News
Welcome to Tauber Institute for Global Operations News.
Explore our press releases, feature articles, and announcements about Tauber students, speakers, team projects, and events.
Introducing the Tauber Institute’s 2023-2024 Student Advisory Board
Ann Arbor, MI – The Tauber Institute for Global Operations extends a warm welcome to the newly elected 2024 cohort Student Advisory Board members.
The Student Advisory Board (SAB) comprises business and engineering students who reflect and represent the Tauber student body and collaborate with the Tauber administration to provide program input and feedback. In addition, the SAB hosts multiple social events to integrate the Tauber community of students, organizes professional networking activities, and is tasked with the following areas of responsibility: Facilitating an annual review of the Tauber program, including LeadershipAdvantage modules, team projects, academic requirements, and other programming with Institute staff and members of the Tauber community, maintaining awareness of the activities of the Global Operations Conference committee and assist as necessary, ensuring the planning and execution of the Tauber Leadership Speaker Series, organizing and facilitating a mentoring program for new students, serving as ambassadors for the Tauber Institute with prospective students and industry partners, liaising with the Tauber Alumni Board, and recruiting clients, plan and manage the Institute's annual Community Service Day. The SAB can take on further areas of responsibility at the discretion of the members.
Members of the SAB are elected by peers in their Tauber cohort. In the fall of 2023, the 2024 cohort elected the following members to represent them:
Thomas Adelman
Role: Community Building
Career Focus: Global Strategy and Business Intelligence
Graduate Degree: MSE - IOE '25
Undergraduate Degree: BSE- IOE '24
Prior Industry Experience: Product Management & Analytics - Capital One, Logistics Engineering - Bosch, Healthcare Consulting - Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety, IT Consulting - Atlas Research (Internships/Part-time work)
U-M Clubs / Student Organizations or Experience: National Organization for Business & Engineering, Spoon University, INFORMS, Yogaschmoga
Why Tauber? The worlds of engineering and business often have a disconnect, even though they are intertwined in any industry. Some compartmentalize into a business group and an engineering group. One runs the money, logistics, and people operations while the other does the product or service, research, and development. This is an inefficient way to operate. In order to be effective, one needs to be able to be cognizant of all aspects of a system, recognize every decision's impact on the countless facets of operations it may affect, and be able to make functional, well-informed decisions based on this. Tauber is the crossroads that enables business and engineering students to have multiple lenses to understand and make impactful improvements to operations.
Why SAB? Being involved with SAB is just another avenue in which I can help further my cohort's experience throughout the next year, and something that I believe will benefit me by being able to connect further with my fellow classmates!
Breanna Allen
Role: Community Building
Career Focus: Global Operations
Graduate Degree: BTS (BBA / MSCM '25)
Undergraduate Degree: BBA
Prior Industry Experience: Operations Leadership Development Program Intern at Restaurant Brands International (RBI)
U-M Clubs / Student Organizations or Experience: Student Organization Resource Center (SORC), Preparation Initiative, BBA DEI Committee
Why Tauber? The exclusive resources and Tauber Spotlight Project experience as well as the niche, robust community and alumni network.
Why SAB? To provide a voice for BTS students along with continuing to build community among our multidisciplinary cohort.
Matt Alrutz
Role: Industry Relations
Career Focus: Supply Chain/Operations Consulting
Graduate Degree: MBA '25
Undergraduate Degree: Industrial Engineering
Prior Industry Experience: Supply Chain Consulting at Deloitte
U-M Clubs / Student Organizations or Experience: Detroit Initiative @ Ross, Healthcare & Life Sciences Club, Outdoors Club
Why Tauber? Tauber offers a great operations education along with direct exposure to industry leaders in supply chain and operations. The faculty brings a valuable mix of academic and industry expertise.
Why SAB? The opportunity to continuously improve the Tauber experience for our class and future classes.
Danny Colon
Role: Industry Relations
Career Focus: Supply Chain and Operations
Graduate Degree: MSE-IOE '25
Undergraduate Degree: BSE-IOE '24
Prior Industry Experience: My most recent industry experience involves working as an automation engineer for Walmart on the simulation team.
U-M Clubs / Student Organizations or Experience: I am a member of EGL, the Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety, The Michigan Club Boxing Team, and I am an IA for ENGR101.
Why Tauber? The industry experience is what brought me to Tauber.
Why SAB? I wanted to help create a positive experience for the greater Tauber community.
Jane Huang
Role: Professional Development
Career Focus: Strategy & Operations
Graduate Degree: MBA ‘25
Undergraduate Degree: BBA in Accounting, National Taiwan University
Prior Industry Experience: 6 years in Supply Chain in Tech
U-M Clubs / Student Organizations or Experience: Ross General Management Club, Ross Consulting Club, Ross Tech Club, Michigan Business Women, Outdoor Club
Why Tauber? I have a passion for global ops and Tauber has alignment with my career path
Why SAB? To be part of a close-tight community!
Cynthia Joy
Role: Co-President
Career Focus: My career focus lies in the fields of Data Analytics and Continuous/Process Improvement.
Graduate Degree: MSE-IOE '24
Undergraduate Degree: BE-Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering
Prior Industry Experience: I have previous internship experience with Amazon as an Operations manager and at Bangalore International Airport
U-M Clubs / Student Organizations or Experiences: I work with CHEPS as a Healthcare Data Analyst (Centre for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety) where I actively consult on projects associated with Michigan Medicine.
Why Tauber? I embarked on my Master's journey in January 2023, and within a short span, I constantly encountered individuals who shared a common connection - Tauber. From the onset of my Master's program in the IOE Department, I heard about it. This awareness continued during events like LeaderShape, CHEPS, and Michigan's Engineering Trek, where I met Tauber Alumni. These encounters fueled my determination, and my passion for Operations solidified my belief that this is exactly where I want to be.
Why SAB? During my undergraduate years, I actively took on leadership roles, which instilled in me a deep sense of responsibility and a drive to make a positive impact. Upon joining the University of Michigan, I knew I wanted to take on a leadership role, and I knew SAB seemed like the perfect fit. The prospect of being a part of this dynamic group filled me with genuine excitement and a sense of purpose. I know for sure the field of operations excites me, and making connections with these people who share the same passion seems truly exciting. I cannot wait to help make the whole Tauber experience a memorable one for everyone. I'm truly enthusiastic about helping and playing a part in the continuous improvement of this vibrant community.
I'm relatively new to the United States, having been here for about 10 months. It was truly remarkable how I kept encountering Tauber Alumni everywhere I went during my first semester.
Annelise Lemaire
Role: Professional Development
Career Focus: Global Operations and Product Development
Graduate Degree: MSE-IOE ‘25
Undergraduate Degree: BSE-ChE
Prior Industry Experience: Product development intern focusing on machine learning in clinical trials at Eli Lilly
U-M Clubs / Student Organizations or Experience: Engineering Global Leadership (EGL), Society of Women Engineers
Why Tauber? I have always wanted a multidisciplinary education. I am passionate about engineering but have always sought to take business, economics, and operations courses. I find that this intersection is often undervalued but when business strategy is aligned with engineering excellence, companies thrive. Tauber will provide me with the opportunity to explore this intersection and connect with current and future changemakers.
Why SAB? I want to be a voice for engineering students to help create a positive and memorable experience for everyone.
Alexandra Maxwell
Role: Co-President
Career Focus: Management Consulting with a focus on manufacturing and sustainability in agribusiness/CPG
Graduate Degree: MBA '25
Undergraduate Degree: BA in History
Prior Industry Experience: I worked in corporate finance in the International Dairy Manufacturing industry for 8.5 years before coming to Ross. Prior to that, I worked in operations for a startup software company providing project management software.
U-M Clubs / Student Organizations or Experiences: Besides Tauber, I am on the board of Michigan Business Women, serving as Director of Allyship. I am also in the Social Venture Fund and serve as the Wellness Chair for Section 3.
Why Tauber? I had a depth of experience in finance within the manufacturing industry but wanted to learn the operations side to be a well-rounded future leader in food manufacturing. I also was inspired and intrigued by the opportunity to work cross-functionally with engineering students. In business, it is critical to learn how to navigate projects and develop relationships cross-functionally to be successful. Tauber offered the opportunity to engage in real-life experience to develop those skills.
Why SAB? Tauber is a special connection of business and engineering and I wanted to contribute to better shaping the organization to ensure that we continue to attract and develop exciting opportunities for the students committed to pursuing operations, while bringing business and engineering together.
Visit here to learn more about the Tauber Institute for Global Operation's advisory boards.
