Speak Up
Innovation that Redefines
“Innovation” has become a very common term in a business landscape where survival depends on differentiation, and where every company and school is attempting to lead the pack.
At Questrom School of Business, however, innovation is not a buzzword. It describes what we do. You, our alumni, are excellent examples of how Questrom prepares students to redefine their chosen fields, and to do so with service to society in mind.
“At BU, we have the opportunity to establish a unique role as the hub of Boston’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, advancing our reputation and that of our home city.”
Innovation is running a successful tech-fueled butler business that makes life more manageable—and doing it before turning 30. Innovation is launching a market-leading health and insurance company that is reshaping health care and saving lives in one of the most complex markets on the planet, India. From Marcela Sapone (BSBA’08, UNI’08), the CEO of Hello Alfred—who you will read about in “The New Disruptors”—to Analjit Singh (BSBA'77, MBA'79), chair of Max India Limited (see “The Life Saver,” Summer 2014), we celebrate the many innovations pioneered by Questrom alums.
Since becoming dean six years ago, I have noticed an ongoing shift in energy and focus among the students who enter the Hariri Building each fall. Questrom students have always been full of bold ideas, and now there is a growing desire to create technology and service-driven businesses, to take risks by joining promising start-ups, and to look for challenging opportunities at smaller enterprises. Even those who seek to join large firms don’t want to be another face in the crowd—they want to make changes that improve (and often reinvent) the business.
Widely recognized as one of the best cities in the world for entrepreneurship and innovation, Boston provides a valuable opportunity for Questrom. At BU, we have the opportunity to establish a unique role as the hub of Boston’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, advancing our reputation and that of our home city. Many of the elements needed to achieve this goal are already in place: The BUzz Lab, the on-campus ideas incubator hosted by Questrom, has become an established force in the start-up community; the Engineering Product Innovation Center enables students to design and build their new products. Two new and exciting Questrom-based institutes will provide additional opportunities for our students to explore their entrepreneurial ideas and bring them to life: the Institute for Sustainable Energy under the leadership of Peter Fox-Penner, former principal of the Brattle Group, and the Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy under Jonathan Woodson, former assistant secretary of defense for health affairs in the US Department of Defense.
At Questrom, we are providing vibrant resources for students as they pursue their dreams. Whether you are growing beyond the 100-employee mark like Marcela, being named an “Influential Leader” by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business like Analjit, or flipping that “OPEN” sign on your small business each morning, you exemplify how what we do at Questrom can help mold a successful career. You are our legacy—one that we strive to build upon, every day, as we reimagine business education at Questrom School of Business.
