Daryl Ricasa
MBAA President

Daryl is an SJSU alumnus with a BS in Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management, which has earned him managerial roles with Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Target Corporation and as the Student Union Event Services Manager for SJSU. Bridging career opportunities, promoting the value of the MBA program and the talent of the MBA students are Daryl’s main focal points during his leadership role with the MBA Association. Outside the MBA program, Daryl honors his humble roots by volunteering his spare time at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara County. He enjoys volunteering at Second Harvest because titles, education and socio-economic levels are all set aside. It’s about helping people. It’s about creating a better world. It’s about representing the value of an MBA.

Nick Gedestad
VP of Finance

Nick graduated from the University of Arizona with a Communication degree and began a busy, yet rather entertaining, career in the hospitality industry. He had the opportunity to work in 7 different cities throughout his 7.5 year career engaging in a variety of responsibilities. Once a move landed him in Santa Clara, it was as if he had returned home. He decided to branch out of the hotel industry and found solace in the competitive area of sales. He found that becoming an insurance broker would bring together the original idea of helping others, while at the same time allow him to utilize his financial expertise. That was one of the reasons SJSU’s ESMBA program was so attractive. He could broaden his knowledge in business and finance; while at the same time meet numerous people from industries and backgrounds. When Nick is not out networking with clients you can probably find him “relaxing” outside somewhere. It may be in a race, may be by the water, or may be just wandering around in the perfect weather that northern California offers.

Neda Mirzaei
VP of Marketing

Neda received a B.S. in Business Management from SJSU in 2010. She was an active member of Delta Zeta Sorority as an undergraduate, taking on both programming and executive board roles over her 4 years while an active member. In addition, Neda was a co-chair of the 2010 Student Organization Leadership Conference, and assisted in planning the event that hosted over 1,000 individuals. In addition to her role as VP of Marketing for the MBAA, Neda currently works at a biotech research company, studies in the Conventional MBA program, and is an advisor at her sorority. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, trying new things, baking, entertaining, and traveling. She believes that it is essential to be involved with all aspects of life in order to get the best experiences.

Mansi Shukla
VP of Alumni Relations

Mansi is currently a full time MBA student at Lucas School of Business. She grew up in Ahmedabad, India and holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. Mansi worked with Reliance refinery in India, the world’s largest refinery, for three and a half years. She has represented various debate and elocution competition at national level. Mansi has organized several events during her academic life. She was an active member of Rotaract club in India. She moved to the US after getting married in 2009.She loves to travel and has traveled extensively across the world. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, cooking, reading and shopping. Mansi volunteers with local non-profits such as child services at a Foster Home. Mansi believes she will contribute to the MBAA association with her networking skills, in providing a channel of communication between alumni and current students.

Ruta Apte
CMBA Program Representative

Veronica Tang
MBA One Program Representative

Veronica grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia, and had her Bachelor degree in Economics, with focus on marketing management, from Indonesian Business and Informatics Institute (IBII). After her graduation, she worked as a marketing and public relations officer in a computer parts distributor company. Later, she also worked as a personal assistant to the Managing Director of Indonesian Red Bull distributor company, PT. Asiasejahtera Perdana Pharmaceutical. In 2009, she went to the U.S. to pursue higher education. Currently, Veronica is enrolled full-time in the MBA One program and strives to absorb as much knowledge as she can. Moreover, she is working on honing her organizational and leadership skill by joining the MBA association. In her spare time, she loves to play tennis with her husband and read books. Her favorite authors are Sam Horn, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

Atul Wagle
ESMBA Program Representative

Gabit Bazar
MBA/MSE Program Representative

Gabit grew up in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and did his undergraduate degree in Mongolian University of Science and Technology and the second degree at Dickinson State Univirsity majoring in Computer Engineering and Computer science respectively. After undergraduate degree graduation, he co-found software development company with his peers and in fall 2011, he joined the MBA and MSE dual degree program at SJSU. Gabit is very passionate and excited about the MBA Association and believes that MBA Association is essential part of the whole MBA experience, and he also believes that MBAA is the "Golden gate" to other students’ future career success.

Dr. Mahesh Rajan
Faculty Advisor

Dr. Mahesh Rajan is MBA Director at the Lucas Graduate School of Business, and Associate Professor in Global Enterprise Management and Marketing at the College of Business, San José State University. Before joining San José State University, Professor Rajan has been a faculty member at several eminent business schools including the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney. He has also had considerable work experience in the private sector in India, Japan, and the USA. Professor Rajan’s research interests include comparative economic and management systems, national (corporate) competitiveness and strategic advantage, managing structural decline, consumer logistics, and electronic commerce. He has received several research grants and fellowships from The Japan Foundation, Australian Research Council, SJSU Lucas Graduate School of Business Research Fellowship, and California State University Junior Faculty Research Grant and Lottery Grants. His research has been disseminated in prestigious international conferences, and published in leading journals. Professor Rajan actively serves the university community through committee work and was the Faculty Advisor for AIESEC (a worldwide student organization involved in foreign internships and cross-cultural exchanges) before taking over as the Faculty Advisor for the MBA Association. Click here to know more http://www.cob.sjsu.edu/rajan_m/