Jamison (Jamey) Jeff, WG’10, and Victor Belfor, WG’13, each came to Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives with the goal of expanding their networks. After over a decade in technology leadership roles, Jamey came to the Philadelphia program to gain the skills and contacts necessary to start and run a business. Victor came to the San Francisco program to learn more about business and make connections that he felt were missing, as his prior education was outside of the U.S.
Victor joined Conversica as senior vice president of channel sales and business development after graduating. Jamey is now managing director of customer success solutions at the consulting firm Coastal Cloud. Both alumni say that the Wharton network has added value since graduation. This was especially the case when the two recently connected via a Wharton EMBA Career newsletter.
Jamey explained that his team was serving as an advisor for a “highly acquisitive” education technology company. The role included helping the client implement and leverage new products and technologies, including Conversica.
Around that same time, Jamey was reading the Wharton EMBA Career newsletter and saw that Victor was hiring for several positions at Conversica. “It was perfect timing! I didn’t know Victor, but I sent him an email to say that we are both Wharton EMBA alumni and should talk about possible partnership opportunities because our teams are working for a mutual client.”
He said, “When you discover a fellow Wharton graduate, you get a positive reception. When you discover a fellow Wharton EMBA graduate, there is a family aspect to it because of your shared experience – even with alumni who graduated from the program in another year or from the other coast. This was probably one of the smoothest and quickest partnerships we’ve ever set up.”
Victor agrees that the network helps to “lower barriers” because credibility and trust are instantaneously established. “It’s easier to engage because you share the same experience, you know a lot of the same people, and you know the quality of their education.”
He noted that this shared background also makes it easier to solve problems. “I’ve now done several successful projects with Jamey. When things become complicated, it is natural for us to take a problem-solving approach and constructively address the issue,” said Victor.
The alumni were featured at the annual Salesforce Dreamforce conference as a result of the strategic partnership between Coastal Cloud and Conversica. Salesforce also created a webinar about their partnership.
“From day one, the Wharton network was an attractive aspect of the Wharton EMBA program, and it is definitely paying off,” said Victor.
Jamey added, “I graduated eight years ago, and Wharton remains one of the best value decisions I’ve made. It is an investment and a lot of time, but it was definitely worth it.”
— Meghan Laska
Posted: January 8, 2019
