Questrom Center for Action Learning Alumni Spotlight: Haseeb Jawad’14

At Questrom’s Center for Action Learning, we help organizations tackle meaningful business challenges by sponsoring semester-long class projects or participating in custom consulting engagements. Our students—supported by seasoned faculty—bring curiosity, analytical rigor, fresh and innovative thinking to deliver insights and actionable strategies tailored to each client. Our alumni clients play a particularly important role, helping our students bridge the gap between theory and practice while gaining valuable insights for their organizations and strengthening the bonds of our Questrom Community.

Before stepping into the role of an industry partner, Haseeb Jawad (Questrom’14) once sat in a Questrom classroom working through case studies and client-based projects that positioned real companies and real strategic dilemmas at the center of the learning experience. A decade later, his engagement with Questrom’s Action Learning Program has come full circle. Now, as the Head of Corporate Development and Integration at Commvault, a leading cyber resilience company, Haseeb finds himself on the other side of the table — collaborating with students to surface innovative solutions to pressing business challenges and seeing firsthand how experiential learning continues to shape future leaders.

As the Head of Corporate Development and Integration at Commvault, a leading cyber resilience company, Haseeb Jawad (Questrom’14) leads mergers and acquisitions and post-acquisition integration strategies. With over 13 years of experience spanning M&A, strategy, operations, product management, and integration management, he has successfully led and supported numerous acquisitions with valuations ranging from $15 million to over $2 billion. Haseeb holds an MBA and an MS in Information Systems from Boston University Questrom School of Business and is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.

What motivated you to partner with our students for this project?

Questrom has always stood out to me for its emphasis on real-world challenges combined with real-world solutions. As an alum, I’ve benefited immensely from those classes and projects that gave exposure to the practical world, and I have been able to apply the best practices throughout my career. Partnering with students felt like an opportunity to give back in a meaningful way, by creating a learning experience that bridges classroom concepts with practical business challenges, while also staying connected to an institution I genuinely admire.

Can you describe the business challenge or opportunity you brought to the student team?

The opportunity centered on a strategic business question that required students to think holistically about markets, customers, and long-term value creation. It was designed to encourage structured thinking, thoughtful analysis, and an appreciation for trade-offs, skills that are critical for navigating complexity in today’s business environment.

What has surprised you most about working with students from the Questrom School of Business across the various projects you’ve collaborated on, and which skills or perspectives stood out to you?

What stands out most is the students’ intellectual curiosity and their willingness to engage with ambiguity. Questrom students in my experience show strong analytical capabilities, and show an ability to step back and examine issues from multiple perspectives. That kind of mindset, being comfortable with uncertainty while remaining thoughtful and disciplined, is something I find especially valuable in future business leaders.

As an alum, what did it mean to you personally to re-engage with BU Questrom in this way?

Questrom played a foundational role in shaping how I approach leadership, strategy, and problem solving. Re-engaging with the school in this capacity has always been personally rewarding, and it felt like a full-circle moment. Being able to contribute to the learning journey of current students while staying connected to a community that has had such a lasting impact on me has been incredibly meaningful. I am also part of the Program Council for the MSDT program and that gives me opportunity to contribute to business applications of the course work and bring in more hands-on experience for students.

Would you recommend such opportunities to work with students to other alumni, and what advice would you give to those considering proposing a client project?

Without hesitation, yes. This is a powerful way for alumni to stay engaged with Questrom while making a tangible contribution to student development. My advice would be to approach it as a partnership: provide clear context, remain actively involved, and allow students the space to think creatively. When done thoughtfully, it becomes a mutually enriching experience for both students and alumni.

You can stay up-to-date with the Center for Action Learning by subscribing to our newsletter here. If you’re interested in exploring a collaboration, please reach out to Pete Howard, Executive Director of Action Learning at pjhoward@bu.edu or John Temps, Associate Director of Action Learning at jtemps@bu.edu.

Interview by John Temps, Associate Director, Center for Action Learning, Questrom School of Business

Copy edited by Dee Polat, Dee Polat, ICF-PCC, Director of Alumni Engagement at Questrom School of Business.