Louis Chabot

Louis Chabot’s work in hospitals began in food management. Soon enough, though, Louis found himself with a growing passion for public health, and he became eager to transition out of operations and into the dynamic field of healthcare.

With an undergraduate degree in nutrition and a business minor, Louis always knew he was interested in both health and business management. During his time working at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in their healthcare fellowship program, he was encouraged by Questrom and BU alums to get his MBA. “Those who had their health sector focused MBAs seemed like they were at a point in their career where their degree served them very well,” Louis remembers, “but the proof was in the pudding—seeing people do great things with this degree made me feel more certain about getting mine.”

Now, as a Professional Evening Health Sector MBA student, Louis is learning and developing his skills on the front lines of healthcare. It was his eagerness to learn from Questrom’s business experts combined with his enthusiasm for healthcare which led him to truly feel passionate about the work he was doing.

“I love the health sector management program,” says Louis, who is now Finance Manager at Women & Infants Hospital. “I feel so strongly about the MBA because, in healthcare, finance is integral right now. You need financial management, but at the same time, you need to understand aspects that are extremely specific to healthcare.”

For those who think an MBA is a hard stop for two years, Louis begs to differ. He chose the PEMBA program because he felt the flexibility would allow him to grow both his career and his personal life. On PEMBA’s flex track, he’s been able to take more classes when he can and cut back when he needs to. Since in the program, he’s bought a house, had two children, and started a new job. He says the program has been able to flex around all of that—not to mention the satisfaction of applying his skills to his professional experience. “In the PEMBA program,” he says, “I’m learning about statistics at night and applying it to my work the next day.”

“Had I not chosen to pursue a Questrom MBA, I don’t know where I’d be. Without an MBA, I was stagnant in my career. Now, with an MBA from Questrom, I’m able to go even further than I expected.” Louis is confident that the program itself gives him some credibility and legitimacies to where he’s going and what he wants to do.

“In healthcare, when you have a situation where you need to bring down the cost of healthcare dramatically, you learn that what’s best for the patient and community at large is ultimately the best thing to do. I apply that to my job. The goal is to focus on the patient at the end of the day, and that was very clear in classes at Questrom.”

As for what’s next? “I really want to be in an influential leadership position in healthcare because I think it’s so fascinating. I want to be a part of the conversation and the planning of what we can do. I want to stay in a position where I can have an impact.”