From Broadway to Olin!
Rick Desloge, MBA 2023
Greetings Olin family! I’m Rick, a passionate work-in-progress and second-year MBA candidate. Those who know me are probably familiar with my first career as a Broadway performer, but growing up, I was much more interested in hockey, soccer, and baseball than theatre! I played highly competitive hockey through high school and still skate today!
It wasn’t until I attended a touring production of “Mamma Mia” my senior year of high school and saw how much fun the performers had that I decided I wanted to pursue a career in musical theatre.
After graduating from Indiana University, I moved to New York City to “pound the pavement” by attending numerous auditions. After a few months, my hard work paid off, and I earned a role in a new musical theatre adaptation of “Treasure Island” at a regional theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After helping develop the show for over a year, I was asked to join the Actors’ Equity Association, the union for stage actors.
Joining Equity opened doors to higher profile opportunities, and over the course of my career, I was fortunate to perform in the Broadway hits Wicked and Jersey Boys. Additionally, I’ve performed in numerous regional theatres and with Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruise Lines. Some of my proudest achievements include understudying (and performing) Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys and Quasimodo in Hunchback of Notre Dame. And while I visited eight countries and 46 states as a performer, the highlight was meeting my wife, Cassie Okenka, while we were performing in Wicked.
During my tour with “The Green Machine,” (Wicked), I produced a benefit performance of The Rocky Horror Show that raised over $50,000 for charity and planted the seed that strategic, creative, and intellectual thinking could be more satisfying than performing onstage.
When the global pandemic upended live entertainment and Broadway, I knew this was the time to step out of the footlights and into the business world. While the quantitative aspects of the business were initially less familiar, I have been surprised by how many of the skills I developed as a creative collaborator translate into working in teams and with clients.
Upon graduation, I plan to join Cognizant’s Communications, Media, and Technology practice as a consultant. I’m excited about the opportunity to help clients working in the entertainment and media spaces navigate their biggest technological challenges and have Olin to thank for helping me develop the skills necessary to succeed in this new path!
Tyler Whiteman, MBA 2023
I grew up in the St. Louis area, about 45 minutes west of downtown, in a small town of less than 6,000. My early and teenage years were jam-packed with sports but in high school, I started to integrate music/arts. Jazz saxophone was a big passion of mine which later segued into musical theatre and acting during undergrad. I attended Missouri State University (Go Bears), receiving a BFA in Musical Theatre and, soon thereafter, transitioned to the Big Apple. The next 6 years of my life were a rollercoaster of regional theatre gigs, NYC concerts, and living on a big boat with Norwegian Cruise Line. By 2020, I had accumulated more than 50 professional credits to my name. Time was flying. Then time halted come March 2020. When I returned home to STL to shelter in place, I was left with a huge decision: to wait out COVID, or to make a pivot. The latter sent me down a winding path with the MBA and WashU Olin waiting for me downstream. Even further downstream, a full-time offer with AB InBev as a Global Marketing Manager out of their Global Headquarters in NYC. The past 3 years of my life in this transition have been busy, scary, and exciting; and the full-circle imagery of returning back to NYC where it all began is nearly-laughable, to say the least.
Performing and theatre will always hold a special place in my heart. This pivot has taught me that the lessons you learn from any walk of life have transferable meaning and impact in a broader context, you just have to find the story that connects the dots. That story then creates the intersection for you to make the turn.
