David Russell
Columbia Business School
“Enthusiasm is my middle name, albeit in Gaelic.”
Hometown: Peachtree City, Georgia
Fun fact about yourself: I spent my first year of undergrad in the Republic of Panama
Undergraduate School and Degree: Florida State University, Theatre
Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? I worked for the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command as an executive officer, specifically in International Donor Coordination Centre (NYT article), pushing aid to Ukraine.
Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Actually, two places! I helped a pre-seed Construction Tech startup and had a customer experience role at Delta Air Lines.
Where will you be working after graduation? My fingers are crossed for a pending role in Innovation and Sustainability at Delta, but it’s not official…yet!
Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:
- Elected Cluster Chair (Cohort Leader)
- Worked three new student orientations as a Peer Advisor
- Worked with admissions to include interviewing prospective students
- Sat on the Student Leadership and Ethics Board
- Participated in our ReEntry Acceleration Program as an advisor to formerly incarcerated persons in Columbia’s Justice Through Code Program
- Led two Leadership exchanges with the United States Military Academy at West Point
- E. Woolman Scholar
- T. Battenberg, III Scholar
- William J. Heffernan Scholar
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? It was moderating a discussion about innovative leadership with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (Highest uniformed member of the US Military). It was a delight as their executive experience and exemplar work to foster a diverse and equitable workforce at all levels resonates with the responsibility of leaders in all private and public leadership positions.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Just prior to business school, I was in a small conference room in Europe, convincing half a dozen federal government agencies to permit unprecedented donation by private companies directly to Ukraine. I was most proud of this because it was far-and-away the most instantly impactful single professional project I have ever had the pleasure of working on.
Why did you choose this business school? I was convinced that attending CBS at this pivotal time in our society’s (post-pandemic) and its own (new campus) history would provide an unprecedented degree of student impact on the program’s culture, perhaps ever, in the school’s 106-year legacy. I was not disappointed.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? Tough question, but I’ll nod to Professor Medini Singh. He’s a tiger in the classroom who brings great energy and passion to the Operations Management curriculum. He is also known to demand detailed reading of assigned cases and eager to encourage thoughtful classroom discussion, often asking follow-up questions to student responses.
What was your favorite course as an MBA? CBS Dean Emeritus Glenn Hubbard’s Business and Society would take that for me. Its broad look at how to reconcile shareholder vs. stakeholder value is a treasure trove of catharsis for young business minds.
What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? For whatever reason, our Rugby Football Club (RFC) has cracked the code for collaboration with all other student organizations. There are weekly networking events co-sponsored by the RFC and every other Affinity, Professional, and Interest student organization that strikes the perfect display of our inclusive culture. When I think about those weekly gatherings, they reflect the broad and deep networking ubiquitous amongst students from every background and the collective rallying cry for unity in our MBA moment.
Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Our degree requirement is 60 credits, and if I could start again today, I would greatly exceed that minimum. Experiencing what our curriculum has to offer is such a unique and precious thing. Grabbing an extra class or two along the way would be my change-of-course. I have been consistently impressed and thrilled at the intellectual capital not only found in our faculty but in my fellow students as well.
What is the biggest myth about your school? Folks always assume CBS is exclusively a finance school. This is FAR from the truth, but I will say, as I had hoped, financially-minded thinking does often proliferate into every topic in a productive and nuanced way that I was keen to explore.
What did you love most about your business school’s town? New York is easy to love for its sheer grandeur. For me, it will always be confluence of global culture and unrelenting expectation for excellence in everything that I have forever loved about New York.
What surprised you the most about business school? I was most surprised by the resilience of the community at every turn. Whether it was letdowns with the job market or geopolitical tensions building around the world and our city, the community was consistently among the most resilient I have seen.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I would call out Rebecca (Xin Yu) Liang. She is a learning teammate (our small groups of 4-5 students for our core curriculum) and I watched her battle the job market, the visa process, and ultimately land herself a dream job. Her grit and determination are inspiring.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
1. Run a zero-emissions international Airline
2. Start a non-profit that facilitates cultural exchanges for secondary school students to experience a different region/lifestyle within the United States.
What made David such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?
“Former Air Force operations specialist, David Russell joined CBS with an undying passion to make the most of his experience at CBS and to improve every aspect of it along the way. Dave Russell is one of the students that has most impacted the experience of his classmates, the Office of Student Affairs, and the institution at large mostly from behind the scenes – using his logistical and operational expertise to execute community wide programming. Dave jumped into leadership on day one of CBS by becoming the Cluster Chair for his cluster. Since then, he has taken on subsequent leadership positions including (but not limited to) serving as part of the Hermes Society, Peer Advisor Executive Board, VP of Events for the Veterans Club, and the Student Leadership and Ethics Board. In the role of VP of Community and Recruitment on the Peer Advisor Board, Dave has sought to create a smooth experience for entering students. Within a culture of inclusion and support, he has successfully attended all four orientations during his time as an MBA — once as an incoming student and three times as a peer advisor. As Dave Russell moves into the world, we know we are graduating students of great character, commitment, and excellence.”
Samantha Shapses, Ed.D.
Associate Dean and Dean of Student Affairs
Columbia Business School
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