The Baratta Center for Global Business, which emphasizes key research and initiatives for global business, at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business (MSB) announced five recipients of the first-ever Georgetown Baratta Center Global Impact Award Oct. 4.
The Global Impact Award recognizes innovative and sustainable leaders under the age of 40 who promote cross-border business and economic development, representing one of the MSB’s initiatives to foster ethical leadership. This year’s inaugural award honors five graduates — Vikram Agrawal (SFS ’07), Caroline Cotto (NHS ’14), Agustin Porres (GRD ’16), Devi Sahny (CAS ’15), and Alexandra Scott (NHS ’10, GRD ’15) — for their contributions to global business through professional, philanthropic and educational initiatives and invited the winners to serve on the advisory board for the Baratta Center.
Joseph Baratta — the namesake of the center, global head of private equity and head of the board of directors of investment management company Blackstone — said the award aims to reflect Georgetown’s core values and a commitment to making a positive global impact.
“The award was the idea of the Center’s director, Anil Kurhana, and I was fully supportive of it,” Baratta wrote to The Hoya. “Each of our award winners have distinguished themselves professionally and are engaged in important and fulfilling work. That is the core mission of the Center — to enable Georgetown students interested in business and global organizations to achieve their full potential.”
Nominations were open to all qualifying Georgetown University graduates who had demonstrated leadership, innovation and a positive impact through globalization. The selection process began in early July and closed Sep. 8. During this time, the board received 35 nominations, both by others and by self-nomination.
Anil Khurana, founding executive director of the Baratta Center, said the winners and nominees were all diverse in their approach to their global initiatives.
“One of the winners is actually a private equity person who does a lot of work for climate and another one is a health-care-focused non-profit executive who also believes that bringing social entrepreneurship is a means to that end,” Khurana told The Hoya. “There are also two winners who are from the education community — one does it through a non-profit and the other one does it for profit, so there are so many different ways to get there.”
Cotto, one of the winners and the director at Food Systems Innovations (FSI), an organization which supports human food use, leads NECTAR, an initiative that supports the creation of plant-based products to alleviate the impact of animal agriculture on the climate.
Cotto said it was an honor to be nominated and to be able to represent the School of Health in the broader Georgetown community.
“I think it’s really cool to see how much diverse representation from across the Georgetown community was represented in the award winners,” Cotto told The Hoya, “especially for the School of Health which is not particularly known for generating people who go into the business sphere.”
Khurana said that the initiative focused on those under 40 years old because of the unique challenges of being a young person in business.
“There is a balance between having a business or policy impact but also being able to affect and shape society,” Khurana said. “We often see very successful, wealthy or otherwise politically high achievers but they compromise on not necessarily devoting enough time to society while they do that.”
Cotto said that the Georgetown graduate network was an invaluable source of mentorship to her and serving with the Baratta Center will help her pay back the work.
“It’s a real honor to be able to pay that support forward by being part of the advisory board that’s hopefully going to touch many more students in the years to come,” Cotto said.
Baratta said the award sets an example for Georgetown students and young professionals to seek out globally ambitious organizations.
“My advice to students is to pursue a broad course of study within your area of interest, availing yourselves of what Georgetown has to offer,” Baratta wrote. “For young professionals, I recommend seeking out globally ambitious organizations that afford the opportunity to work abroad and learn from colleagues from different backgrounds and perspectives.”
Khurana said a combination of passion and support networks around us is essential in creating long-lasting and sustainable global impact.
“It’s about passion and having the drive from your heart to make a difference. That must be genuine to make it worthwhile,” Khurana told The Hoya. “Realize the realities of how hard it is to make a difference. That means having the staying power and the patience to last the journey but also remember you have a support network of alumni you should tap into to succeed.”
Cotto said this award is an important reminder of the impact Georgetown alumni can go on to achieve globally.
“It’s important to remind people to leverage the Georgetown network, because there are amazing Hoyas all over the world doing incredible things,” Cotto said.