Dr. Ven Ochaya is the Director of the MBA Entrepreneurship Program and Associate Professor in the Division of Business Administration. He holds the George Herzog Chair in Free Enterprises, with specific accountability for integrating the fundamental tenets of the free enterprise system into the model of entrepreneurialism. He collaborates and works closely with the College’s Center for Innovation & Growth (as well as all the other directors and MBA programs) in his teaching and program development responsibilities.
Ochaya has over 17 years of visionary leadership and has led significant achievements through innovation within Fortune 500 companies with revenue ranging from $5 billion to $30 billion. He has spent the last five years as a member of the senior leadership at Avery Dennison’s Fasson Roll Materials Division dealing with tough business issues, developing innovative and sound strategies, and successfully implementing them. First as a Director of Product Technology & Innovation and then as Vice President, Research & Development, Ochaya effectively provided broad leadership and management accountability that included business process improvement, human asset management, R&D or next-generation product development strategy, innovation process, and certain third-party partner development.
Prior to Avery, Ochaya spent 12 years at International Paper Company in a variety of roles with increasing responsibilities, primarily in the R&D, new product, technology, and process innovation within the Corporate and Consumer Packaging Divisions. He has been especially effective in driving broad-based cross-functional alignment and inter-department relationships, with an excellent track record of success in hiring, developing, grooming, coaching, and mentoring talent to meet organizational, personal, and professional development need for sustained business improvement in these Fortune 500 companies. Ochaya has traveled extensively throughout the United States and abroad (including Europe, China, and South America). He is a culturally-aware, experienced, and motivational business leader whose proven expertise in leading cross-functional team leadership will be valuable in the entrepreneurial program.
EDUCATION:
Ochaya holds an Executive MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, a Ph.D in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, an MS in Chemistry from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a BS in Chemistry from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. He has over a dozen publications in various technical journals and has been presented with several awards for his business and professional accomplishments, - including the 2005 Avery Dennison Leadership Excellence Award for Product Innovation & Service Support.
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