Previous and Current Judges
Martin Andersons
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Martin Andersons is the President of American Latvian Association and memeber of Columbia Business School Hermes Society, he brings extensive experience in corporate and strategic initiatives. He has held leadership roles in sales and compensation at General Electric, LinkedIn, and AssetMark. He previously worked at J.P. Morgan on Wall Street, financing over $20 billion in M&A and corporate deals. Martin received Phi Beta Kappa honors at Northwestern University
Dr. Jack McGourty
Venture for All® Founder
Dr. Jack McGourty is the Director of Community and Global Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School and a faculty member teaching courses about entrepreneurship, venture creation, and product innovation.
Dr. Anas Chalah
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Dr. Anas Chalah is the Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He is an active member of Harvard’s Teaching and Learning Consortium. Dr. Chalah received the prestigious Harvard Heroes Award from the President of Harvard in 2023.
Dr. Paul Shih
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Founder
A true believer in education equality, Dr. Shih earned his MBA from Columbia University and founded IEG Global Association to deliver transformative programs for underserved students at institutions like Columbia, Caltech, Harvard, Stanford, and Berklee. As the founder of MEC, he aims to empower youth worldwide through real-world business experiences, global collaboration, and access to opportunities that spark meaningful change.
Victoria Sze
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Victoria Sze brings over 20 years of management experience from Fortune 500 biomedical companies. She has held leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson, Getinge, St. Jude Medical, and Gambro, and is known for driving growth and organizational success. Victoria holds an M.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
Elia Brodsky
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Elia Brodsky is an executive professional in information technologies, marketing, and healthcare strategy. He’s also the co-founder and CEO of Pine Biotech, a Big Data Analysis company with a vision to enhance human health and well-being by enabling Biological Research and Discovery with relevant data. He received his MBA from Tulane University.
Herman Chan
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Herman Chan earned his B. Eng. and M. Eng. in Computer Engineering from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), as well as an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM). Herman serves as an adjunct faculty member at AGSM, where he teaches IT-led business transformation.
Dr. Shelby Forbes
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Dr. Shelby Forbes received her Ph.D. in communication and teaches related courses at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. Her expertise lies in crisis communication and organizational communication, particularly as it applies to the healthcare industry. She serves as an affiliated researcher for Johns Hopkins University’s Inclusive Innovation Initiative.
Jennifer Lai
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
As the founder and CEO of ECIS Advisory, Jennifer brings over 20 years of experience in business strategy, private client services, and global residency planning. Her work spans key markets including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. She also serves as Managing Partner of Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide – Japan, and is a Fellow Member of the Investment Migration Council.
Steve Bernstein
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Steve is Managing Director of Lone Star Funds in Hong Kong, with decades of experience in global finance. He previously served as CEO of SinoPac Solutions and Services and CEO of Oppenheimer Investments Asia. Over his career, he held key roles across New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, including CAO of Nikko Salomon Smith Barney and head of Global Securities Services.
Dr. Zelo Mangombo
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Dr. Zelo Mangombo obtained his Ph.D. Degree in Natural Science from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. He has expertise in Forensic Science, Research & Development, Mentoring as well as Teaching.
Patrick Pan
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Patrick Pan received his MBA from Columbia University and BA from the University of Toronto and is currently an alum interviewer for Columbia Business School. He is the founder of Smartnext Edu, an ed-tech firm dedicated to improving financial literacy and business acumen for global youth.
Tatsuhito Sugaoi
Venture for All® Professor
In 2016, Tatsuhito Sugaoi launched the Japanese Venture For All® Program in Japan. Beyond this, Tatsuhito also develops corporate training programs and delivers training as an instructor to Global Fortune 100 companies. He received his MBA from Hitotsubashi University, one of the top business schools in Japan.
Dr. Joseph Rios
Venture for All® Professor
Dr. Joseph Rios received his Ph.D. in International Comparative Education: Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics from Stanford University, his MA from Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and his BA from University of California, San Diego. He is currently a senior consultant at Google.
Manoj Pooleery
Venture for All® Professor
Manoj Pooleery is the Founder and CEO of M-Phi Innovators, a specialized technology services company that provides full range of innovation services to businesses. He provides end-to-end technology and business strategy definition and implementation to both startups and established businesses. He has helped many companies get started, out of the Columbia Business School as well as outside.
Roy Lee
Model Entrepreneur® Competition Judge
Roy is the Superintendent and Principal of Wagor International School, he is also leading expert in AIGC and education innovation, and formerly served as Executive Secretary of Taiwan’s Open Education Consortium. A nine-time national and one-time Asia impromptu speech champion with Toastmasters, he has reached over 10,000 learners through his AI-focused programs.
Contact
A: 5214 Diamond Heights Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94131
T: +1.800.965.9379
E-mail：mec@ivyedugrp.org
About Us
MEC is a global competition hosted by IEG Global Association. All university-run programs are conducted by each university respectively, and IEG serves as its official representative.