Carnegie Mellon University

Integrated Innovation Institute

Engineering + Design + Business

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Integrated Innovation Institute  ›  People  ›  Alumni  ›  Meet the Alumni of MSSM

Meet the Alumni of MSSM

Our 400+ alumni of the Master of Science in Software Management program are disrupting the ever-changing software industry as technical product managers, entrepreneurs, and more. Rising to the challenge of managing complex software teams, they create valuable solutions at the cross-section of engineering, business, and design.

Their professional accomplishments are recognized each August with the MSSM Return on Education Alumni Award.

Alumni Spotlight

Augmenting Reality to Empower Consumers

Patrice Hall (MSSM '18), Director of Product Management at Dopple, uses augmented reality (AR) to help retailers deliver immersive shopping experiences for customers.

Optimized for Success

Max Alt (SEPM '07) is an expert in high-performance computing and the founder of two startups that optimized computer processing; he now leads HPC at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Motherhood & Product Management

Divya Sabade (MSSM '15) transitioned from consulting to product management while tackling her most challenging and rewarding role yet: motherhood.
Mission: Eradicate Cancer

Mission: Eradicate Cancer

Shabbir Suterwala (MSSM '11) uses his software engineering skills to advance the fight against cancer.
Dan Maycock (MSSM '09)

Dan Maycock (MSSM '09)

Dan Maycock (MSSM '09) left Amazon to co-found a data consultancy that focuses on agriculture technology.
Neil Everette (MSSM '16)

Neil Everette (MSSM '16)

Neil Everette is leading design efforts of IBM-Red Hat's new joint product: Red Hat Marketplace.
Neil Everette (MSSM '16)

Neil Everette (MSSM '16)

Neil Everette is leading design efforts of IBM-Red Hat's new joint product: Red Hat Marketplace.
Shailesh Bhaid (MSSM ’19)

Shailesh Bhaid (MSSM ’19)

Shailesh Bhaid (MSSM ’19) is leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to revolutionize the banking industry.
Manish Chhabra (MSSM '18)

Manish Chhabra (MSSM '18)

Manish Chhabra is creating the future of passwordless security as Director of Product Management at HYPR.
Sanghmitra Shrivastava (MSSM ’18)

Sanghmitra Shrivastava (MSSM ’18)

Sanghmitra Shrivastava (MSSM ’18) is improving the shopping experience for millions of Walmart customers.
Frank Gutierrez (MSSM '10)

Frank Gutierrez (MSSM '10)

Frank Gutierrez is an executive leader developing tools to democratize the financial services industry.
Negin Zolfaghari (MSSM '17)

Negin Zolfaghari (MSSM '17)

Product Manager, First Republic Bank
Garima Sinha (MSSM '13)

Garima Sinha (MSSM '13)

As a product manager, Garima Sinha solved business and user problems at Thumbtack and now brings her skills to Roblox.
Amy Krishnamohan (MSSM '14)

Amy Krishnamohan (MSSM '14)

Amy Krishnamohan pivoted her software career to pursue a passion for product marketing.
Jarek Wilkiewicz (MSSM '09)

Jarek Wilkiewicz (MSSM '09)

As a Technical Program Manager at Google, Jarek Wilkiewicz has returned to his passion for artificial intelligence.
Claud Wang (MSSM '14)

Claud Wang (MSSM '14)

Product Director, bilibili Group
Amin Ariana (MSSM '11)

Amin Ariana (MSSM '11)

Amin Ariana goes from coder to co-founder with his company, Gate Labs.
Alok Rishi (MSSM '09)

Alok Rishi (MSSM '09)

Alok Rishi launches two companies and a new career after his master's experience.
Francis Kurupacheril (MSSM '13)

Francis Kurupacheril (MSSM '13)

Director of Product Management, Cisco Webex
Nilesh Jain (MSSM '09)

Nilesh Jain (MSSM '09)

Entrepreneur Nilesh Jain leverages technology to improve access to and the quality of healthcare services.
Pankaj Purwar (MSSM '12)

Pankaj Purwar (MSSM '12)

As an IT leader for VMware, Pankaj Purwar manages the complexities of where technology meets business.
Mark Joseph L. Tan (MSSM '13)

Mark Joseph L. Tan (MSSM '13)

When not working at Amazon, Mark Joseph L. Tan inspires the next generation of innovators through his non-profit, Luminated Career Consulting.
Lloyd D'Silva (MSSM '15)

Lloyd D'Silva (MSSM '15)

Lloyd D'Silva helps business partners make smart decisions at Google.
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MSSM Return on Education Alumni Award

Each year, the Integrated Innovation Institute honors an alum of the Master of Science in Software Management program with the Return on Education (ROE) Award. This award recognizes the alum's professional accomplishments since enrolling in the program.

The goal of this award is twofold: to recognize individuals who have successfully applied their education to their professional lives and to inspire students to do the same.

Previous Award Winners

  • 2009: Alok Rishi, Engineering Manager, Apple (Previous CTO & Co-Founder of Khaylo Inc. and Yunteq)
  • 2010: Bertrand Damiba, Senior Product Manager, Google 
  • 2011: Jarek Wilkiewicz, Lead Senior Technical Program Manager - Machine Learning, Google
  • 2012: Shekar Deo and Manoj Rajshekhar, Co-founders of EngageClick (Read News Article)
  • 2013: Ana Pinczuk, Senior Vice President, Chief Development Officer, Anaplan 
  • 2014: Amin Ariana, Senior Staff Software Engineer, Brex
  • 2015: Darel Chapman, Director of Project Management, Intelenex
  • 2016: Giridhar Padmanabh, Senior Director, ServiceNow
  • 2017: Nancy Zayed, Co-founder & CTO, MagicCube, Inc.
  • 2018: Merline Saintil, Head of Operations & Technology, Intuit
  • 2019: Frank Gutierrez, Senior Vice President, Stockpile
  • 2020: Nilesh Jain, Founder and Managing Director,  Clinivantage (Read News Article)
  • 2021: Piyush Gupta, Chief Product Officer, Sounding Board Inc.
  • 2022: Max Alt, Distinguished Technologist, Hewlett Packard Enterprise