Take a Glance: One Friday in the Lives of People Doing it All

Recently, the Wall Street Journal blog featured three Sloan students in the MIT Executive MBA (EMBA) low-residency program: Duc Chau, Suma Thomas, and Dave Markert, to see what a typical day is like for them when they find themselves on campus—which happens every third weekend and one week every six months.

The EMBA is not for the motivationally challenged. Students in this 20-month program for mid-career professionals work demanding jobs—often located outside of New England or in other countries—and pursue rigorous course work as well as complete a one-week international project trip. Most of these students hold director-level positions or above in their jobs and have families.

So how do they manage it all? Watch the slide shows. Here are some highlights:

Duc Chau, founder and senior VP of engineering at the Rubicon Project, an internet advertising company in Los Angeles, takes a red-eye from L.A. and arrives in Boston at 6:00 a.m.—plenty of time to check on things at work. Then it's off to learn about stock, flow, and causation diagrams and retail pricing markdown strategies in class and swap career experiences with classmates.

Suma Thomas, a cardiologist at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., starts her morning with a run with classmates followed by Systems Dynamics and Operations classes then meetings with her learning group.

Dave Markert, a retired naval officer, is the cofounder and CEO of Tactical Systems Engineering LLP, a defense industry company. He leaves his house in Rhode Island at 5:40 a.m. for a full day of class and a 30-minute presentation (called a fireside chat) about his background titled "Unmanned Aerial Systems."

The EMBA began two years ago, with the inaugural class of 62 students graduating this past June. At that time, over half the class had been promoted or taken on increased responsibilities and three new businesses had been launched.

Read student profiles and check out the program's Executive Insights Blog.