Andrew Galbierz already had an MBA, and he possessed more than a decade of experience in the business of healthcare. He worked on the launch—and eventually the sale—of Contessa Health, a startup that pioneered a model for acute-level care delivered in patients’ homes.

What would make a successful healthcare entrepreneur with a graduate business degree want to return to business school?

It was all about gaining a broader perspective, he says. “A majority of my career has been working on the financial/administrative side of healthcare and developing value-based care models. I work with finance folks, and I work with administrative business folks. But working closely with clinicians who are the backbone of healthcare—having them as classmates and learning about their experience in their professions—was crucial to understanding that point of view. So, what the MMHC program offered me layered on top of the experience I already had.

“Having the opportunity to learn alongside very experienced and accomplished physicians has really
helped shape my view of how healthcare functions and the industry in general. Discussing business-related healthcare topics, and seeing them through the lens of a clinician, provides new insights and gives me a viewpoint I had yet to be exposed to in my everyday work life. It provides a great new perspective to think about things differently.”

Though Andrew already possessed significant knowledge and skills through his MBA, he gained new tools through the program. “For example,” he says, “tools that measure productivity and assess valuation to certain project alternatives all had applicable, real-time use in my day-to-day work.”

But most of all, the people in the program helped Andrew prepare for the next stage in his healthcare career. “I think it has been everything I had hoped it would be,” he says, “in terms of getting exposure to all different areas of healthcare, from different backgrounds of classmates and faculty members, and getting that knowledge that I can apply to my work. I have a better sense of where the industry is going and where I can have an impact. I don’t think I could have done that without Vanderbilt.”

Fun Fact: Andrew represents the fifth generation of his family, starting with his great-great-grandfather, to attend Vanderbilt.

“I have a better sense of where the industry is going and where I can have an impact.”