Distinguished Faculty Scholars
NYU Stern’s Executive MBA program, designed for experienced working professionals, offers a range of merit-based scholarships, including Distinguished Faculty Scholarships, which pair select students with Stern’s world-class faculty teaching in the Executive MBA program. The Dr. Sam Chandan Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award recognizes incoming students of exceptional merit and professional accomplishment and reflects Stern’s commitment to academic excellence and leadership development.
In addition to a merit-based scholarship funded by the Executive MBA program, recipients work closely with Dr. Chandan, Founding Director of the Chen Institute. This mentorship component affords Chandan Scholars opportunities to enrich their academic experience and support their professional growth throughout their time at Stern.
Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award Recipients
Charles Lea (EMBA '27) is a seasoned intelligence and security leader with 16 years of distinguished service in the US Intelligence Community, including key roles within the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). His career spans critical mission areas such as counterterrorism, counterproliferation, counterintelligence, and cybersecurity, where he has led high-stakes operations and delivered strategic intelligence in support of US national security and foreign policy objectives. The inaugural Sam Chandan Distinguished Faculty Scholar, Charles is currently a Gradute Fellow at the Chen Institute.
Aafiya Mohammed (EMBA '27) is an Assistant Vice President at GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, where she supports the execution of private equity transactions aligned with the fund’s global investment strategy. She brings over 13 years of legal and transactional experience across private equity, venture capital, banking, and financial regulation. Prior to joining GIC, Aafiya held roles at J.P. Morgan in banking and regulatory advisory, practiced private equity law at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Debevoise & Plimpton, and worked in venture capital at Gradient Ventures, Google’s early-stage AI fund.
Andrew Livingston (EMBA '27) is Chief Revenue Officer at Nautilus Integrated Solutions, a private equity–backed manufacturing firm serving the maritime industrial base and commercial nuclear sectors. He brings over 20 years of leadership experience from the U.S. Navy, where he served as a career nuclear submariner with deep expertise in engineering, operations, and strategic mission execution. Prior to his current role, Andrew was Vice President and General Manager of Micro Precision Industries, a Nautilus portfolio company, where he led operational growth and customer engagement across critical defense programs. His naval background informs his commitment to precision, reliability, and performance.