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Paul Cusenza, chairman and CEO of Nodal Exchange and Nodal Clear, serves on the School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council and sees the benefit of a George Mason University education through hiring many Mason alumni.
Paul Cusenza has successfully built and managed a number of companies throughout the decades, including 23andMe, which Time Magazine had named as the best invention of the year. After departing 23andMe, he has served as the CEO and chairman of Nodal Exchange and Nodal Clear. “I really enjoy the dynamics of working with smart, nice people, and that’s who we try to hire,” he says. Through recruiting processes, Cusenza has recognized positive traits in George Mason University graduates and he has become enthusiastic about hiring them. “You’re looking for people who are going to take ownership, who are going to take responsibility, who have the desire to perform and excel, and I would say that those are characteristics of Mason graduates,” he says.
Cusenza’s knowledge and interest in Mason students progressed when he joined the board for the School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, a position he still holds. He was encouraged to join by his former classmate and then-Dean Maury Peiperl. “I like being part of the council because it’s great to see a university like George Mason University that is representative of my local community, and there’s also the dimension that so many of their students are the first in their families to go to college, and I think that’s awesome,” he says. A strength of the Dean’s Advisory Council is bringing together different perspectives, and with Cusenza running a commodities exchange and clearing house, he can express his views on how to develop a curriculum preparing students for the evolving business world.
As a chief executive and board member, Cusenza believes strongly that not only should business students have technical skills in their areas of focus but they should also have a broader education that gives them an understanding about the context of the world and humanity. His own career has included organizations that offered him a variety of learning experiences that have honed his skills as a business leader. For instance, he worked as a mechanical engineer during the early days at IBM, expanding his expertise on systems and technology, before enrolling in his MBA program at Harvard Business School. He had built a basis of knowledge that allowed him to learn more at a higher level and kept adding on. After business school he was a management consultant, and partner, for nearly a decade at what is now Oliver Wyman. He was also part of the senior management team of Capital One Financial in its early days before becoming focused in genetics at Perlegen Sciences and co-founding 23andMe.
Cusenza believes that George Mason University School of Business could be the best fit for many top students and professionals. “You want to pick the university that’s going to allow you to be the most capable version of yourself,” he says. Recognizing the growth and diversity of Mason, as well as knowing the graduates who have come out of the programs, he sees it as a top choice for aspiring business leaders. With an impressive and well-established track record of establishing and running businesses, Paul Cusenza has relished his role of growing the community and supporting future generations. Meanwhile, he continues hiring Patriots and together they are taking Nodal Exchange and Nodal Clear to new heights.