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.”

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. We invite all alumni to share updates with the McDonough community by emailing us at GeorgetownBusiness@ georgetown.edu.

Courage, Quest, and Love

Sabrina Teichman (IBP’20), founder and principal of Strategie, a strategic advisory and consulting firm for social impact enterprises in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, added podcaster to her résumé when she launched Belong in the USA to explore the question “Where are you from?” (It also features many of her Georgetown classmates.)

Books

We Are Still Here: Afghan Women on Courage, Freedom, and the Fight to Be Heard by Nahid Shahalimi

First-hand accounts of what it’s like to be a woman in Afghanistan—a jarring must-read.

Capital Allocators by Ted Seides

An easy read with tons of great nuggets—including recommended interview questions for an investment advisor.

PODCASTS

Point Noir

Travel stories for and by men of color, taking the leap to explore life beyond their comfort zones.

Modern Love

I have ended up in tears many times after listening, and it always restores my faith in love.

Wind of Change

A journalist’s quest to track down whether a German heavy metal power ballad that played a role in the fall of the Soviet Union was written by the CIA.

MUSIC Rockabye Baby on Spotify

Features actual songs I know and love, but through safe sounds for babies’ ears.