The Fuqua Show

What if the ladder you've been climbing is leaning against the wrong wall? 

Most of us were handed a blueprint for success. Climb the ranks, check the boxes, keep moving. But what happens when you're excelling on paper and still feel completely hollow inside? According to Gallup, 79% of professionals are operating on autopilot, present in body but absent in purpose. For high-achieving professionals in leadership, that disconnection rarely looks like falling apart. It looks like crushing every goal while quietly burning out from the inside. 

In this episode of The Fuqua Show, host Aaliyah Brown si...

On this episode of The Fuqua Show, we sit down with Gil Vazquez (Class of '26) for a masterclass in resilience, gratitude, and the audacity to bet on yourself. Gil’s story isn't your typical polished resume; it is a raw look at what happens when the institutions you rely on say "no," and you refuse to accept it. 

From his early years moving from Puerto Rico to the U.S. with his professional horse-jockey father, to losing and fighting to regain a Division 1 track scholarship, Gil has always had to forge his own path. We trace his...

In this episode, we explore what it means to truly use business as a force for good. We sit down with Jessica Yinka Thomas, a proud Fuqua alumna (MBA '04), the Director of the Business Sustainability Collaborative at NC State University's Poole College of Management, and a founding force behind the B Academics movement. 

Jessica shares her fascinating life of "redirects." She takes us through her early years growing up across Miami, Nigeria, and Senegal, and explains how her background in mechanical engineering led her to become one of the first product designers at the educational toy s...

What does it look like to move through an MBA with both strategic clarity and genuine heart? In this episode, host Aaliyah Brown sits down with Elisabeth Scott: second-year MBA, future Kearney consultant, and a leader who has never treated ambition and authenticity as opposites. 

Elisabeth's path spans global supply chains in the power tool and sports industries, a GATE trip to South Africa, a tea ceremony in Kyoto, and the helm of Fuqua's InnovateHER conference. Along the way, she's collected hard-won lessons about knowing where to focus, when to say no, and what it really means t...

In this episode, host Sam Shain sits down with Jon Valdez to discuss his transformative journey of self-discovery, identity, and leadership.

Jon shares his story beginning with his early childhood in Miami's Little Havana with his Cuban immigrant family, to an abrupt move to rural South Carolina. He opens up about the bullying he faced, the pressure to hide his authentic self, and the challenge of navigating his intersecting identities as a Latino and a queer youth in a conservative environment.

The conversation shifts to a major turning point when Jon moved to Washington, D...

In this episode of The Fuqua Show, Marketing Chair and first-time host Jade Tsai interviews Shafiq Motiwala (MQM ’25), who grew up in Karachi, Pakistan and traces how his parents, sister, and a formative economics teacher shaped his passions for economics and teaching. He recounts playing cricket, learning to DJ in undergrad at LUMS, and pursuing diverse ventures after graduation including leading a construction project in Northern Pakistan, teaching economics at his former school, launching a tea import business (Easy Enterprises), and co-founding a coworking space in Karachi. Shafiq explains why he chose Duke’s 10-month MQM to build data and...

In this episode of The Fuqua Show, host Aaliyah Brown sits down with Nikin Shah, the Founder and General Partner at Front Porch Venture Partners, to explore the intersection of operational excellence and strategic investment. Based in the heart of Durham, Nikin offers the rare and valuable perspective of a seasoned operator turned venture capitalist, drawing from his transformative tenure as Co-CEO of Polyzen. He details how he navigated the complexities of leading a family-founded medical device powerhouse through decades of scaling, ultimately culminating in a successful full-company exit in 2022. Now, Nikin is applying that hard-earned "operator’s toolkit" to...

Professor Scott Dyreng returns as the first repeat guest on The Fuqua Show; this time not to talk about where he came from, but where Fuqua is going.

Now serving as Senior Associate Dean for Innovation, Scott takes us inside the launch of Fuqua’s first AI-powered classroom, an experiment designed not to replace human interaction but to strengthen it. We unpack how AI is being used to analyze class participation, reshape team dynamics, and deliver more objective, actionable feedback to students and faculty alike.

Along the way, Scott shares what innovation really means in hig...

In this episode of The Fuqua Show, we sit down with second-year MBA Eliot Digby-Jones, British Army veteran and medical services officer, whose career has taken him from Ukraine to Somalia and the early days of COVID response in the UK. 

Eliot shares how early exposure to medicine, adventure, and service shaped his path from studying biomedical sciences in London to leading high-stakes training missions abroad. Along the way, he reflects on navigating ambiguity in crisis environments, building trust across cultures, and learning that leadership is less about authority and more about people.

We also d...

Sean Wilson, Daytime MBA and MPP alum from the class of 2000, joins The Fuqua Show to reflect on an unconventional path through Durham, Fuqua, public policy, and entrepreneurship. Sean shares how his early years in the restaurant industry, time at Duke, and experience in the tech sector eventually led him into craft beer advocacy and the founding of Fullsteam Brewery.

Along the way, he discusses helping change North Carolina’s beer laws through the Pop the Cap movement, building a business rooted in local agriculture and community, and what it means to create joy, belonging, and lasting im...

 In this episode of The Fuqua Show, host Aaliyah Brown sits down with Akinwole “Aki” Garrett, President and COO of BlackDoctor.org, to explore a career defined by the powerful fusion of corporate excellence and community mission. As the leader of the world’s largest digital health platform dedicated to Black wellness, Aki shares how he transitioned from the high-stakes world of investment banking at Barclays Capital to transformative executive roles at ABC News, CBS Local, and REVOLT Media. Throughout the conversation, Aki provides key insights in "investing with intention," unpacking the strategic acumen required to scale mission-driven platforms and nav...

Celebrate Women's History Month with us on The Fuqua Show. We're joined by daytime MBA program second year, Olivia Termini. Olivia shares about her childhood growing up in Pennsylvania, her passion for playing and coaching soccer, her work experience in politics and consulting, and how she used her undergrad and MBA to experiment with different careers. At Fuqua, she's known for being her friends’ top advocate and Duke basketball's biggest fan. DDMF!

Host: Philip Coale

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Business can be found at https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admissions.

We continue our celebration of Women's History Month on The Fuqua Show. We're joined by Global Executive MBA class of 2026 student, MJ Merkley. Hear MJ share about her childhood growing up in Utah and her adult life of wandering that's taken her to graduate school for counseling in Northern California, an Art Academy in Florence, Italy, and raising two young children with her husband in NYC. 

Host: Philip Coale

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Business can be found at https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admissions.

Note: This is a s...

Celebrate Women's History Month with us on The Fuqua Show. We're joined by Daytime MBA Class of 2019 alumna, Emilia Hull.  Emilia shares about her childhood growing up as a Third Culture Kid in Belgium, her early career as a Marine Biologist, and how she used a dual Master of Environmental Management and MBA at Duke to pivot into sustainability consulting.

Host: Philip Coale

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Business can be found at https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admissions.

Note: This is a student-run production. The opinions expressed in t...

In this special Lunar New Year episode of The Fuqua Show, host Aaliyah Brown sits down with Katherine Zhu and Jiaqi Jiang to explore global journeys, cultural identity, and the power of community at Fuqua. Both serving as Presidents of the Greater China Club, Katherine and Jiaqi are deeply committed to fostering connection and cultural exchange across campus. Katherine, an international MBA student from Shanghai with experience at Roche and Medtronic, shares how her cross-continental background shaped her passion for patient-centered storytelling and her decision to pursue an MBA in the U.S. to deepen her understanding of healthcare...

In this Black History Month episode of The Fuqua Show, we sit down with systems-focused leader and first-generation HBCU graduate Patti Kamara to reflect on leadership shaped by legacy, service, and global perspective. Patti shares how her early foundations, international experiences, and work across engineering, operations, and healthcare inform her people-centered approach to building systems that last. Together, they explore Black history as a living continuum and the responsibility of today’s leaders to carry it forward with intention and impact.

Host: Aaliyah Brown

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Bu...

Our very own MBAA Co-President, Gabby Sims, joins The Fuqua Show to chat about her life before Fuqua, her experience at Duke so far, and how the MBA experience is shaping her path going forward. Listen in to learn about entrepreneurship and leadership opportunities at Fuqua and hear the perspective of one of our campus leaders.

Host: Philip Coale

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Business can be found at https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admissions.

Note: This is a student-run production. The opinions expressed in this podcast are the...

Bob Kulhan joins The Fuqua Show to share about his company Business Improv which has hosted a week-long managerial improvisation workshop at Fuqua for the past 27 years. This workshop lasts 5 days and encompasses 33 hours of improv training. All Fuqua students are eligible to participate for free and the workshop counts for course credit. Bob explains how he got his start in improv, learning from Second City legends like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and how this passion evolved into management training for business school students.

Host: Philip Coale

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua...

In this episode, co-hosts Aaliyah and Philip introduce The Fuqua Show's newest team members, Head of Content Sam Shain and Head of Marketing Jade Tsai, while reflecting on lessons learned from the show's season so far. Happy Holidays from the entire team!

Host: Aaliyah Brown and Philip Coale

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Business can be found at https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admissions.

Note: This is a student-run production. The opinions expressed in this podcast are the speakers' own and do not reflect the view of Duke University...

In this episode of The Fuqua Show, we sit down with Teniola "Teni" Tayo, a renowned policy advisor and global strategist, and a Fuqua MBA, to explore how global policy shapes economic development and leadership in an increasingly interconnected world.

Teni shares her journey across Africa, Europe, and the United States, drawing on her work with institutions such as the UN Development Programme, the World Bank, and Nigeria’s highest levels of government. From advising on trade and investment policy to navigating geopolitics and public service, she offers a powerful perspective on translating policy into real-world impact.

Caty Stanko joins The Fuqua Show to share how earning her MMS degree helped launch her career at Deloitte in New York, but even more, how her mother’s dementia diagnosis inspired her to channel grief into action. She recounts training for the NYC Marathon alongside her brother to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research, transforming personal pain into advocacy and hope. Along the way, she reflects on how the network and confidence she gained from Fuqua helped her balance early career challenges with a mission beyond business.

Host: Philip Coale

More information abou...

Devery Hamilton, Jr. is a student in Fuqua's one-year Accelerated MBA program, but this is not his first degree from the school of business. After playing college football at Stanford and Duke, Devery spent several seasons playing football professionally in the NFL. After injuries led to an early retirement, Devery has returned to Fuqua to pursue a future career in the business of sports and media.

Host: Philip Coale

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Business can be found at https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admissions.

Note: This is a...

In this inspiring episode of The Fuqua Show, host Aaliyah Brown sits down with Lieutenant Commander Whitney Koenigsknecht, a proud Michigan native, U.S. Naval Academy graduate, and Supply Corps Officer whose career has been defined by resilience, service, and leadership. Whitney shares her journey from growing up in Grosse Pointe Shores to serving aboard the USS KEARSARGE, USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, and USS TRUXTUN, where she managed logistics for complex naval operations across Europe and the Middle East. Through stories of challenge and growth, she reflects on what it means to lead with empathy, maintain composure under pressure, and...

In this heartfelt episode, we sit down with Bianca Valladares, a second-year MBA student at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, to explore her journey of identity, resilience, and belonging. As Co-President of the American Latinx Management Association (ALMA) and Development Lead for the Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics (COLE), Bianca has played a vital role in advancing belonging and equity at Fuqua. She discusses her professional journey from international development recruitment to change management consulting at Deloitte, and most recently, product strategy at JPMorgan Chase, where she focused on supporting first-generation affluent customers building generational wealth.  

Dr. Erica Marshburn is an emergency medicine physician and a second year in the Daytime MBA program at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. In this episode, she shares her journey as a first-generation college graduate who trained to save lives in the ER (and elsewhere!). She shares with the audience why she returned to business school and how she wants to use her MBA to change the healthcare system for the better. 

Guest: Erica Marshburn

Host: Philip Coale

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Business can be found at https://w...

Born and raised on a crop and cattle farm in North Carolina, Belton is a proud member of the Lumbee Tribe. After an early career in state government and non-profits, Belton is in the final year of a dual Master of Public Policy and Master of Business Administration program at Duke University. In this episode, Belton reflects on the professional journey that has taken him from tobacco fields in Robeson County to the Governor's office in Raleigh. 

More information about applying to Duke's Fuqua School of Business can be found at https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admissions.

Welcome back to The Fuqua Show! In this season's inaugural episode, hosts Aaliyah Brown and Philip Coale reintroduce listeners to The Fuqua Show, a podcast sharing the stories, lessons, and passions of Team Fuqua at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. We interview diverse members of the community - students, alums, partners, faculty, staff, and more - to learn about the unique things they bring to the Fuqua community.

Episode Producers: Aaliyah Brown and Philip Coale
Hosts: Aaliyah Brown and Philip Coale
Editors: Aaliyah Brown and Philip Coale

Note: This is a student-run...

In this heartfelt episode of The Fuqua Show, host Abimbola sits down with Chizoma Ekechukwu - a second-year MBA student whose strength, warmth, and leadership have touched every corner of the Fuqua community. She's Co-President of the Black Business Student Association, a Career and Admissions Fellow, and a trusted mentor. But beyond the titles, Chizoma carries a story that changed everything.

While navigating the challenges of business school, Chizoma was diagnosed with cancer. What followed wasn’t a pause - it was a deep dive into healing, faith, and connection. In this conversation, she opens up about ho...

How did a law graduate end up running one of the most elite athletic programs in the country?

Nina King made history as Duke’s first female Vice President and Director of Athletics—and only the third Black woman ever to lead a Power Five athletic department. 

From law school to locker rooms, she’s risen to now overseeing 27 varsity teams, teaching at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, and raising two boys. Nina is redefining what leadership looks like in a male-dominated arena. And she’s earned every accolade: Forty Under 40, Leaders Under 40, A...

Mitchell Woodruff (Class of 2024) grew up in the small town of Crestwood, Kentucky. After earning a degree in psychology from Xavier University, Mitchell pursued nursing at Bellarmine University and worked as a pediatric ICU travel nurse across the U.S. and abroad. He spent time providing care on a ship off the coast of Africa, helping children with cleft lip and palate repairs, and eventually decided to switch careers, enrolling in the Duke MBA program. Now, Mitchell is preparing for a move to the Bay Area and a new role as a consultant.

In this episode, Mitchell...

Dr. Ronnie Chatterji returned to Fuqua in 2023, after serving in the White House as implementation lead for the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act. He thrives at the intersection of academia, public policy, and business, working as a professor and researcher at Fuqua for the past 18 years. He has co-authored 2 books, published over 30 peer-reviewed articles, and written op-eds in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. Ronnie has also worked in President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers and he ran for State Treasurer of North Carolina in the 2020 election.

We often hear Ronnie talk...

Dr. Veronica Valencia Victoria (Class of 2024) is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and could also be considered a doctor of reinventing herself. Originally from a small town in Colombia, she moved to the U.S. when she was 12 years old, ultimately becoming the valedictorian of her high school. Inspired by her family, she became a physical therapist and supported patients over 4 years. After the loss of a friend and fellow healthcare worker during the pandemic, Veronica was driven to start a scholarship in his name and pursue an MBA to expand her impact in the health sector. After graduation...

Kandasi Griffiths (Class of 2024) had a goal to see the world. And after living in 17 places on 4 continents, she is certainly on her way! After college, she taught English in Paris, organized conferences in the UK, and learned jewelry making in Italy, before pivoting to international development. She worked in Afghanistan, Jordan, Tanzania, Guinea, Benin, and Togo, learning about global health and seeing how she could best contribute to community development. Kandasi then founded a social enterprise called SR Collaborative (srcollaborative.com), focused on supporting women of color change agents and their ventures. She came to Fuqua to pivot...

Annie Forrest (Class of 2024) grew up in a small Appalachian town called Richlands, Virginia, where her family has lived for 8 generations. She left home for the University of Virginia, where she became an advocate for sexual assault and relationship abuse prevention. She then moved to New York City to continue this work full time at the One Love Foundation. And after 9 years away, she came back to Richlands and became inspired to work on uplifting rural communities.

In this episode, Annie shares her inspiring journey of leaving and ultimately returning home. She also talks about the Appalachian...

Dr. John M. de Figueiredo (Faculty Director, Duke Center for Institutional and Organizational Performance) has taught strategy, law, and economics at Duke for more than 14 years and has received 8 teaching awards. However, when trying to start his career in academia, he was rejected from every PhD program he applied for, all because someone lost his GRE answer sheet! In this episode, John discusses how rejections, constant setbacks, and serendipity have led him to new opportunities, such as becoming a consultant in Europe and working for the famous Michael Porter (creator of "Porter's Five Forces"). He also shares his insights...

Queen Nwokonneya (Class of 2024) has big ambitions to improve people's lives in developing countries. Originally from Abuja, Nigeria, she discovered a passion for international and economic development, which brought her to the UK for school and back to Africa for work. Through her pre-MBA career, Queen advised the Lagos government on urban renewal policy, worked with her hometown community to plant 5,000 trees, helped vaccinate over 100,000 children, and more. In this episode, Queen shares many of her lessons learned - about leadership, relationship building, and developing both solutions and systems for long-term change.

Episode Editor: Jenna Houchins (MBA...

Erin Worsham spends her days helping people create positive impact in the world. She has been at Duke for a total of 19 years, first as an undergrad music major and now as the leader of Fuqua's Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE), Erin has developed a rich understanding of social impact, from her time as a Stanford MBA student to her jobs at the World Bank, USAID, Booz Allen Hamilton, and now Fuqua.

In this episode, Erin shares experiences and advice on being a "nontraditional" MBA student, challenging yourself, staying humble, building “tri-sector leadership" (private, pu...

Happy (?) Tax Day! To celebrate, we're bringing you a special episode with our professor and resident tax guru Scott Dyreng - featuring advice on taxes, life, and everything in between.

Scott Dyreng grew up on a turkey farm in rural Utah and made his way to writing op-eds for the Wall Street Journal. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Scott has seen the world (Chile, UK), started a family (with six children), built a blueberry farm, and taken several detours before ending up at Duke. In this episode, he shares his journey...

Kanchan Nebhwani (Class of 2024) comes from an Indian family, but grew up in South America and the Caribbean. She learned about entrepreneurship from her family's furniture business and she eventually came to the U.S. to become a founder herself. Kanchan and her brother co-founded Drūmi, a premium mattress company with a mission to protect coral reefs and clean up the oceans they grew up swimming in. In this episode, Kanchan shares how she forged her own path, defined her own labels, and stayed positive through professional and personal challenges.

Note: This is a student-run production. T...

Kelsey Worsham and Rhea Philip (Class of 2025) join us for this episode in honor of Women’s History Month. The newly elected co-presidents of the Association of Women in Business (AWIB), Kelsey and Rhea share a passion for female empowerment and supporting other women, as well as pride in being a successful woman in business themselves. In this episode, we discuss a range of topics, including advocating for yourself and others, the female tech industry, navigating sexism in the workplace, allyship, and, of course, the famous "Barbie" monologue. It's an episode full of insight and inspiration for people of al...