The forecast called for eight inches of snow, but that didn’t stop dozens of Washington University alumni, friends, and media from attending the official launch of Olin’s Executive MBA program in Denver, February 20.
Andy, the sign guy, made and installed the new banner! Billboards like this will be popping up around Denver soon.
A huge banner announcing the arrival of our top-ranked program to Denver welcomed guests to the Innovation Pavilion, a startup incubator with 80 tennants and counting, in Centennial, Colorado, just south of the capital.
Vik Ahmed, BS ’88, is the founder of the Innovation Pavilion and a serial entrepreneur (more on that later).
Vik Ahmed, founder of the Innovation Pavilion and proud Wash U alumnus.
He was a gracious and enthusiastic host for the event. His brother, Umer Farouq, BSBA’88, is commuting from Virginia right now to help Vik manage the thriving incubator. The two of them are in constant motion, going from meetings with entrepreneurs and VCs to heping their events staff set up tables or find another roll of velcro tape! An entrepreneurs work is never done!
- Umer Farouq, CFO of the Innovation Pavilion.
When all the banners were in place, microphones tested, caterers standing by with hors d’oeurves, and the cameras were ready to roll, Wash U alumnus (BS’67, MA’69 Architecture), and trustee Ralph Nagel (pictured above) welcomed the crowd and said he was looking forward to the day that Denver would recognize the vision, leadership, and investment of Chancellor Mark Wrighton and his tenure at the university. Nagel praised the many partnerships the chancellor has fostered around the world on behalf of the school and the decision to launch the EMBA program in Denver. The Chancellor and Dean Mahendra Gupta took turns at the podium and talked about the decision to bring the EMBA program to Denver’s dynamic and growing business community.
Left to right: Umer Farouq, Vik Ahmed, Panos Kouvelis, Ralph Nagel, Chancellor Wrighton and Dean Gupta pose for the cameras at the Innovation Pavilion.
Denver’s active and 3,000-strong alumni club held one of their monthly events following the EMBA announcement and reception. It featured a panel of alumni-entrepreneurs who told true tales from the roller coaster world of startups. Stay tuned for more on that event!
