Abby Alder

If you want a glimpse of MBA student Abby Alder’s skills as an operations analyst and relationship manager, ask her to describe her perfect dinner party. A self-described passionate hostess, her answer is precise, detailed, and fully envisioned.

“I think the perfect dinner party starts the month before when you send the invitations out to six to eight people,” says Alder. “Maybe a few of them know each other beforehand, but ideally there’s a meaningful reason they’re all invited.” She goes on to describe a fall harvest gathering in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains that involves a transport van, pre-planned conversation starters, and even lighting ideas.

Alder’s vision and attention to detail isn’t surprising. Before coming to Stanford for her MBA, Alder oversaw a customer relationship management product for Podium, an AI-powered lead generation and management platform, that helped bring big-league communications and marketing capabilities to small businesses. She also led a large-scale restructuring as her first-ever project while at management consulting firm Bain & Company.

Now, she juggles her business school education while raising a family of three small children, with a fourth on the way. Her current focus is to further hone her organizational skills, leveraging her leadership knowledge and interest in technology to support small businesses in their use of AI.

You majored in sociology at Brigham Young, but even then you chose to minor in business strategy and international development. So after nearly a decade in the workforce, why did you decide to pursue an MBA at Stanford?

On the personal side, I was looking for a transformative experience. I’ve been in Utah for a long time, and I love it there, but I was looking to broaden my horizons and connect with people who thought differently than me and came from different backgrounds. Stanford has exceeded those expectations.

On the professional side, I was looking to expand my network and my understanding of all the different career paths that would allow me to deepen my interest in tech, AI, fintech, and technology focused on small businesses.

How is Stanford GSB helping you pursue your career goals?

I’m focused on AI and on general operations within tech. I am very interested in technology and specifically AI and how it can empower what I feel is an underserved part of our population — middle-American small business owners.

I wanted to fill in gaps in some of my technical skill sets, both in operations analysis and financial acumen and modeling. I’ve really enjoyed the first-year core courses and am applying those principles in ways that make me confident in my ability to analyze, model, and execute.

I’m also really focused on refining my leadership and communication skills. I’m taking the Acting with Power course and learning how to approach business meetings in ways that allow me to be more influential and impactful.

What class at Stanford GSB has challenged you the most?

Accelerated Finance, in my first quarter. I couldn’t just read the textbook and do well in the class. There were difficult case studies designed to make us think, and I ended up spending many hours on that class. I learned a lot in the end, but I worked for it.

Which class, so far, do you think will be the most useful as you move forward?

I just finished Conversations in Management. It was taught by a CEO and lecturer with decades of experience and utilized role-playing. I’m a big believer in role-playing as a mechanism for learning. We discussed how to handle difficult conversations, and conversations were paired with case studies and real-world principles based on the instructor’s experience. I remember frantically taking notes because it was just so enriching.

What were you responsible for in your work role prior to coming to Stanford GSB?

Broadly, Podium offers a communications software platform for small, locally based businesses. That includes a customer relationship management tool, payment solutions, and a centralized inbox for customer communication and marketing. It’s a full communications suite for the small business owner. I was a product manager focused on our CRM tooling and integrations. I worked directly with an engineering manager and a designer to lead a team of engineers. It was up to me to determine priorities for that product and team, as well as the strategy for how and what we would build to fit into the broader strategy of the company.

What are you most proud of accomplishing?

In the year before I left, we implemented a system that allowed us to integrate more seamlessly with other vertical operating systems. It unlocked a lot of powerful capabilities for our customers; they could use their integrated business data to create automated marketing and communications flows with their customers in meaningful ways.

How do you hope to have the most impact after you leave Stanford GSB?

I want to focus on small business owners and those who are underserved by technology. A lot of people are less tech-savvy, and AI allows us to meet those people in unique and meaningful ways. Right now, I’m manifesting an operating role in an AI company that’s focused on small businesses and owners and blue-collar — or essential — workers.

While at Bain, you managed the redesign of a 10,000-employee organization as part of a merger. What was the most challenging part of that project?

It was my first project coming out of undergrad, and the biggest challenge was adjusting to life as a consultant. The job was demanding. It required a lot of hours and a high level of professionalism and communication, given that the stakes were very high. The client had demands that were difficult for our team to meet. It was a challenging situation, and I learned many skills that still serve me well today.

You have a family, including a husband and three children. How does the Stanford GSB community support students raising families?

I’m currently pregnant with my fourth child, and I feel very supported. My family lives in Utah, and I commute back for weekends. We moved to the Bay Area for the summer during my internship. We lived in family housing in Escondido Village, and it was ideal for families and children. We were all one big community, and my kids played with my classmates’ kids. I’m also the co-chair of the Parents Committee and help support many of the student families. We all look out for one another, and the GSB offers many accommodations if needed.

Given you apply your organizational skills to hosting too, can you describe your perfect dinner party?

I read this book called The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker, and it’s the inspiration for my answer to that question. It’s a fall harvest dinner party in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains right before sunset. The guests are eating pumpkin soup and homemade bread. It’s a simple meal, but you can create a beautiful table setting, including bistro lights to get you through the sunset. And the discussion is semi-structured, so you have everyone prepare answers to some thoughtful questions and then the conversation flows organically.

Among your accomplishments, you list being a “disciple” of Cake by Courtney?

Thank you for reading the fun part of my resume! No one ever asks me about that, and I always hope they will. Cake by Courtney is an influencer with a couple of cake recipe books. Her cakes are always delicious, so I’m a disciple of hers. I like to give cakes to people and give her credit for the recipes.

Photos by Elena Zhukova