Fork in the Road

Long before Daria Lorenzo (MSBA’22) was vice president of collateral management at Goldman Sachs, she was working in hospitality as a recent graduate. “I had an idea that I wanted to be an event producer,” she says. “But I learned over time that I didn’t like the job itself and it wasn’t a great fit for me.”

Lorenzo left hospitality management with a new skillset and attitude. “I gained a lot of experience in customer relations,” she says. “I learned to be open-minded and understanding, because even if the customer is not right, you have to make it right for them”—a mindset Lorenzo took with her when she made her way to Goldman Sachs in 2018 after two and a half years in hospitality.

With a curious attitude and a driven spirit, Lorenzo chased the career path she desired in finance—with a little help from her experiences in hospitality management. “By having different jobs in different fields, you are open to observing a new experience and learning from that opportunity,” she says.

Throughout her career, Lorenzo sought experiences to broaden her understanding. “At Goldman Sachs I needed additional knowledge to communicate properly with our engineers and our technology,” she said. “I went to Georgetown to learn about business analytics and to learn those programming languages.” As an employee and a student, Lorenzo found learning opportunities to spark growth and advancement. From hospitality management to collateral management, Lorenzo has one piece of advice for young professionals: “Never let an opportunity go wasted.”

—ABBY SHARPE

2009

Jill Abbott is the new chief marketing officer at Vital Proteins. In this role, Abbott will spearhead Vital Proteins’ global marketing and brand strategy to accelerate the brand’s growth as the company expands to new international markets and further diversifies its product offerings.

Teri Gendron was named CFO of Markel Corp., a Fortune 500 insurance and investment firm.

2013

Nicholas DeLuca has been appointed managing director at Alvarez & Marsal in the Mass Torts practice within its Disputes and Investigations group. He most recently served as the senior managing director at Ankura Consulting Group.

Evan Piekara joined Nestlé in 2022 as director of its Change Management Practice, where he oversees a team responsible for leading enterprise change efforts such as complex technology implementations, major process changes, and mergers and acquisitions integrations. He also has connected and collaborated with classmates and Nestlé teammates Caroline Decker and Justin Corrado

Executive Mba

2005

Ajay K. Gupta has been named chairman of the board of Holy Cross Health, a multi-hospital health system in Maryland and the flagship of the Trinity Health system, a $20+ billion dollar Catholic health system with hospitals and medical facilities across 22 states.

2008

James Dullinger has been elected chief financial officer of BM Technologies, Inc., one of the largest digital banking platforms and banking-as-a-service providers in the United States, where he previously served as chief accounting officer.

2016

Ellen Davis joined the U.S. Travel Association as executive vice president of business strategy and industry engagement. The association veteran is the first addition to the executive team since the organization named a new CEO in 2022.

MA-IBP

2017

Adam DeMarco is the author of Battles Within: My Journey of Self & Service. He calls it “not another war story,” but instead a memoir reflecting on his story of public service and his journey to find his true inner self and purpose.