MBA Alumni Spotlight

Alums serve up hogs and hope at annual fundraiser
As members of the Boar’s Nest, a team competing at the annual Hogs for the Cause fundraiser, Chris Puckett (MBA ’04) and Ryan Kenter (MBA ’04) are cooking up pork aplenty this year.

Changing the face of medicine
As a child growing up surrounded by poverty, food insecurity and crime, Russell Ledet (MD/MBA ’22) never dreamed he would one don a white doctor’s coat as a graduate of Tulane School of Medicine, but the Lake Charles, Louisiana, native has accomplished all that and more.

Candy Man: Alum helps spread the love on Valentine’s Day
Rob Nelson (BSM ’88) won’t be scrambling to find a last-minute Valentine’s Day gift this year. As CEO of Elmer Chocolate, Nelson has been planning for Valentine’s Day 2025 for the last two years.

Delivering the future
You might think working for one of the biggest companies in the world means getting used to success, but Amazon's Joe Mulford (MBA ’25) says it’s just the opposite.

Visionary Leadership: Alum hopes to transform optical services for marginalized communities
Jesse Devlyn (MBA '93) is CEO of Zoom Vision, which hopes to transform optometry in the U.S. by providing affordable, on-demand vision care to underserved populations, including the country’s large Hispanic community.

Dishing tea on Generation Z
Executive MBA student Melissa Lavigne-Delville (MBA '25) is the founder of Culture Co-op, a boutique market research firm that helps top brands connect with today's younger generations.

Neal Talaske
MBA program alum Neal Talaske (MBA/MSR ’21) is helping to create a sustainable future through the skills he acquired in Tulane’s MBA/sustainable real estate development program,

MBA alum shifts from TV news to economic development
In May, Louis David (MBA ’11) was named interim president and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance, the public-private partnership that serves as the City of New Orleans’ official economic development organization.

Freeman alum competes on new season of ‘Survivor’
Freeman grad Owen Knight (BSM ’14, MBA ’18) survived his first Tribal Council, avoiding elimination on the season premiere of “Survivor.” Knight, Tulane University’s director of admission engagement, is one of 18 players competing for a $1 million grand prize on season 43 of the CBS reality-competition show.