From the dean >
BBA program soars >
Bonding on the slopes >
Meet the professor >
Inquiring minds >
Alumni, faculty maintain worldwide connections >
Making diversity count >
Program spurs entrepreneur >
GMSC presentations >
Building alliances >
What ever happened to...>
In the news >
Doctoral student "inspires" >
Kudos >
K@Emory celebrates fifth year >
New faculty releases >
Park project aid city of Atlanta >
BBAs mine information gold >
Real deal on work/life balance >


Real estate careers >


Alumni news >
Mentors meet ‘mentees’ >
First international board >
2006 class gifts >
Muta Issa ’04EMBA >
Class Notes >
Igor Saveliev ’94MBA >
WEMBA class endows
nonprofit scholarship
>
Marc Forest ’85BBA >
Intercontinental Hotels Group >
Remembering
Bart Herbert ’92EMBA >

Library fills research gap >
Art and business merge
at Goizueta>


Archived issues >

 


Evening MBA Program spurs entrepreneur to action

James Alberalla ’07EvMBA admits that his days and nights are hectic. From morning to dusk, he heads up his own trade-show exhibit design firm, Exhibit A, based in Grayson, Georgia. Then, he treks off to Goizueta’s Evening MBA Program to hone his finance and management skills. Alberalla says, “I’ve had a successful career as an exhibit designer, but having earned a bachelor of fine arts in industrial design, I realized that I needed to acquire the business skills to start and grow a company of my own.”

Exhibit A is built on Alberalla’s twelve years of experience creating trade show exhibits for companies ranging from small start-ups to Fortune 100. Alberalla says, “I want to understand the business objectives that drive my clients’ marketing strategies, and to use that thinking to create more intelligent designs. In addition to communicating brand identity, I want my designs to deliver a return on investment as well. The Goizueta Evening MBA Program is helping me to do that.”

A trade show design created by entrepreneur James Alberalla ’07EvMBA, and produced by Czarnowski.

The Buffalo, New York native received his undergraduate degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1990. Prior to starting Exhibit A in August 2005, Alberalla held design director and senior designer positions at several Atlanta-based exhibit companies. But, while Alberalla advanced up the creative ranks, he says he knew that he wanted to start his own business. “Goizueta helped to focus those thoughts,” he notes. “I finished my business plan as a part of my entrepreneurship/new venture management class.”

Additionally, the Evening MBA administration matched Alberalla up with two alums already pursuing an entrepreneurial path, with Alberalla meeting one formally through the school’s mentoring program and the other person on an informal basis. “Their insights were particularly encouraging,” he says. Alberalla also credits Goizueta for providing an effective option for working professionals. “I have a wife and two children, so a full-time MBA isn’t an option because I need to continue to work full-time. The evening program allows me to work and to pursue my academic goals.”

Alberalla adds, “Creative types might disparage knowing about return on investment or cash flow, but without this information, my business can’t succeed.” He opted for a concentration in marketing and entrepreneurship at Goizueta. “I have a better handle on my clients’ needs, and they have a creative designer with a solid business understanding. It’s really a win-win situation.”

Myra A. Thomas

^ top