MBAs Chosen for National APICS Program

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Two MBA students from the University at Buffalo School of Management were among only eight individuals in the United States chosen by APICS, The Association for Operations Management, to participate in the APICS Future Leaders Program.

Second-year MBAs Ore Ajakaiye and Preetha Narayanaswamy, under APICS sponsorship, will visit Las Vegas, Nev., from October 17-20 for a full day of training and the APICS International Conference and Expo.

They also will take part in a year-long mentoring program that provides leadership development opportunities.

Ajakaiye is pursuing a concentration in the School of Management’s new global services and supply management option, and Narayanaswamy is pursuing dual concentrations in finance and supply chains and operations management.

Under the mentorship of APICS board of directors chair Karl Klaesius, CPIM, C.P.M., Ajakaiye and Narayanaswamy will work with senior-level operations and supply chain professionals to better understand the knowledge, skills and qualities exhibited by effective leaders in the profession.

The students will receive additional training in the form of monthly, hour-long conference calls and serve on a special task force with Klaesius. They will have a chance to present the task force’s findings to the organization’s board in October 2011.

“The fact that the UB School of Management is the only school with two students chosen for this honor is an outstanding reflection on the quality of our MBA program,” says David Frasier, assistant dean and administrative director of graduate programs.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.