Berkeley Haas Global Access Program

Are you a BHGAP Alumni living and working in the Bay Area? We'd love to reconnect with you! Even if you're not interested in hosting an office visit, we'd love to invite you back to reconnect with BHGAP! Shoot an email to Drew at dlightfoot@berkeley.edu. Let's reconnect!

Earlier this week, BHGAP had the special privilege of visiting Intel Corporation Headquarters in Silicon Valley hosted by Arun Gupta, VP and GM of Open Ecosystems Initiatives! Thank you to Arun and Shivani Sud, Sr. AI Solution Architect, for inspiring our students with your expertise in open source and the AI industry. Your deep insight was invaluable to our group. We greatly appreciate your time with us and for your welcome to Intel! After our discussion we were lucky enough to see a demo of technologies enabled by Intel as well as a overview of the history of Intel and it’s products by Ken Deng, many thanks for your time and for the special gifts for our students! Special thanks to Drew Lightfoot and Heather Mason ⚪️ Early Career Program Manager for putting this visit together and Andrew Guest for photography. #ucberkeley #ucberkeleyextension #BHGAP #Haas #Technology #SiliconValley #innovation #studyabroad

We're thrilled to share some highlights from the recent activities of the Berkeley Haas Global Access Program! This week, our cohort had the incredible opportunity to engage with industry leaders through a series of enriching company talks. Here's a glimpse into our experiences: 1️⃣ On-Campus Visit with Dr. Kuljeet Kaur from Opus Fund Services: Our program had the privilege of hosting Dr. Kaur, Head of Cyber Security right here on campus. Dr. Kaur shared invaluable insights into the dynamic world of Cyber Security, offering our participants a deeper understanding of the industry's intricacies. She left us with expert advice for pursuing a career in the industry as well as the importance of understanding cyber and its impact on businesses across the board. 2️⃣ Virtual Meeting with Apple's Kalyan Bhamidi, Manufacturing Operations and Brian Nguyen, Head of Connections Strategy. Kal and Brian shared their professional journeys and the ways in which their work reflects the innovative and collaborative spirit of Silicon Valley. Students were able to connect with them about career journeys and advice for moving onward after a business education. Thank you so much to Kal and Brian for joining us for this valuable discussion! 3️⃣ Office visit to Mindy. As part of our commitment to experiential learning, we embarked on a fascinating journey to Mindy, an AI startup in San Francisco. This immersive experience allowed our cohort to witness firsthand the intersection of cutting-edge technology and entrepreneurial spirit, inspiring them to explore new frontiers in the realm of artificial intelligence. Thank you to co-founders Benoit Berthoux, Yu Pan, and Cuong Do as well as Head of Product Pranav Advaithi Mulgund for making time to share with our group. The wealth of experiences shared by Yu, Benoit, Cuong, and Pranav in numerous startup companies, along with their successes, truly inspired us. Our students couldn't contain their excitement! UC Berkeley Extension University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business Berkeley Global #BerkeleyHaas #GlobalAccessProgram #IndustryInsights #ExperientialLearning #BusinessEducation #Innovation #Networking #StudyAbroad🌎✨

Closing out last week, BHGAP had the pleasure of visiting Visa offices in San Francisco! Many thanks to Vlada Alexandrov and Sabrina Siew for graciously welcoming our group of students to your beautiful offices and for sharing so much about the work you do in Global Marketing and Brand. We are honored to be able to connect our students with you again and for the attention, care, and curation you put into our time together. Thanks as well to Michelle Hu, Andrés Mociulsky and Aki Kadotani for your valuable insights. This visit inspired many of our students by the care and attention your teams bring to evolving on one of the world's most recognizable brands. Thank you to Henry Tsang, Ph.D. and Drew Lightfoot for planning and leading on this visit. #ucberkeley #ucberkeleyextension #BHGAP #Haas #Entrepreneurship #SiliconValley #innovation #studyabroad

BHGAP's Silicon Valley Connections had a busy week with three amazing discussions with Silicon Valley leaders, offering a diversity of perspectives in the areas of venture capital, startup founder journeys, and innovation consulting. Each of these discussions highlighted Silicon Valley innovation and how the speakers' connections and experiences at Berkeley facilitated their journeys. A group of BHGAP students had the amazing chance to speak with members of the Corporate Venture Capital Team at DENSO Silicon Valley via Zoom. Thank you to Tony Cannestra, Director of Corporate Venture Capital (and two-time Berkeley Alum and Haas MBA) as well as Akihito Tanahashi, Senior Coordinator CVC. We got to get a glimpse into Corporate Ventures and the approach that Denso takes to identifying and funding startups. We greatly appreciate your time and thank you for connecting with our students! A lucky group of students got to visit the Accenture Innovation Hub in the beautiful Salesforce Tower. We met with Shivani P., Senior Strategy Analyst. Shivani was yet another contact who stressed the importance of networking! And as a Haas alum, she embodies the Haas Defining Leadership Principles every day. Especially "Question the Status Quo" - she uses this every day as a strategy analyst. Thank you, Shivani and Accenture for hosting our group! Lastly, but not least, we were hosted by the incredible Kelly Cure, Co-Founder at Skillful.ly and Haas MBA, in the stunning offices at SHACK15. Kelly shared so much about her journey towards and through co-founding her company. Her advice for those who are looking to start a company: fall in love with the problem you're trying to solve! Run your own race and don't try to compare your race to other people, your journey is your own! Thank you so much Kelly, and Summer Kelly for hosting our group! Special thanks to the amazing BHGAP team for leading these visits: Lauren Cooper, Toshie B., and YUXUAN SUN. Thank you to Drew Lightfoot and Heather Mason ⚪️ Early Career Program Manager for organizing the Silicon Valley Connections series. #ucberkeley #ucberkeleyextension #BHGAP #Haas #Entrepreneurship #SiliconValley #innovation #studyabroad

This week, BHGAP kicked off our Silicon Valley Connections events with a visit to Adobe HQ and a visit to campus by Co-founder of FoodWare, Romina Silva! At Adobe, a group of lucky students got to get to meet and hear from Nancy Hoque, Director of Sales Finance. Many thanks to Nancy for putting together a wonderful visit and series of speakers! Thank you to Raji Advaithi Venugopalan and Riju Pareek for sharing their experiences and insight with our students. Our students left inspired! Back at Haas, we welcomed Romina Silva from FoodWare for a fireside chat hosted by our very own Lauren Cooper! Romina shared insights into her journey as a startup co-founder. She shared some key advice for our entrepreneurial students, including a depth of passion for your ideas and the importance of networking while in a place like Berkeley. Thank you so much, Romina! Special thanks to our wonderful team members Toshie B. and YUXUAN SUN for accompanying our students ensuring that the visits went smoothly. Thanks as well to Drew Lightfoot and Heather Mason ⚪️ Early Career Program Manager for leading on organizing our series of events! #ucberkeley #ucberkeleyextension #BHGAP #Haas #Entrepreneurship #SiliconValley #innovation #studyabroad

BHGAP closed out the Fall semester with a visit to Twitch headquarters in San Francisco! Big thanks to Gaelle Vialle for hosting our group and sharing so much about her professional journey, inspiring our students to take risks and take advantage of opportunities when they arise. On this visit, our students got a glimpse into the work culture at Twitch, a leading gaming/entertainment company, and we were lucky to have such a gracious host. Thank you also to our UC Berkeley Extension Custom Programs team members Nadège Thorez and Bhavya Kondapaneni for lining up this visit. Special thanks to our team members who joined on this visit Bhavya Kondapaneni, Alex Sun, and Drew Lightfoot. #ucberkeley #ucberkeleyextension #BHGAP #Haas #Entrepreneurship #SiliconValley #innovation #studyabroad

BHGAP visited three exciting companies this week during our round of Silicon Valley Immersion site visits! This week's speakers focused on the theme of International Marketing. Thank you to our company hosts and guest speakers for sharing your time and wisdom with our group. Students left energized and excited to dive into global marketing after their time with you all! Special thanks to the following companies and professionals: Visa Vlada Alexandrov, Director, Global Marketing Sabrina Siew, Canada Marketing Manager Thank you both for taking time to engage with our students! We are so lucky to have had you join us and for your wonderful energy! Tata Consultancy Services Damra M., Global Head of Marketing AI, CX, and Intelligent Manufacturing Atashi C-PHR, MBA (HRM), Talent Engagement Partner Thanks for walking us through some major projects and how you gain profitable growth through data-driven marketing! AppsFlyer Carolyn Bao, VP of Marketing Elena Mikhaylov, PCC, ELI-MP, SPHR, VP People Chengcheng Feng, Senior Customer Success Manager Thank you all for your time and warm welcome to AppsFlyer. We appreciate the great wisdom and advice that you shared with us. Thank you also to our UC Berkeley Extension Custom Programs team members, Nadège Thorez, and Bhavya Kondapaneni for helping us organize these visits. Special thanks to our wonderful team members Lauren Cooper, Toshie B. and Henry Tsang, Ph.D. for accompanying our students ensuring that the visits went smoothly. #ucberkeley #ucberkeleyextension #BHGAP #Haas #Entrepreneurship #SiliconValley #innovation #studyabroad

This week, BHGAP continued our Silicon Valley company visits with visits centered on innovation management. We would like to extend our appreciation to our company hosts, speakers, and founders who shared their varied experiences around innovation. Our students enjoyed their time at your offices and learned so much from your advice, wisdom, and experiences. Plug and Play Tech Center Roja Amrollah, Vice President, Investment Operations - Thank you for welcoming our group and organizing this visit.  Nithyasri Manikandan, Investment Associate - Many thanks for a wonderful tour and for being so engaging and welcoming with our group.  Rouzbeh Borhani, MBA, Head of Semiconductors - Thank you for sharing more about the context of Plug and Play and the many opportunities supported by Plug and Play. Cyrille Najjar, CEO at Sensio Air - It was a pleasure to hear more about your very impressive an innovative company. Sanjeev Kumar Chaudhry, Founder/CEO at GIGAFORCE - thank you for your wonderful storytelling about subrogation and sharing more about your company. Hendrik Cornelissen, Intern at Plug and Play, thank you for stepping in to assist our group. DENSO Silicon Valley Innovation Center Akihito Tanahashi, Senior Coordinator, Corporate Venture Capital - Thank you so much for welcoming our group and for organizing this visit Shinichiro Nakamura, Senior Vice President - Thank you for your welcome to our group. TORU HIRANO, Director of Silicon Valley R&D - We appreciate you sharing more about R&D at Denso. Tony Cannestra, Director of Corporate Ventures – Our students truly got so much from what you shared. Thank you for your insights into what you look for when identifying startups to fund. Donna Taylor, Investment Manager - Thank you for joining and for your welcome. Circuit Launch and mechlabs  Patrick Maniere, General Manager at Circuit Launch - Thank you for giving our group a tour and sharing more about your company. Dan O'Mara, COO, Founder at mechlabs - We were inspired by what you shared about staying on the “razor’s edge” of robotics and AI, thank you! Thank you all again for your time, and for sharing so much of your knowledge and wisdom with our students! Thank you also to our UC Berkeley Extension Custom Programs team members, Nadège Thorez, and Bhavya Kondapaneni for helping us organize these visits. Special thanks to our wonderful team members Lauren Cooper, Drew Lightfoot, Toshie B. and Alex Sun for accompanying our students ensuring that the visits went smoothly. #ucberkeley #ucberkeleyextension #BHGAP #Haas #Entrepreneurship #SiliconValley #innovation #studyabroad

BHGAP had the privilege of visiting Google Cloud offices in Silicon Valley last week. This group of lucky students got to learn about opportunities for innovation that Google supports for its employees. Our students came away energized to innovate! Thank you to Susaant K., Product Manager - Thank you for organizing this visit and speaking to our students about innovation at Google. Thank you as well to Anusheel Pareek, Product Manager for sharing your insights. Thank you also to our UC Berkeley Extension Custom Programs team members, Nadège Thorez and Bhavya Kondapaneni for helping us organize these visits. Special thanks to our wonderful team member, Drew Lightfoot, for accompanying our students ensuring that the visits went smoothly. #ucberkeley #ucberkeleyextension #BHGAP #Haas #Entrepreneurship #SiliconValley #innovation #studyabroad