2 CEMBA Students Land on Poets & Quants Best and Brightest List
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Poets & Quants has named Carlson Executive MBA (CEMBA) students Raha Been and Carlos Demiranda to its Best and Brightest Executive MBA Students in the Class of 2018 list.
They are among 100 honorees chosen from a pool of student nominees representing 45 top business programs worldwide. The winners “personify excellence,” according to Poets & Quants, and were chosen based on class contributions, academic performance, extracurricular involvement, professional achievement, personal intangibles, and unique personal stories.
Raha Been
For Raha Been, a career transition led her to pursue a CEMBA degree at the Carlson School.
Been, a now four-time graduate of the University, completed her three previous degrees in science fields and carved out a successful 11-year career in healthcare research and development.
She then received an opportunity to become a business leader through a senior research scientist position with 3M. With that career transition, she wanted more tools in her toolbox to elevate her from a contributor to a leader in her new role.
The skills she learned at the Carlson School’s CEMBA program have been integral to her success in her new role.
“I’m more informed and better equipped to navigate complex situations and pass that learning onto individuals I work with and mentor,” she says. “Through the MBA program, I have refined the tools I already had to better speak about, support, and lead on important issues regarding quality for women in the workforce.”
Been, a Minnetonka-native, now works at 3M in the automotive and aerospace solutions divisions as a global new product marketing manager.
Carlos Demiranda
Throughout his time in the Carlson School’s CEMBA program, the moments spent with his peers stand out most to Carlos Demiranda.
He recalls late nights spent discussing their challenges and passions, and then relating it to the topics they were learning in the program. Those types of connections with students and professors are why he chose to pursue his degree at the Carlson School.
By working with other students from a variety of backgrounds, Demiranda, a senior manager of replenishment strategy at General Mills, brought people together. Building and developing these teams throughout his cohort was something that he says will stick with him long after he leaves the Carlson School.
“It was amazing to watch us challenge each other and work together to develop the best team environment I have ever experienced,” he says. “This school experience, partnered with my past two roles at General Mills, have allowed me to lead teams through adversity while building great relationships.”
Demiranda, a Texas-native, also received a BSB from the Carlson School.
