Friday, December 14, 2007

A Marriage of Flavors

Pittsburgh native Kate Demase came to BU with a broad base of knowledge, after studying English and Economics at Wellesley College, working as an advertising executive with companies such as Clorox and Heinz, and immersing herself in public policy as a Rappaport Fellow at Harvard University. So it's no surprise she felt comfortable in the interdisciplinary environment our programs offer. "A BU MBA incorporates all facets of business. You're forced to think about all the elements and how they relate. In my job as a general manager, I have to be aware of marketing, finance, accounting, leadership, branding—everything all at once—and how each element affects the other. BU provides an interdisciplinary program that incorporates the most cutting edge components of the business world.

I also learned many important skills related to team work and critical thinking. In my job especially, if your team isn't prepared and excited, you're doomed to fail. Delegation, highlighting the individual strengths of each team member, putting aside differences to get the job done, and being able to think on my feet and react quickly are skills I use every day that I can trace directly back to my experiences at BU. There wasn't time to sit around and write several drafts of an argument—I learned to take what I know and quickly fuse it together to make salient points.

The Taste of Motivation

The business of food in this country is simultaneously fascinating and horrifying. Ultimately, I want to look back on my professional life and know that I made a difference in what our country eats, or how they look at food and our food systems. I'm very interested in things like the Farm Bill, food miles, local food production, and the benefits of keeping food traditions alive. I want to teach people that we are responsible for our choices regarding our health and the health of our environment and that choosing the right foods and demanding that they be made available can make a huge impact on both of those things. I want people to think about their daily choices, be curious about their food, and ask for information about this vital aspect of daily living.

Wearing Many Hats

I feel that nonprofits and government are often times bogged down in the red tape and the important details of their work; now is the time for big business, which holds so much money and power, to step up and contribute their time, effort and funding to projects that may otherwise go overlooked and underfunded. And some big businesses can impact change by changing themselves.

Today at Whole Foods my position is actually very entrepreneurial—while we have regional standards that each store must strive for, the beauty of our company is our managers are encouraged to make their stores unique, to try new things, and think outside the box. Entrepreneurship with Pete Russo helped prepare me for this experience. While creating my own business plan, I learned how complicated running a business can be, but how rewarding it is to have so much ownership of something you feel so passionate about. Though my task is daunting—I'm a financial manager, a team morale booster, a marketer, a merchandiser, a career coach, a plumber and electrician, a customer service representative, a negotiator, a policewoman, and an educator—this is what the art, science, and technology of business is all about."