Our Alumni’s Best Career Lessons

Humberto Freda, MBA ’15, is assistant chief of the budget section of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he helps make the case to Congress for investigative resources.

“Joining the FBI is probably plot twist enough for most people. But it was a logical choice for me: I was targeting internal consulting, leadership development, and rotational program roles after Booth, and the FBI’s Special Advisor Program was one of the opportunities that checked all three boxes.

“I spent my first few years working at headquarters in Washington, DC. When the occasion presented itself to move into a senior leadership role, I knew I had to chase it down. The twist: The FBI was expanding its footprint, and taking the job meant moving to Huntsville, Alabama.

“I grew up in New York and spent 10 years in Chicago. I wasn’t sure I could find Alabama on a map. Huntsville doesn’t have metropolitan amenities, but there’s a trade-off: Its residents are warm and welcoming, and it’s in a beautiful part of the country—right at the foothills of the Appalachians.

“The FBI has a $10 billion budget, but unlike corporate organizations, we have to convince Congress of our need for funding. It’s been fascinating to be at the center of that process—thinking about how we make the case for resources and show the American people that we’re putting the money to good use.

“I’ve never had the opportunity to carry a gun and chase down criminals, but I feel a lot of satisfaction that I help provide the resources that stop bad things from happening. My work helps get justice and closure for people who need it. It’s an awesome feeling.”

—As told to Michael Blanding

The opinions expressed here are the individual’s and not those of the FBI.

Subriana Pierce, MBA ’92, is senior vice president of sales at C.A. Fortune, a national sales and marketing agency. She is also a founding board member of the Navigator Lighthouse Foundation, which uplifts Black, Brown, and Asian women and emerging business owners in the grocery industry. She received the 2025 Black Women in Food Trailblazer Award and was named Woman Executive of the Year in 2024 by The Shelby Report of the West.

“I was taught to always just keep my head down and do the work. Early in my career, a couple of promotions came up and kind of passed me by, and I remember walking into my boss’s office and asking, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘No one knows you. They know your work, but they don’t know you.’

“That taught me the importance of relationships. I had turned down every opportunity, whether it was golf or happy hour or ‘We’re just gonna go grab lunch.’ I was like, ‘I don’t have time to hang out with you guys. I have work to do.’

“But now I know that that’s actually part of the work. Back in the day, I looked at it as extracurricular. I didn’t look at it as: ‘This is a function of my job. It will make me more successful in my role to say yes to some of these things.’

“It’s now given me these strong, unbelievable relationships in the industry. I’m on the advisory board of the Illuminators, the biggest CPG organization in the country, having previously served as the organization’s fourth female president and first female president of color. The currency of this industry is relationships. I now realize that.”

—As told to Heather Lalley

Tenisha Grimmer, MBA ’24, is CFO of Access Community Health Centers in Madison. She was named one of Wisconsin’s 40 Most Influential Black Leaders for 2024 by Madison365, a nonprofit community news outlet.

“About six years ago, when I was a senior accountant, I attended a panel discussion on career development at a leadership summit, and this was one of the ideas that I heard. ‘Who are the people you go to for real guidance and advice about your career growth and development? Make them your personal board of directors.’ That idea stuck with me. I didn’t really have mentors at that point. I took the advice to heart and began to look for people to connect with, and since then I’ve continued to build out my board over the course of my career.

“On my current board, I have folks such as the CEO and the chief business development officer at Access. I’ve got folks working in various nonprofits in other cities. I connect with them all regularly. One of my mentors is actually someone I met through a Booth alumni event. Before I became CFO this past June, he offered an instrumental outside perspective that helped me to better think about what it takes to be a CFO. I consider them all my go-tos for career advice. The connections and check-ins with my personal board of directors have opened up opportunities for me. I used to struggle with networking because I didn’t know what I was asking for, but leveraging the opportunities to learn from all of these different perspectives has been really helpful throughout my career.”

—As told to Heather Lalley