By Nathaniel Luce
The Executive MBA program has announced that Erin Raccah (EMBA’16) will serve as the program’s Global Immersion Capstone Project Coordinator for the 2018-2019 academic year.
Erin Raccah (EMBA’16)
Raccah, who served as the U.S. project manager last year, will act as the coordination point for project managers at the four business schools in the Americas Alliance: Fundacao Instituto de Administracao (FIA), Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), Simon Fraser University Beedie School of Business, and Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. She will also continue in her capacity as the Vanderbilt-based project coach for U.S. projects.
“Erin has the perspective of a student — she experienced it,” said Juli Bennett, Executive Director of the Executive MBA Program at Vanderbilt. “She knows where the highs and the lows are and can truly mentor students through the experience.”
The Capstone experience is a foundational element of the Global Immersion Track. Cross-cultural student teams serve in a consulting role to solve a complex question for a company doing business in at least three of the four countries that comprise the Americas Alliance (Brazil, Canada, Mexico, U.S.). Raccah and the project coaches each source two projects from their home country and facilitate the international student teams to complete the project-based deliverables and final recommendation during the school year.
“The coaches for the Global Immersion Capstone Program are top notch: smart, funny, talented, and insightful,” said Raccah.“We all care deeply about getting an excellent result for the client companies and ensuring the best possible student experience. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to work with such a great team.”
As coordinator, Raccah will onboard new project coaches, coordinate the coaching team, review potential projects and clients with the project coaches, and manage project assignments. Each of the Americas Alliance coaches serve an integral role with the projects in their home country and the student teams to deliver the highest quality result.
“The Capstone project is truly a cornerstone of what the executive program has been for more than 35 years,” said Bennett. “It is an experience that integrates all of the curriculum and gives a hands-on requirement to be able to deliver a high-level project to a well-educated, discerning client. It’s critical to the learning experience here.”
Based in Memphis, Tenn., Raccah is Chief Counsel of North American Papers at International Paper. She joined International Paper in 2006, working in a variety of roles, including interim General Counsel for the company’s India operations. Before joining International Paper, Raccah practiced law in New York at Pillsbury Winthrop and in Portland, Maine, at Pierce Atwood. She holds a B.S. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, and an M.B.A. from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.
“Personally, I learned a tremendous amount participating in the global Capstone program,” Raccah said. “The insights gained from collaborating in a global virtual team cannot be learned in a classroom setting; they must be lived over many months. In quiet restaurants or static-filled early-morning conference calls, you learn to listen to one another differently, to appreciate each person’s depth of experience and knowledge, to gain insight and a new perspective because of the richness of the international students you are working with all year.
“Because I grew so much in my own personal development as a result of my peer experience, I want to help other people to have that experience. It’s more fun, and it opens your mind and your eyes.”
To learn more about the Executive MBA program, visit our program page, or request information.
