Liat Sverdlov, EMTM'07

Aspiring to Impact... Preparing for Leadership

An Israeli native, Liat obtained a bachelors in electrical engineering in the U.S. She then served in the Israeli army for three years before coming back to the States in 2000 to work at Kulicke & Soffa, a supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment. Her first position in the company was advanced software engineer; after enrolling in EMTM she was promoted to lead a global 14-person team of software engineers, technologists and contractors working to develop equipment and software for semiconductor manufacturing. "We create new capabilities in the existing product and test them, working with customers to bring them to market." Liat always knew she wanted to work in technology, but only recently has she come to realize that she aspires to a management role where she can impact an entire business. "I want to be more outfacing, working with people and looking at the bigger picture."

Why EMTM?

To accomplish her goal, Liat knew she needed more management expertise, but since her career was relatively young, she wanted to continue working fulltime and garnering her own day-today experience. She also knew that she didn't want to leave her interest in technology behind, but instead set out to find a degree that would apply directly to the kind of work she's been doing. "EMTM was a perfect match. While on the job I interact with engineers, at EMTM I knew I would be exposed to people with different backgrounds and the experiences they could bring to the table," she says. "In class you're not just looking at McDonalds and Home Depot. You look at companies and case studies that are relevant to your work."

Career Impact

Liat was thrilled with her new position — which came as a result of her participation in EMTM — but it presented new challenges, such as communicating with team members in Singapore and India, and managing both temporal and cultural differences. She's found that her classes in leadership and organizational behavior have helped considerably. "I didn't realize how much I'd learned from EMTM until I began interacting with everybody on the team I'm leading — immediately ideas from class came up that were extremely useful." Learning from her classmates how other companies approach self-assessment and giving employee feedback was also eye-opening.

Liat was surprised to find out how much there was to learn about her own industry through EMTM's technology electives. "I work in the back end of the semiconductor industry and my Microelectronics class really exposed me to the front end. It was helpful to see with a broader perspective how it has evolved — I now understand, for instance, why so many companies in this industry are moving their manufacturing plants to Asia."

Before graduating she is taking part in EMTM's Global Experience Program, which travels this year to Ireland for a week of corporate visits and meetings — the capstone to a one-term course that studies emerging markets in that region.

In the long term, Liat believes that her degree, the contacts she's making at EMTM, and her deepened industry understanding are all preparing her for future management positions. "Ultimately I want to contribute in a bigger way by continuing to lead teams and expanding my scope of responsibility. And I'm sure the EMTM degree will benefit me — this is a great program."

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