Susan Baumgarten, Executive in Residence, has a breadth of experience in executive leadership, business development, and systems engineering at Hughes Aircraft Company and Raytheon Company.

She was appointed corporate vice president of Raytheon, a major aerospace and defense electronics firm with over 80,000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $20B. She served as President of Raytheon International, Inc, integrating activities in 76 countries throughout the world, responsible for international growth and operational performance of Raytheon's international companies. She was a member of the Board of Directors of Raytheon Systems Ltd, UK, Raytheon Canada Ltd, and Raytheon Australia.

In addition to her Raytheon International role, other P&L experience includes Raytheon Technical Services Company, LLC, and the Hughes/Raytheon Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems business. Her early career involved the design of airborne radar systems, and a special moment was flying in the backseat of an F‑15 fighter jet, seeing Hughes/Raytheon products in action.

In the last 10 years Ms. Baumgarten has led business/organization turnarounds demonstrating her abilities as a visionary, business strategist, and growth enabler. Ms. Baumgarten is a three-time alumna of UCLA with a BA in Mathematics and Biochemistry, an MS in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from the Anderson School where she received the Carter Award. Her present interests include corporate leadership/boards, philanthropic leadership and education.

This interactive talk focused on:

• What does the "corner office" mean to you: executive leadership, technical leadership, project/program leadership or something entirely different?
• How can you market the value of both your technical and MBA skills?
• How can you take charge of your own career advancement?
• Who can help you get ahead?