serial Entrepreneur, Driven To Help Others
Entrepreneurs beat long odds when they launch a company and sell it to investors. Jason Cohen ‘96 has done it several times. After graduating from Maryland Smith, Cohen pursued his passion for food and co-founded Mamma Says Biscotti, which he sold in 2005 after partnering with Kellogg’s.
Following a Vision, Becoming a Game-Changer
Kevin Plank knows what it means to be a game-changer. He transformed the world of sports apparel when he launched Under Armour in 1996.
From Autos to Philanthropy, Driven To Make a Difference
Robert G. Hisaoka ’79 believes building a strong business begins with building a strong team through great communication and measuring performance. Over the span of his career, he’s done just that.
Understanding – and Supporting – Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs can face a multitude of challenges as they take their ideas from concept to startup, and Bill Boyle ’81 understands them all.
Climbing Corporate Ladders and Branching Out
Leigh Burnside ’92 has learned what it takes to climb the corporate ladder and succeed in the C-suite. But she’s also learned that careers aren’t just about reaching the next rung on the ladder – they’re about branching out.
Driven To Serve, Most Recently in a ‘Digital Dunkirk’
Adam DeMarco, MBA ’21, was raised in a “family of service,” as he put it. His relatives span careers including law enforcement, nursing, medicine, and, as DeMarco himself chose, the military. “The notion of serving, serving others, and being a part of something bigger than oneself is something that I have just grown up with and have sought to inculcate,” said DeMarco.