As a technical program manager at Intel Corporation, Osman Mohammed ’03 enjoys the challenges and rewards of inspiring and leading teams to deliver key strategic products that help Intel gain a competitive edge. “My work is challenging, exhilarating—and never boring,” he explains.

What drives you in your work?
I love the technology and the people I work with—they do extraordinary things everyday. I get to be involved in a range of areas, from product design, validation, manufacturing and planning to marketing. Successfully driving multiple teams toward a common goal—to meet the objectives and market need for a particular product—is more than fun, it’s intoxicating.

Someone once asked me during an informational interview what my typical day is like. I replied that my days are like those of an ER surgeon: I never know what problem I might face and which faculty or experience I will need to call upon to assess, evaluate, fix, avoid or mitigate. This ambiguity is the best part of my job. I would be pretty bored if I had to follow the same routine every day.

Where is your career headed?
I hope to take on larger and more complex leadership assignments as I grow in my career. There is something new to learn every day, a whole universe to be explored, discovered, innovated and developed.

The last decade has simply been “prep-work,” the groundwork to prime the market with what can be done with technology. Now the real fun starts. The next wave will help shape technology use to make it ubiquitous and seamlessly integrated with our daily lives. I want to be at the leading edge of those teams engaged in redefining our use of and integration with technology.

How has your UC Davis MBA experience helped shape your success?
The Graduate School of Management provided me with the foundational concepts that were critical to my ability to step in to my current role. I was—and still am, to some degree—a hardcore design engineer. The MBA program expanded my thinking and helped me understand the business side of organizations. I reviewed my fist balance sheet and had my first exposure to corporate debt in the MBA program.

Your favorite GSM memory?
The Organizational Behavior course was the most fun. We discussed things that we did on a daily basis yet never connected the dots. Another favorite memory is Professor Robert Lorber’s Power and Influence course. It was amazing to spend time with CEOs from various organizations and realize that they sweated over the same stuff that we did in class. The only difference was we did it to get a good grade, they did it to remain in business.

How do you support and participate in the GSM today?
As a member of the GSM Alumni Associations’ board of directors, I have chaired the last two student fellowship awards committees—and was each time impressed with the variety, depth, breadth and impact of the accomplishments of our GSM students. I used to think my life was busy, but I have learned to reconsider that when I read some of the things that GSM students are involved in while still in school.

It’s an exciting time to be involved with the Alumni Association. I think we’re ready to break out of our “small business” focus and establish ourselves more broadly and more visibly. The board has gone through a very deep introspection and restructuring process, and we’re now prepared to take the GSMAA to the next level.