Bosun Adebaki
MBA 19
Business Operations Manager
Ripple
I came to Berkeley as a blank piece of paper, ready to write a new chapter. I knew the kinds of things I liked to do—solve problems, add value, think strategically, collaborate, help others improve their lives—and looked for both career paths and companies that meshed with that.
When a classmate told me about business operations or “BizOps”, it clicked. This role suits my personality. It leverages my skillset, builds on my international experience, and enables me to have an impact across all aspects of a scaling business.
Fundamentally, Ripple is enabling the world to move value like information moves today through new payments infrastructure based on blockchain. What we’re doing impacts everything; from enabling overseas workers to remit money home, or startups to send money to entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
Mastering Essential Communication Skills
Communication is a must-have skill. Taking Leadership Communications and then being GSI for the class allowed me practice and master the small skills—knowing how to enter and leave a room with impact, how to engage and listen, and how to embrace the unknown—that I use every day.
As I get to know my colleagues at Ripple, I’m using the techniques taught in Interpersonal Skills & Embodied Leadership. I’m able to share my story and draw out their stories, in addition to helping others manage conflict effectively. That’s the best way to establish trust and build successful cross-functional teams.
Finding the Right Culture
When I visited campus, I could see my life unfolding there. It wasn’t so much the proximity to Silicon Valley, as it was the energy of the students, and the demonstrated reality of the Defining Leadership Principles. I also found cultural resonance being so close to Oakland, a historically important community for Black history and People of Color.
Wanting my own life and work to have social impact, it was reassuring and inspiring to hear those very words spoken so often in conversations with classmates, faculty, and the administration at Haas.
INTERNSHIP
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
New York, New York
JOB PRIOR TO HAAS
Director, Mergers & Acquisitions
PwC
Mexico City, Mexico
PREVIOUS DEGREE
BA, Management Studies
University of Nottingham