Consortium pairing diverse alumni with senior career opportunities

The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a half-century leader in driving diversity in business education and corporate leadership, has expanded services to its network of 9,000-plus alumni and 75 corporate partners, pairing alumni with career opportunities that demand more experienced leaders.

Pharmacy innovation company CVS Health made the first hire as part of the new initiative, designed to provide corporate partners with access to The Consortium’s sizable database of diverse corporate leaders while offering alumni a new path to their next career step.

Brian Wesley

Brian Wesley

“The partnership between CVS Health and The Consortium demonstrates the power of this initiative to serve both corporate partners and members of our alumni network,” said Brian Wesley, The Consortium’s assistant vice president for talent engagement, who has spearheaded the experience-hire initiative since November.

For its part in engaging the new initiative, CVS Health reviewed a number of candidates for the role of senior strategy advisor for product innovation—including several Consortium members who had been vetted for the position. CVS offered the position to Tyler Converse, a Consortium fellow and 2014 MBA recipient from the University of Rochester. She begins May 15 after a year as an independent management consultant and a career in brand management. She’ll work as an internal management consultant in the product innovation team at CVS Health.

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(Update on June 22, 2017: Since this original post, The Consortium has also partnered with another corporate partner, Northwestern Mutual, resulting in a second experienced hire: Northwestern Mutual hired Vasco Bridges, a 2010 graduate of the Michigan Ross School of Business. He starts July 10 as a director in the company’s principal distribution performance group.)

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“The quality of candidates Brian could provide for this role shows how deep the talent pool is in The Consortium community,” said Christine Del Regno, Director of Diversity and University recruiting for CVS Health. “Because it is a strategic partner for our University MBA recruiting needs, we did not hesitate to engage The Consortium for alumni searches and we’re thrilled to be adding Tyler to the CVS team.”

Converse said the entire recruitment experience, and working with The Consortium team, was fulfilling. “Brian was helpful in all ways in pairing me with this opportunity,” she said. “This was the only position where he made it his personal mission to bring to my attention. He believed that it was a great match and he was absolutely correct.”

The experienced-hire initiative represents an important new offering from The Consortium, which has worked since 1966 to increase opportunities in business education and corporate leadership for African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. Working with 18 top-tier MBA programs across the country, The Consortium recruits underrepresented minorities to business school and provides corporate partners early access to early-career, diverse business leaders.

After successfully cultivating the diversity pipeline for students at the start of their MBA career, The Consortium now drives diverse alumni toward opportunities in the middle and senior stages of their career.

“Our experience with CVS Health validates what we’ve known all along,” said Anthony J. Davis, vice president for development at The Consortium. “We have a role to play throughout the career continuum for our alumni—an ongoing benefit for them and our corporate partners.”

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About The Consortium
Founded in 1966, the vision of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is to increase the representation of African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans in management careers in the United States. We realize this vision by recruiting outstanding students who have shown a commitment to diversity. We connect them with opportunities through our alliance of more than 75 major corporate partners and 18 top-tier business schools dedicated to working collaboratively toward advancing our mission. More at cgsm.org; on Facebook @cgsm.org; Twitter @cgsm_mba; and YouTube @TheCGSM.

About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its nearly 9,700 retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 90 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com.