Diversity MBA Magazine - Summer 2008 - (Page 21)

COVER FEATURE more. I’d tell people that helped me thank you a bit more,” he says, noting that expressing appreciation is vital to relationships, and he’s discovered just how important relationships are. “The higher you go, the more accountable for everything you are,” he explains. “If the baby cries at 1 a.m., guess who has to take care of it? And you can’t do it all on your own. There’s a need for collaboration and good communication. It’s other people that help you succeed.” The former football player who tried out for the Houston Oilers just after college keeps his mental edge by running four or five miles at 5:30 a.m. daily, either outside or on a treadmill. These days, he says it’s all about his daughter in college who’s looking for him to set the right example, and the young people in his office. “It’s about helping others achieving their goals,” he says. “It’s not about Mike anymore.” NAREN GURSAHANEY Two years out of college. Naren Gursahaney had to make a major decision. He left the comforts of Baltimore and his family, and postponed his plans to go to business school to take an assignment in Israel. “I was only 23, and I got exposed to things that I probably wouldn’t have seen for another 10 years,” he says, adding that he worked on the F16 co-production program for GE overseas. He stayed in Israel two years and with global experience behind him, went on to Darden to get his MBA. His career was off to a great start. He’s currently president of ADT Worldwide, and previously served as president of Tyco Engineered Products and Services, as well as president of Tyco Flow Control. Prior to joining Tyco in 2003, he was president and CEO of GE Medical Systems/Asia, where he was responsible for the company’s $1.6 billion sales and services business in the Asia-Pacific region. Gursahaney says little would have happened for him without the generosity of mentors along the way. He helped himself by refusing to cut corners. “There is no short-cut to the top,” he says. “If you want to succeed, you have to outwork everyone. Sign up for the big initiatives, the stretch assignments. Be the first one in the office and the last to leave. If you can’t be a leader on the important assignments, be a team member. If you want to get noticed, go beyond the expected.” He’s learned that it’s not enough to merely have great ideas; what counts even more is to be someone who executes them. “I thought it was about how smart you are, but it’s more about how hard you work; who delivers,” he says. “There is no substitute for that.” The challenges of running a business are plentiful. How does he cope? “I know that I get to come back tomorrow,” he says. “A day is only 24 hours. You get up tomorrow, and it promises to be different.” Notorious for sending tons of e-mail, there’s one time you won’t find him at the computer -- when his alma mater, Penn State, is playing football. He says that when he was a boy, he wouldn’t have imagined all that he has achieved, but it’s that his two teenaged children are so proud of him that brings the biggest smile to his face. And, remember, this is only a taste. These six, and the remaining 94 that follow are representative of the very best of diversity in corporate America today at the executive level – who they are, what they do, and some of what they did while getting there. And the best part is that they’re only part of a growing generation of up-and-comers, many of whom those on our list will influence in some way, directly or indirectly. |dMBA| 21 June 2008 Top 1 0 0 Unde r 5 0 D i ve rse Le ade rs

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Diversity MBA Magazine - Summer 2008

Diversity MBA Magazine - Summer 2008 Contents Letters to the Editor In Your Own Hands Editor's View Find Your Power Voice Business Briefs Off the Shelf The Fourth Annual Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Corporate Executives Negotiation: The Art of Persuasion or Zero Sum Game? Career Planning for Tomorrow's Hispanic Workforce Who's Who In Diversity Entrepreneur Profile: Anita Santiago: Doing It Her Way Businesses that Keep On Giving Rising Sun Going Global: Will An International Assignment Benefit Your Career Work-Life Balance and the C-Suite: An Oxymoron? A Call to Save Travel: Off the Beaten Path - Chile Drawing the Line – Latin Art Exhibit The New Taste of Latin Cuisine American Sabor: Exhibit Highlights Latino Influence in Pop Music Crafting Specialized Business Degrees Latest MBA Salary Suggests MBA Is A Safe Haven Gadgets & Gizmos Gone Phishing – How Scammers Mine Private Data From Web Surfers Advertiser's Index The Meaning of Sanctuary

Diversity MBA Magazine - Summer 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.