Meet the Exec Connect Career consultants

Misty Start is a Career Consultant at the Feld Center for Career & Alumni Engagement, where she leads the Exec Connect program and partners closely with alumni as they navigate career transitions, leadership growth, and evolving professional goals. In her work, Misty is known for creating reflective, strengths-based coaching experiences that help individuals align their careers with who they are and what matters most to them.

Misty brings a depth of experience in career services leadership, having previously served in senior roles at Boston University, Babson College, and Franklin Pierce University. Across these roles, she contributed to university-wide committees and cross-functional partnerships to advance student success, while designing and delivering premier career programming and curricula across undergraduate and graduate populations. She has also led the integration of innovative technologies and data-informed resources to enhance access, engagement, and outcomes in career education.

Misty earned her Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership from Regis College and her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education from Franklin Pierce University. She currently resides in New Hampshire where she enjoys time outdoors and building a life centered on intention, growth, and connection.

Darren has over 30 years of senior executive experience in the Advisory space.

A former Big Four managing partner, he served as the regional CEO for the Boston major market. In that role, he was responsible for the strategic growth of the firm’s three business lines across Audit, Advisory, and Tax.

Darren successfully led his market’s double-digit growth through a focus on innovation and teamwork to craft transformational solutions for an array of complex global business issues for some of the world’s biggest companies.

Darren is a highly experienced business leader, and board, audit, and risk committee member. He leverages his senior executive experience advising on business strategy, sales and marketing, people development and team building, financial reporting, internal controls, and corporate compliance.

Darren holds an MBA from Baruch College, CUNY. He’s also completed various executive education programs at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, the Said Business School, Oxford, and the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

Ian has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, focused primarily the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.

Most recently, Ian has been working as an independent consultant helping to assist biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies with a broad range of issues, including corporate governance, Board of Director management, program and portfolio management, manufacturing, and product development. He is currently working with several start-up clients to help launch their companies.

Prior to embarking on a consulting career, Ian spent over 18 years at Momenta Pharmaceuticals, culminating in the role of Chief Operating Officer following Momenta’s acquisition by Johnson and Johnson. Over that span, he held a variety of leadership roles, including product development, program and alliance management, and manufacturing, and was the Program Leader for several of the Company’s key assets. He led the development and commercialization of two approved products and several other products that are currently in the regulatory approval process. Ian’s experience covers several different therapeutic areas, including cardiology, neurology, oncology, and autoimmune disease.

Of interest, Ian fell into his pharmaceutical and biotechnology career completely by accident and has made it part of his mission to educate and inform students about non-scientific roles that are available within the industry. He lives west of Boston with his wife Rachel and is the father of three adult children and one mini-Goldendoodle. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing (including a recent heli-skiing trip to Greenland), cycling, and water sports.

Ian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Tufts University. He obtained an MBA from Boston University and was a ’93 graduate of the Health Care Management (now Health Sector Management) program. He is also a graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership’s “Leadership at the Peak” Program.

Ankit Lal will bring diverse experience to the students in the areas of Product Management, Marketing, Strategy, Analytics, Management Consulting, and Investment Banking.

Ankit is currently the CEO of Roll20 (an online virtual tabletop for pen and paper RPGs and board games) and was previously at Google as the Head of Product Strategy & Insights for Workspace (GMail, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides).  Ankit has also been an adjunct professor at Columbia University and Stevens School of Technology.  Earlier in his career, Ankit was a Consultant at BCG and spent 8 years at Goldman Sachs as the Vice President of Product Management for New Business Initiatives.  Ankit has also had several entrepreneurial endeavors in fast paced growth companies – in a variety of different roles. Ankit received his MBA and MS in Applied Statistics from Columbia University and is a proud Terrier alum having completed his BSBA here at BU Questrom back in 2008.

Steve has built a 35-year career in global financial services in New York, Boston & London, including serving as the Chief Financial Officer for two top ten global asset managers; Bank of New York Mellon Investment Management and State Street Investment Management.

Steve is also a seasoned global business leader having lived and worked in London, UK for six years with two different financial service organizations in c-suite roles. He has a proven history of driving finance and business transformations, resulting in organic growth, productivity enhancements and expense efficiencies. Steve has led multiple M&A transactions including post-deal integrations, while consistently delivering on transaction EPS & expense synergy targets.

Steve’s most recent experience at State Street includes serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for State Street Investment Management, responsible for managing a global team of 1100 personnel in the divisions of operations, IT, business risk, data and the center of excellence hubs in India, Poland & China.

Steve’s board experience includes currently serving as an independent board trustee and audit committee member for PIMCO Funds, an open-end management investment company in Newport Beach, CA currently consisting of 160 separate products, accounting for over $450 Billion in assets under management.

Steve is active in several professional associations including serving on the PCAOB Investor Advisory Group and the Stakeholder Advisory Council for the International Foundation for Ethics & Audit (IFEA). He also serves as a board director for several local not for profits including Simmons University, The Dimock Centre and RIZE Massachusetts.

Steve earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and an MBA in Finance from the City University at New York, Baruch College.

Dave has an extensive background in strategic leadership and business development, with a focus on the food and retail industry. With a career spanning over two decades, he made significant contributions at Topco Associates, a $16 billion cooperative. During his tenure, he held the position of Senior Vice President for Topco Business Strategy & Pharmacy, where he also led as the Indirect Division Leader.

Before joining Topco, Dave’s career led him to Ahold (Global Food Retailer), where he assumed the role of Vice President for Strategic Sourcing in the Not-For-Resale sector, overseeing $4+ billion in expenditures. His supply chain process approach extended to implementing a standardized global operating model and pioneering the application of online reverse auction technology. In addition to his roles at Topco and Ahold, Dave also held a leadership position in ICG Commerce, an internet startup specializing in B2B supply chain solutions, and senior roles within Accenture’s Strategic Services division.

Dave holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School with a focus on Operations and Finance.

Glenn is a seasoned entrepreneur and technology leader with over 25 years of international experience in fields such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, and consumer products.

He is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Admetsys, a high-technology medical robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) company driving the convergence of biosensors, learning algorithms, patient-specific metabolic modeling, and automated drug delivery to bring scalable, real-time, information-driven precision medicine to hospitals and surgical care. With over 25 years of experience in business strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship, Glenn has led the development and launch of Admetsys’ first product, a real-time diagnostics and clinical robotics platform that uses artificial intelligence and biosensors to optimize patient outcomes.

Glenn is also a recognized global leader and award-winning entrepreneur who has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Entrepreneur Magazine and The UPS Store, 50 on Fire in Healthcare, and Top 10 Global Entrepreneur by AskMen’s Magazine. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of Intelligen LLC and Intelligen (Asia-Pacific) Ltd, the makers of ViewGuard® products, which are embedded in millions of mobile devices worldwide. Glenn is passionate about building high-performance businesses and teams using lean startup methodologies and has a track record of delivering innovative solutions across the consumer, high-technology, and medical device sectors.

Prior to embarking on a career in entrepreneurship, Glenn graduated from Johnson & Johnson’s Leadership Development Program and worked at various operating companies both inside and outside the United States, including Johnson & Johnson Asia-Pacific, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Japan, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, McNeil Nutritionals, and Johnson & Johnson Corporate, where he led operations, supply chain, strategic marketing, M&A, and new product development projects.

Glenn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian Studies and Japanese Language & Literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He obtained an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He also studied abroad at Ichikawa High School (Chiba, Japan), Kyushu University (Fukuoka, Japan), and Stanford University’s Inter-University Center (Yokohama, Japan).

And a couple of personal fun facts about Glenn:

1. During COVID, Glenn and his family became service dog puppy raisers for NEADS World Class Service Dogs, based in Princeton, MA, and volunteers as either full-time or part-time trainers for adorable Labrador Retriever puppies. Glenn has learned through training to be a puppy trainer to have a mean voice.

1. Glenn is a certified soccer coach and has fallen into coaching by being recruited by a friend to coach his oldest son’s third grade team. He has since coached two K-8 travel teams per season and is the Volunteer Treasurer for both the local organization and the statewide travel league.

Evy is a senior marketing executive with extensive experience in B2B SaaS, enterprise technology, and digital-first companies. She brings a practical, real-world perspective to career advising, grounded in years of executive leadership building and managing high-performing marketing teams while remaining deeply involved in hands-on marketing execution.

Throughout her career, Evy has served in marketing leadership roles at tech companies in multiple industries like Uber, HID Global and Beamery. In these roles, she has led teams spanning demand generation, digital marketing, product marketing, brand, marketing operations, and sales development, while partnering closely with sales, product, and executive leadership. This experience allows her to provide a real-world view of how modern marketing organizations operate and what employers are truly looking for.

Evy is passionate about helping students bridge the gap between academic learning and professional expectations. She enjoys mentoring students as they explore different marketing disciplines, build confidence and prepare for their first roles in the field.

Evy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a minor in Marketing from Georgia State University. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband (a marketing leader at a SaaS company) and has a son who is graduating from ASU with a marketing degree. She loves to read and travel and is an avid sports fan.

Garima leads licensing and partnerships at Skybound Entertainment, a multi-platform entertainment company known for hits like The Walking Dead and Invincible. With a decade-long career in global media, she specializes in creating disruptive business models and transmedia opportunities for entertainment and digital franchises. Since 2019, she has overseen various functions at Skybound, including licensing, partnerships, brand merchandise and e-commerce.

Previously, as VP of Product & Strategy at Studio71, she worked on DTC businesses for creators and launched notable Kickstarters like The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls, with her work being featured in publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, etc. Formerly a prominent journalist in India, she has published over 2000 articles and interviewed global icons. Passionate about entrepreneurship, Garima has given guest lectures at BU, UCLA, USC and UCF. She also serves as a Board Member for GAMA and was honored by the LA Times in 2022 and BU COM in 2024.

Marilyn was a Senior Banking Executive with 35+ years of financial services experience specifically in Commercial Banking. She has served as both a Commercial Lender and a Senior Credit Officer and was responsible for developing loan portfolios, approving loans, developing lending policies, overseeing loan underwriting teams, and maintaining credit quality in mid-size Boston-area commercial banks.

Prior to her career in banking, Marilyn worked on Capitol Hill and for an environmental consulting firm after a stint at the EPA. She lives in Brookline with her husband, Ed, their German shepherd, Stevie, and cat, Milo, and has a daughter who works at McKinsey in the pharmaceutical sector out of the St. Louis office and a son who is getting a joint MBA and MS in Sustainability at Yale. Marilyn loves to travel, read, enjoys sports and music, and she and her husband are black belts in Shotokan karate.

Education: BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, an MA in Environmental Planning and Economic Development from American University, and an MBA from Boston University

Richard has 40-plus years of experience as a Large Corporate Banking Relationship Manager for Fortune 500 companies nationwide. He worked with the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and their Finance/Treasury staff of those companies across numerous industries. His clients included both Investment Grade and non-Investment Grade corporations fulfilling their financial objectives across a wide array of products. He was primarily focused on their Corporate Finance and Capital Markets needs.

During his career, Richard worked at 8 US Headquartered Banks and Merchant Banking subsidiaries in Chicago, London, and Los Angeles. He was employed by JP Morgan, Key Banc Capital Markets, Huntington Capital Markets, and predecessor banks that comprise Bank of America and Wells Fargo today.

Over his career, Richard executed 26 Merger & Acquisition Advisory retainers, Led Revolving Credit Facilities totaling $66.7 billion, Underwrote Corporate Bond issues totaling $50.4 billion and Underwrote Common Equity offerings totaling $6.3 billion.

Two notable career highlights:

• Closed the first interest rate derivative done by any US Investor Owned Utility company (Detroit Edison)
• Closed the first leveraged recapitalization done by any US Investor Owned Utility company (IPALCO Enterprises)

He was elected to the Merchant Bank Board of Directors at 2 of the aforementioned banks, based in London, England where Richard lived and worked for 3 years.

Richard received his BA degree in Economics from Boston University and MBA degree in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Fun fact: Traveled to approximately 70 countries in the following 4 Regions and 15 subcontinents:

• Americas (North America, South America, Central America, Caribbean)
• Europe (Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Western Europe)
• Asia (Central & South Asia, Northeastern Asia, Southeastern Asia, Australia and Oceania)
• Middle East/Africa (Middle East, Northern Africa, Southern Africa)