The third annual installment of the series featured engaging speakers, interactive activities, and overviews of all the tools and resources graduate students need to succeed as they embark on the academic year at the new School of Business building on the South Quad.

Saia is co-founder and managing member of Next Chapter Ventures, a group of over 40 seasoned investors, entrepreneurs, operators and business leaders who invest in innovative early-stage startups with capital and board of advisory roles.

Prior to founding Next Chapter Ventures, Saia completed a stellar 32-year career at Deloitte, where he rose to CEO of Deloitte’s Risk and Financial Advisory, a $3.5 billion business with 20,000 employees. Prior to that, Saia served as the firm’s chief risk, reputation and regulatory affairs officer.

True to his passion to grow and develop the next generation of leaders, Saia is also co-founder the You Got This Kid (YGTK) Leadership Foundation. With Saia’s leadership, the YGTK Leadership Foundation has shepherded a remarkable array of programs, seminars, internships and other opportunities at Quinnipiac which tie back to YGTK’s foundational pillars. As a result, a great deal of YGTK philanthropy is enacted through the foundation’s engagement with Quinnipiac.

As the author of two leadership books, Saia is on an active speaking circuit through his nonprofit foundation at major universities and Fortune 50 companies.  On August 26, he returned to the School of Business Graduate Student Symposium for a third year to share his professional experience and insight with new graduate students through the lessons in his book, "You Got This, Kid! Words of Advice for Young Leaders."

The book, which contributes all sales to assist those affected by Lupus and autoimmune disease as well as to promote environmental sustainability, went on to become the basis for the YGTK Leadership Foundation. The nonprofit organization develops young leaders through training, immersive learning, self-discovery and philanthropy.

Saia’s book helps young professionals navigate the “corporate jungle” and develop their leadership footprint by reflecting on the attributes of seven different species of the animal kingdom. Each species is related to critical encounters they will experience in their careers. The book also emphasizes the importance of soft skills like communication, teamwork and adaptability which are crucial to enabling effective collaboration, problem-solving, and leadership.

In a panel discussion led by School of Business Dean Holly Raider, Saia discussed each area of the book together with panelist and YGTK board member Olamide Gbotosho ’21, and encouraged students to share their reflections. Gbotosho began her YGTK journey as an intern assisting Saia with the book and earned her degree in Business Management with a minor in Advertising. She currently works in technology enablement at KPMG.

Saia told the graduate students one of the criticisms facing the next generation of business leaders is that they are subject matter experts with phenomenal hard skills but lack critical soft skills.

“One thing I always try to say everyone is there is no such thing as a born leader. It’s a learned trait, and leadership is a soft skill. You need to lean into that,” Saia said. By developing soft skills, “… you will differentiate yourselves on interviews. You will differentiate yourselves once you get to your employer. It is a major differentiator,” Saia advised.

Saia also took questions from the graduate students, including one who asked what he feels is the most rewarding and valuable return he’s experienced across his professional career.

Saia said the answer ties back to his favorite part of his book, the story of the Eagle and the importance of recognizing mentorship.

“I’m so proud just sitting here with Olamide and seeing her growth; and the relationship that I’ve formed with so many leaders of all different age groups. I’m at a point in my career now that I want to see others succeed and I lean in as much as possible. With every founder that we’re invested in now, with senior executives that I mentor now …that’s where I lean in,” Saia said. “For all of you, we’re bonded by this thing we call Bobcat Nation. When you leave here, and you go out in the world, you’re a Bobcat for life. That’s why I do the chairmanship here and give a ton of my philanthropy and time to Quinnipiac. I’m proud of who we’re developing and who we’re sending out into the marketplace.”

Saia said the opportunities presented to the graduate students through the School of Business Graduate Student Symposium is a great example of Quinnipiac’s commitment to helping graduate students develop and practice soft skills.

“That’s why this program is so great. It’s investing in the students and telling them this is more important than classes today. There’s a reason you’re here,” said Saia. 
In addition to Saia’s featured discussion, the symposium included a “Manage Your Career” talk led by the School of Business Career Development team; a student services’ program management discussion; and a game of Networking Bingo, hosted by the Graduate Business Society.

The bingo event encouraged the graduate students to network and learn more about each other’s academic and professional journey, to date. Networking Bingo winner Mila Iuteri ’25, MBA ’26 said she gained a great deal from all of the day’s programming.

“I loved it. I wrote down every single question they asked, and I wrote down my own personal answers, and I even wrote down what they had to say as well, just to make sure I was getting as much information as I could. I really took a lot away from it, and I think the biggest thing is that I’m going to know what to do when I graduate,” said Iuteri.

In Focus