How An Executive MBA Is Helping This CEO Lead A Healthcare Firm

Executive MBA (EMBA) programs aren’t just for people from the business world. In fact, EMBA students come from all walks of life and industries. Shane Speirs, a physician-turned-CEO of a health company, is testament to this.

With training and experience in geriatric medicine, it’s safe to say he knows a lot about the medical world. But find out how Shane has leveraged an EMBA degree in his role as head of a healthcare company.

From medicine to business

Despite years of formal training and work in medicine, Shane felt he wasn’t equipped with the business knowledge he needed as a leader in the healthcare sector.

“I always wanted to pursue the leadership aspect of healthcare,” he says.

With a full-time position as family medicine resident at Abrazo Health in Phoenix, Arizona, Shane couldn’t take time away from work to commit to a full-time MBA program. However, he had the relevant experience to pursue an EMBA degree.

As someone who already lived and worked in Arizona, he wanted to find a local program where he would be able to interact in the location where he had already grown a network.

“When you look at pursuing an EMBA, you want to do it where you feel you are interacting with people who bring value.”

His search led him to the STEM-designated EMBA at Arizona State University (ASU) W. P. Carey School of Business. An even greater sign that the EMBA was for him was the option of a ‘Business of Healthcare’ concentration, which teaches professionals how to understand the economic, supply chain, data and technology, and organizational issues in healthcare. 

The Executive MBA networking experience

While learning the fundamentals of business is crucial to getting ahead in the business world, there is also great value you can find in building relationships and connecting with peers.

This was certainly the case for Shane, who explains that the network he built during the 21-month W. P. Carey EMBA at ASU was invaluable. 

“The people you do the program with make the program what it is—not only are you getting an amazing experience, but you get exactly what you need to grow a business,” he says.

W. P. Carey EMBA students come from sectors including technology, finance, branding, and even aerospace. 

The EMBA takes students on two class trips—to Washington, D.C., and an international location—so there’s plenty of time to get to know your cohort outside the classroom.

The formal learnings from the EMBA were also helpful for Shane’s venture into healthcare leadership. Towards the end of his EMBA degree, he transitioned to CEO of Adageis, which provides a software platform to help institutions move to value-based care.

“The EMBA helped me understand financial issues and improved my leadership skills.

“I now know more about how to restructure or undergo a new organizational framework—every week I’m being helped by my learnings from the program.”

Faculty at W. P. Carey contribute to renowned academic journals and media outlets including The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. 

Using an Executive MBA to lead a healthcare firm

Since graduating from the EMBA, Shane has continually applied his business learnings to lead Adageis.

He explains that being able to apply his learnings in real-time to his career was also a valuable experience of the Executive MBA. Shane used examples from Adageis in some of the group projects in the EMBA program. 

A central part of his role as CEO of Adageis involves growing the team within the company, alongside growing the company itself. 

By learning about core business areas such as finance, statistics, and marketing, Shane says he now has enough grounding in such topics to be able to speak to and lead teams within these areas.  

“As a business leader in healthcare, you need to learn how every aspect of business functions. 

“I went through undergraduate studies, medical school, and a postgraduate degree in medicine—nowhere in my experience did I encounter the high-level educational experience I received at W. P. Carey,” he concludes.