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In recognition of sustained commitment, support, and exceptional service to the Leeds School of Business, Oracle Corporation was awarded the First Year Partner of the Year.

As a corporate partner with Leeds for the Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (MSSC) and the Master of Science in Business Administration (MSBA), Oracle offered two internships that resulted in two conversions to full time, the highest number of internships-to-hire among the 40 industry partners who are providing internships for the programs.

Gregg Macaluso, an instructor in the Management and Entrepreneurship Division with an emphasis on supply chain strategy and innovation and faculty director for the two programs, said that the partnership with Oracle benefits Leeds students in a number of ways.

“Oracle is one of the few companies in the Denver metro area with a full-slate supply chain,” said Macaluso. “Through their internship, our students get a global view of an international supply chain that is very difficult to replicate with any other company in the state. The reach of Oracle’s products and the depth of their technology provide students with a unique opportunity to get expertise and experience in this field from a world-class manufacturer.”

Oracle offers a comprehensive and fully integrated stack of cloud applications and platform services. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, it has a facility in Broomfield. In addition to offering internships to Leeds’ students, Oracle is also an executive member in the master’s programs advisory group by sponsoring scholarships for students.

Kurt Doelling, vice president of supply chain operations for Oracle, was a featured speaker at the Oct. 8 event.  He spoke to students about the remarkable supply chain transformation that occurred following Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems.

“(Doelling) sees this as a viable way for his leadership succession planning to be fulfilled,” said Macaluso. “He’s looking for Leeds to fill a broader role as our time together continues. With organizations and operations all over the country, he’s looking for us to fill opportunities nationally as well.”

Now in the second year for the one-year master’s programs, the MSSC is a strategic, process-oriented, quantitative and statistically intensive program, while the MSBA emphasizes data acquisition, conditions and value-identification skills.

A feature of the MSSC and MSBA, which was requested by industry partners, is a semester-long, direct industry internship. During the spring semester, Leeds guarantees internships for each of the 40 students enrolled in the two programs.

“Oracle has come back again as a partner and will take four students this year,” said Macaluso, “so things keep improving.”