MANHATTAN REVIEW - Key Persons
Dr. Joern Meissner, the founder of Manhattan Review, has over fifteen years of teaching experiences in undergraduate and graduate programs at prestigious business schools in the USA, UK and Germany. He created the original lectures, which have been expanded and modified by the Manhattan Review Team to reflect the evolving nature of the GMAT. Dr. Meissner received his Ph.D. in Management Science from Graduate School of Business at Columbia University (Columbia Business School) in New York City and is a recognized authority in the area of Supply Chain Management (SCM), Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management. He frequently advises companies ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging start-ups on various issues related to his research expertise. His academic homepage is www.meiss.com.
Professor Joern Meissner, the founder and chairman of Manhattan Review, has over fifteen years of teaching experience in undergraduate and graduate programs at prestigious business schools in the USA, UK and Germany. While lecturing on advanced quantitative subjects to MBA students at Columbia Business School in New York City, Prof Meissner was asked by his students to assist some of their friends, MBA hopefuls who were frustrated with conventional GMAT preparation options and who had heard about Meissner's no-nonsense approach and his condensed delivery of complex material. In 1999, he created original lectures that-for the first time-focused on presenting the GMAT content in a coherent and concise manner rather than a download of basic knowledge interspersed with so-called "tricks". The new approach immediately proved highly popular with GMAT students, inspiring the birth of Manhattan Review.
Professor Meissner holds a PhD and a Master's Degree in Management Science from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University (Columbia Business School) in New York City. His research spans a wide field of study, including the areas of Supply Chain Management (SCM), Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management. He primarily focuses on developing and implementing robust and efficient techniques for logistics and manufacturing systems. He is also well-known in the area of revenue management, a relatively new academic field concerned with how to best manage demand by setting prices to maximize company profits. His work has been published in various prestigious journals including Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (MSOM), Operations Research and Naval Research Logistics. In 2009, his paper ‘Dynamic Pricing Strategies for Multi-Product Revenue Management Problems,' co-authored with Costis Maglaras, was a finalist in the MSOM best paper competition.
Professor Meissner is a leading expert in the development of optimization algorithms for a variety of logistics and supply chain management problems. As such, he is often consulted by industry professionals and helps firms to apply his cutting-edge mathematical techniques to their current business problems. He frequently advises companies, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging start-ups, on issues such as supply chain planning and pricing strategy. His clients include British Telecom (BT), British Airways, Apple Europe, Pernod Ricard, Promethean, TUI, The Co-Operative, Pernod, Littlewoods, Virgin Trains, Virgin Cargo and SAP Germany, among others.
Prof Meissner is frequently quoted in the press both as a scientific expert in supply chain and revenue management and as an expert in admissions to MBA programs and GMAT preparation. He has been featured in Business Week for Manhattan Review's Communications Bootcamp with Columbia Business School. Newsweek, The Independent, The Times, Handelsblatt and Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) have also quoted Prof Meissner regarding GMAT preparation and MBA admissions.
Joern Meissner joined Kuehne Logistics University (THE KLU) in Hamburg, Germany, in April 2011 as Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management & Pricing Strategy. Previously, he held a post at Lancaster University Management School (LUMS), where he led a team of 8 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. At LUMS, he taught the MBA Core course in Operations Management and originated three new MBA Electives: Advanced Decision Models, Supply Chain Management, and Revenue Management. He also originated and delivered the courses Foundations of Optimization and Stochastic Processes for incoming doctoral candidates. In addition, Prof Meissner lectures regularly at the University of Hamburg. In the past, he taught at the Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL) and was a visiting Professor in Logistics at the University of Mannheim.
Professor Meissner is also the Founder & Chairman of Lancaster Executive, a provider of executive education programs for senior managers. The firm spun out from Lancaster University Management School, who requested Prof. Meissner to organize these courses himself after the growing participant numbers put a strain on the resources of the School. Among the popular offers are Pricing Strategy & Revenue Management and Competitive Advantage through Lean Six Sigma Operations.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Dr. Hagen has extensive experience teaching physics and standardized tests, including the GMAT. His unique approach to teaching math inspires students to have fun with a problem and enjoy the problem-solving process instead of feeling daunted and overwhelmed. He also worked in equity sales at Lehman Brothers. Dr. Hagen holds a Ph.D. in Physics and an M.S. in Financial Engineering from Columbia University, in addition to an M.S. in Astrophysics from Cornell University.
Dr. Riemersma has brought with him years of successful teaching experiences in a variety of settings, including business schools, universities, and test preparation institutions. His dedication to and passion for teaching have enabled him to greatly enrich students' experience with an individually tailored approach. Dr. Riemersma has a Ph.D. in Physics from SUNY Stony Brook and an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School. His industry experience includes working as a derivatives trader for Goldman Sachs. His GMAT score is 770.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Arthur received his B.A. from Columbia and PhD in math from MIT and is currently a research scientist in Munich, Germany. While his research has been very successful (he first-authored paper was in the Science journal), Arthur has always had a passion (and a talent) for teaching. He has had been teaching since 1996 at Columbia and MIT and Munich University. From official lecture courses with dozens of students to 1-on-1 tutoring, from summer camp for under prepared minority students to intensive mentoring for gifted high school students, he has done it all. Arthur has been a highly effective teacher in GMAT. Meantime, Arthur scored in the 99th percentile on the GRE. His score breakdown was verbal 710, math 790, analytical 780 - total 2280.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
- GMAT Instructor
Mr. Markandu is Manhattan Review's GMAT instructor in Singapore. He has 19 years of industry experience in financial markets in various capacities ranging from general management, application consultancy, project management, sales, marketing, communications, business development and strategic planning. Mr. Markandu earned his Masters in Management Science from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and his undergraduate degree from the National University of Singapore. He also speaks 4 languages.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Cabral, a 2003 Wharton MBA graduate himself, has successfully helped students gain admissions in Harvard, Wharton, Virginia, Stanford and various other MBA programs for more than 5 years. He began his admissions experience as a Graduate Assistant in the Wharton MBA Office of Admissions. As a member of the Wharton admissions committee, he reviewed applications, pre-screened potential admits, and served on admissions panels at recruiting events in various cities. In addition, Cabral was the Prospective Student Chairman for Wharton's African American MBA Association (AAMBAA) where he was responsible for essay review & mock interview services designed to increase admission rates and applications of minority students.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Chua is one of Manhattan Review's GMAT math and verbal instructors in London. He received his Sloan Masters in Management from London Business School and his dual undergraduate degrees in Economics and Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Botwinik has over 6 years of experience teaching students how to prepare for standardized tests with a focus on the GMAT. He received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Virginia, and honed his quantitative skills as a strategy consultant after graduation. After scoring a 760 on the GMAT, Mr. Botwinik deferred his plans for business school to start a small real estate private equity firm and is currently acquiring apartment buildings in the Boston area. Mr. Botwinik also scored in the 99th percentile on SAT.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
- Director of a Singapore
Mr. Chambers is the director of a Singapore-based small-cap equities fund and the founder/director of an engineering software company that won a UK government "SMART" development grant. He holds three masters degrees: an MBA from London Business School, an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and an LLM in Intellectual Property Law from the University of London. He has also studied at Keio Business School in Tokyo and spent extended periods living and working in the USA. His commercial experience encompasses corporate finance, strategy, engineering, software development, and sales, in a variety of international environments. He scored in the 99th percentile on the GMAT and is a highly experienced instructor.
Mr. Wang teaches GMAT math for Manhattan Review. He got his BS in Automotive Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing and his MS in Finance from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Mr. Wang currently pursues his PhD in finance at the University of Navarra, Barcelona.
Henry Neumann graduated from Fordham University in New York with a History major and minors in Economics and Theology. He provided assistance to his fellow students in residential programming, counseling, and academics while at school. He then worked as a conference coordinator post graduation. Notably, Henry was inducted into the National Honors Society while at high school and spent all his four years of college as an athlete on the men's rowing team and made the semi-finals at the US national Dad Vail Regatta twice. He also competed on behalf of the New York Rowing Club at US nationals and Canadian Henley. Henry is proficient in German and skilled in Spanish.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Waller has years of accomplished GMAT teaching experience and scored a 770 prior to attending Columbia Business School in 2003. He has been involved in managing the acquisition, entitlement and construction of over 500 sites in the Mid-Atlantic states for both public and private companies for about ten years. He was also an officer in the United States Navy. Mr. Waller received his BA in History from University of Virginia.
John Beer has taught English composition and literature to undergraduates for over eight years. His writing has appeared in numerous periodicals, including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Review, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Time Out Chicago, and the Village Voice. He is a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy and social thought at the University of Chicago and holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a BA from Princeton. He scored a 780 on the GMAT.
Josh Dennee graduated from Bates College in Maine, where he focused on modern European history with classes on the evolution of political, economic and social systems. He actively participated in the Film Appreciation Society, Film Board, the Outing Club, Cats and Cubs outreach program, and several intramural sports. After graduation, Josh worked for a pharmaceutical label manufacturer. Josh has a passion for languages and is well versed in French, proficient in German and Italian, which he acquired during his studying in Perugia, Italy. He is also a beginner in Russian.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Cravens completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and his MS in Secondary English Education at CUNY, Lehman College. He received 9th Grade Teacher of the Year Award at the West Bronx Academy for the Future while student teaching. He has prepared students for PSAT, SAT, and NYS Regents exams in both a group capacity and one on one. In addition to his teaching experience, Mr. Cravens has 750 hours of clinical experience working with emotionally and behaviorally challenged youth.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Jeff Klein has 7 years of teaching experience, helping to prepare students for the SAT, GRE and LSAT. He also served as the Director of Education at another educational services firm, where he created lessons and managed teachers in classes ranging from grade 2 to postgraduate. He is a graduate of Binghamton University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
- Science Journalist
John Herrick is a published novelist and science journalist. With a Doctorate in Molecular Biology from the University of Paris XI, he has done everything from science editorial to scientific research. He also has 7 years of experience teaching science at colleges across the world, and is fluent in 5 languages. His articles have been published in the American Scientist and by Springer Verlag, a prestigious academic science publisher. John is a great instructor in many standardized tests including GMAT and GRE.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
- Writer
Joseph Larimore is a writer and a teacher throughout the NYC area. He graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. He has taught TOEFL test prep in California, Boston and NYC, and works with a variety of students in the NYC area. He holds a tutoring certificate from Kaplan Premier and through private tutoring, has been known to raise TOEFL test scores over 20 points with students throughout the country. He is delighted to be working with Manhattan Review.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Benton got a joint degree, JD/MBA, from Emory University and a BA in Political Economy from Williams College. He has 3 years of GMAT teaching experience. Mr. Benton strives to give his students the best possible learning experience and adjusts his teaching style to accommodate every class he teaches. He scored a 760 on the GMAT.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Armstrong has a degree in mathematics and economics from the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. A winner of many academic scholarships, Mr. Armstrong recently took the GMAT and received a score of 780. He brings over ten years of teaching experience to Manhattan Review and loves helping people to gain admission into their desired MBA program.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Kunal has worked in education since 2003. In addition to his Bachelor's degree from the University of Mumbai, he also has Post Graduate Certification in Instructional Design and Post Graduate Diploma in Training and Development. He has trained and certified instructors for teaching GRE, GMAT and SAT courses. Before joining Manhattan Review, he conceptualized and implemented of over 30 new test preparation products including value added products such as Speed Mathematics, Etymology, Speed Reading and Telephone Tutoring.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Louis Lana has tutored mathematics at all levels, from algebra to calculus. He was a teaching assistant in Statistics while getting his MBA at Columbia University. Mr. Lana has worked as an actuary in various industries. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. The examinations needed to become an actuary are math-intensive and notoriously difficult. Mr. Lana passed all the necessary exams by the age of 24. He holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and a BA in Mathematics with a minor in English from Hofstra University. In 2009 Mr. Lana scored a perfect 800 on the quantitative portion of the GRE. He also is an experienced GMAT verbal tutor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mark is currently completing his doctorate in innovation management at Teachers College Columbia University. He also holds a Master's Degree in sociology from the University of Warsaw and a Bachelor's Degree from Columbia University. For the past decade he has lectured, conducted strategy meetings, workout sessions and workshops to help companies more effectively innovate, share knowledge and draw on the value of their human capital. He has worked with numerous government agencies and Fortune 100 companies, including US Gypsum, Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States & Kuwait Government Agencies. In addition, Mark is a veteran GMAT prep instructor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Sayre is currently pursuing his doctoral degree. He recently completed his masters at University of Bocconi after graduating from New York University with a Bachelor's Degree in Economic Theory, with minors in Mathematics and French. While at NYU he tutored fellow students in Calculus, French, Italian, and Economics. He is starting a Master's Degree in Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment. Mr. Sayre scored a 770 on the GMAT.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mir Haque is our math instructor in Los Angeles. He is a recent MBA from Wharton School, and currently works as a Director of Finance for an ecommerce company. Mir Haque has also worked as an investment banker for Deutsche Bank in London, and for management consulting firm McKinsey and Company in New York. As a Certified Public Accountant, Mir Haque has also taught accounting.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Richard Vincent is a graduate of Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. After receiving his MBA, Mr. Vincent became a Senior Project Manager of Corporate Finance at Wells Fargo. He later moved on to become the Director of Operations at Aero Logistics, a second-in-command position. He has spent years in individually instructing students that would go on to top MBA programs. Prior to receiving his own MBA, Mr. Vincent had over 10 years of work experience at companies like KPMG and Deloitte Consulting.
Mr. Xu is a MBA candidate at Imperial College, London. Prior to pursuing his MBA, he worked as a financial auditor and tutored for 4 years. Mr. Xu won many Mathematics awards early in his schooling. He scored perfectly in the Math section of the GMAT.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Stephen Miller is a career official at the U.S. Department of State specializing in international economic and technology policy. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business's Executive MBA Program and scored a 760 on the GMAT. He is based in Washington, DC and teaches Manhattan Review courses both in-person and over the web.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Scheno received his Master's in TESOL Education (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from NYU. Post graduation, he has focused on preparing students for standardize exams such as the NYSLAT, TOEFL and the Cambridge exam. Currently he is a business and education consultant employed by Chinatown's Business Outreach Center to provide advice to immigrant entrepreneurs. Steve assisted in the Shanghai Press publication of "China Chants" which was widely used in China to prepare English Language Learners for the Olympics.
Tim Reardon graduated from Purchase College in New York with a degree in Music and a minor in Psychology. He studied abroad for a semester in Amsterdam and enjoys traveling. He has over four years of experience in sales and customer service. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with others and building strong rapport with clients to help them achieve their goals. In his spare time, Tim teaches instrumental and general music to students of all skill levels.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Mr. Kania has had over 7 years of experience helping over 500 people from all over the world gain admissions to graduate business school. His admissions experience began when he served on the Admissions Committee for the MBA program for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. During that time, Mr. Kania read over 4000 applications and participated on the admissions decisions for over 7500 candidates. Mr. Kania is an expert in real estate finance and distressed assets portfolio management. He speaks four languages fluently and is a regular key-note speaker at large-scale seminars and presentations. Mr. Kania holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Yasin Ceran is a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Dallas Business School. With over 9 years of teaching experience, he is an expert at training students at all levels. He received an impressive 760 on the GMAT, with a verbal score of 44, a quantitative score of 50 and an analytical writing score of 5.0.
Mrs. Washburn is a graduate of Columbia University (B.A., cum laude) and a veteran teacher with 5 years of experience in the field of standardized exams, notably LSAT, SAT, SHSAT, and ISEE. Mrs. Washburn has taught courses and tutored students for various Regents and AP exams, including advanced mathematics. She has a specialized background in assisting students with physical, emotional, and learning disabilities, as well as non-traditionally aged students. In addition, Mrs. Washburn is an accomplished academic writer and researcher in the fields of classical and experimental music. Mrs. Washburn scored in the 99th percentile on the LSAT. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Laurel Reichmann is a graduate of the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. She has taught English as a Foreign Language to adult immigrants in the U.S. and taught English to junior high school students in Armenia as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Ms. Struever graduated with Honors in Economics from Skidmore College and has since capitalized on her facility with standardized tests by tutoring and teaching. Her warm and active teaching style encourages questions and participation, while her four years of experience allow her to help her students cut through to the most essential GMAT skills, strategies, and behaviors. She has also tutored the SAT and GRE and even taught a full year course of high school Economics. Lucy also runs a small non-profit arts group.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Instructors & Advisors Team
Ms. Civale earned her Master's Degree in Literary Cultures from NYU and is currently working on her PhD in English Literature at the University of London. She also holds a Cambridge CELTA and has taught English as a Second Language, as well as IELTS and TOEFL test preparation, for over six years, both in the US and in the UK. She has taught English literature to both college and high school students. Her first book, on Mary Shelley, is due to come out from Greenwich Exchange Publishing.
Ms. Berman graduated with an MBA in Management and Marketing from Columbia Business School, where she was a Forte Foundation Fellow. She was a teaching assistant for both statistics and marketing courses and enjoys tutoring students in a variety of disciplines. She scored a 780 on the GMAT. Her verbal score was 51, her quantitative score was 49 and her AWA score was 6. Overall, she placed in the 99th percentile. Prior to business school, Ms. Berman worked as a legal recruiter for Davis Polk & Wardwell and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, two prominent law firms in New York. She received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, with high honors, in American Studies from Tufts University in May 2000.
Taz Morgan graduated with academic honors in Comparative Literature from The College of Wooster in Ohio. As a Comparative Literature major, she concentrated on English and Spanish language works. She also minored in Film Studies and focused on both written and filmic texts. She was a Teaching Assistant for a first-year writing seminar and was on the college radio's management team. Taz's post-graduation work experience helped her build extensive knowledge of how art and commerce are intertwined. Taz also has three years of customer service experience before joining Manhattan Review. Taz is highly proficient in Spanish.
Job Titles:
- Independent Consultant for Paramount Pictures
As an independent consultant for Paramount Pictures, Thomas Teves knows a great deal about entertainment and business. Specializing in project management, policy and procedure, and compliance and control, he has 25 years of business experience. As one might expect, his GMAT score placed him in the 99th percentile, which led to an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles.
William Wong has been a GMAT instructor in Hong Kong for over a year. Prior to this, William was based in London, England and worked for private equity acquired companies in a Strategic and Change Management function. William has a MBA from London Business School (LBS) and a BA from the University of Toronto (Canada).