Berkeley Haas always brings distinguished speakers to give the commencement keynote address. In recent years these speakers have been some of the school’s own distinguished alumni.
2023
Lisha Bell
BCEMBA 12
Economic Opportunity Fund Manager, PayPal Ventures, Cofounder, BLXVC
Frank Cooper III
BS 86
Chief Marketing Officer, Visa
Elena Gomez
BS 91
Chief Financial Officer, Toast, Inc.
Watch Elena Gomez’s address to the Undergraduate Class of 2023
Ben Meng
MFE 02
Executive Vice President and Chairman of Asia Pacific, Executive Sponsor of Sustainability, Franklin Templeton
2022
Laura Adint
MBA 14
Operations and Strategy Executive
Watch Laura Adint’s address to the MBA for executives class of 2022
Laura A. Clayton McDonnell
MBA/JD 85
Senior Vice President of Sales for the East, Canada, and Latin America Regions, ServiceNow
Corporate Board of Directors, Zuora
Watch Laura A. Clayton McDonnell’s address to the Full-time MBA Classes of 2020 & 2021
Robert Litterman
Founding Partner, Kepos Capital
Aaron McDaniel
BS 04
Haas Faculty Member, Serial Entrepreneur, And Author
Watch Aaron McDaniel’s address to the Undergraduate Class of 2022
Jagdeep Singh
MBA 90
Co-Founder and CEO, Quantumscape
2021
Diane Dwyer
BS 87
Professional Faculty, Berkeley Haas
Emmy Award–winning Broadcast Journalist
Watch Diane Dwyer’s address to the undergraduate class of 2021.
Wolfgang Stehr
MBA 16
Pediatric Surgeon, Presbyterian Healthcare Services
Watch Wolfgang Stehr’s address to the MBA for executives class of 2020.
Laila Tarraf
MBA 97
Chief People Officer, AllBirds
Watch Laila Tarraf’s address at the 2021 evening & weekend MBA program commencement.
Soyeon Yi
MBA 14
Biotechnologist and First South Korean Astronaut
2020
Rochelle Webb
MBA 14
Founder & CEO, Optimist Made
Watch Rochelle Webb’s address to the MBA for executives class of 2019.
2019
Patrick Awuah
MBA 99
Founder and President, Ashesi University, Ghana
Steve Etter
BS 83, MBA 89
Co-founder, Greyrock Capital Group
Lecturer, Haas Finance Group
Watch Steve Etter’s address at the 2019 undergraduate program commencement.
Richard Lindsey
Managing Partner, Windham Capital
Watch Richard Lindsey’s address at the 2019 MFE commencement.
Owatha "Tootie" Tatum
MBA 15
Founder and CEO, Blackhawk Genomics
2018
Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez
BS 09
Co-Founders, Back to the Roots
Watch Nikhil and Alejandro’s address at the 2018 undergraduate program commencement.
Karesha McGee
MBA 12
Head of Global Communications, Slack
Watch Karesha McGee’s address at the 2018 MBA for executives program commencement.
Paul Rice
MBA 96
President and CEO, Fair Trade USA
2017
Tim Campos
MBA 11
CEO, Stealth Mode Startup Company
Sangeeta Desai
BS 98
Group COO/CEO for Emerging Markets, FremantleMedia
Watch Sangeeta Desai’s address at the 2017 undergraduate program commencement.
Joseph Jimenez
MBA 84
Chief Financial Officer, Novartis
Watch Joseph Jimenez’s address at the 2017 MBA commencement.
Howard Morgan
Venture Capitalist, Philanthropist, and Angel Investor
2016
Kevin Chou
BS 02
Co-Founder & CEO, Kabam
Watch Kevin Chou’s address at the 2016 undergraduate program commencement.
Carrie Dolan
BS 87, MBA 97
Chief Financial Officer, Lending Club
Jon Sebastiani
MBA 11
Founder, Krave Jerky
Watch Jon Sebastiani’s address at the 2016 MBA for executives program commencement.