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“Pet insurance” isn’t what came to Laura Bennett’s mind when she dreamed about starting her own company during business school.  But when three of her Wharton classmates asked her to join their business plan competition team, given her 12 years of experience at Canada Life Assurance Company, Laura agreed.  One business plan competition win and six years later, Laura is the CEO and CFO of Embrace Pet Insurance, which offers a suite of pet insurance products that can be easily tailored to fit pet owners’ needs.

Laura and her co-founder, Alex Krooglik, built Embrace Pet Insurance based on an actuarial model previously only found in the auto and homeowners insurance market.  They innovated by pricing Embrace’s products by applying general principles of actuarial science—leveraging Laura’s actuarial and accounting training in consultation with veterinary clinics.  The company took its first round of venture capital in 2008.  In 2009 alone, Embrace doubled its policies, tripled its sales in the latter part of the year, and grew from seven to 17 employees. 

In addition to her work at Embrace, Laura is an Actuary with a CFA designation, and a mother of two young girls.  And, as you might expect, she is the proud pet parent of a cat named Lily, and 2 gray tabby kittens, Rocket and Rosie.
 

Growing up, Tim Eck was fascinated by both sides of the magician’s art: the captivating power of illusion and the mechanics behind it.  But it was a visit to Walt Disney World that convinced him to pursue the “magic” of animatronics and the creation of characters that interact with people in a lifelike fashion.

As a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon, he pursued a Master’s degree in Entertainment Technology, a newly established interdisciplinary program between the schools of Computer Science and Fine Art.  At CMU, he also co-founded the Interactive Animatronics Initiative to research applications for conversational interactive animatronics in theme parks, museums, and location-based entertainment venues. 

Tim’s early goal is one that is still considered the pinnacle of animatronics.  He continues to pursue it as a Senior Engineer at Walt Disney World’s Design and Engineering Division, where he works on the next generation of character-based experiences for Disney’s global theme parks. Over the long term, he wants to create technologies that enable new interactive entertainment experiences, contributing to the magic that first inspired him as a child.
 

Kevin Bardonner says that his career bears out Tom Siebel’s advice to the Class of 2002 Scholars to join a company they admired and work toward their ideal role.  Kevin went to pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly because he was passionate about the company’s efforts to improve the lives of millions of people around the world.  Starting out in finance, he followed his interests in engineering and business to a position in R&D, and ultimately has found his calling in a crucial aspect of clinical trial operations. 

As team leader in the Clinical Trial Material Services group, Kevin manages and coordinates the delivery of drug supplies for oncology and other early-phase studies.  He relishes the unique challenges that come with each study, where logistical and regulatory hurdles must be cleared for timely delivery of medicines that have potential to help people heal more quickly.  Kevin is currently supporting clinical trials for the neuroscience group that is developing drugs to help patients with depression, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses to lead functional lives.

Kevin has a joint Master’s degree in Business and Engineering Management from Northwestern University, and is quick to recommend recent graduates join a company they hold in high regard and pursue the role they seek.
 

Akshay Sethi does it all:  he acts in plays, raises his twin sons, and plays basketball, all while running his family business conglomerate, where again – he excels at a variety of leadership roles. 

Akshay works across all four sectors of The Stellar Group, managing multi-million dollar real estate projects, guiding the growth of the hospitality arm, advising the banking division, and acting as Chief Technology Officer of the information technology branch.

Akshay helped grow his family’s business after college graduation, and then spent two years working in the Development Economics Group at the World Bank, where he helped European and Central Asian governments formulate strategy for and implement more efficient spending in areas such as health, labor, and education.  It was here where Akshay’s strong interest in economic development and sustainability was fortified.

Upon his return to the business after graduation from business school and a stint at McKinsey’s New York office, Akshay incorporated these economic and environmental sustainability principles into his family’s business.  The Stellar Group provides day care and health care to all its laborers working on their real estate construction sites.  The Stellar Group’s buildings are also constructed to enable them to attain a gold standard of energy efficiency, a rating given by the Ministry of Environment in India.  Akshay continues to look for opportunities in various sectors where his family’s company can have a lasting and important impact.