Jay Thaker, Executive Director of Corporate Development and Growth at the University of North Carolina Health Care System, has joined the MSU Economics Alumni Advisory Board. The mission of the board is to work with economics' faculty, students, and staff to support and strengthen the department’s goals and academic standards while providing advice to the department on how it can better serve its students, MSU, the U.S., and the economics profession.
Thaker's motivation for joining the board is his hope to contribute to the MSU Economics' distinct legacy, especially when addressing practical economics issues.
"To further this legacy, I think integration with alumni, contemporary problems, and industries that are disproportionately shaping the economy over the coming decades -- such as healthcare, technology, energy -- are what will set our department apart," he said. "If I can contribute to this connection, contextualization, and exposure for current students and faculty, I think it's a really worthwhile way for me to spend my time."
Thaker has many fond memories from his time in the program. He remembers a career-defining moment as a sophomore in Professor John Goddeeris' health economics course shortly after the Affordable Care Act passed.
"It was my first time seeing and understanding healthcare from an economic and policy lens, and I had so many moments in that course where I thought to myself, 'This is the good stuff - this is what I want to spend my life thinking about,'" he said.
After graduating with his Bachelor of Arts in economics, he attended grad school for health economics/public health, followed by business school.
"I found that I really enjoyed the strategy side of the sector more than the policy lens, and that my economics muscle memory around incentives, tradeoffs and constrained optimization made me ideally suited for this type of work," he said.
Thaker began his career at Cleveland Clinic where he was a management fellow and then worked in international growth, which allowed him to spend time in 15 different countries.
After business school, he shifted to working in value-based care on improving care models for seniors on Medicare.
"In all of my roles, I've had the opportunity to work with incredible people, solve problems that impact real people and learn a ton," he said.
Currently, as the executive director of corporate development and growth, he leads transactions such as acquisitions, divestitures and investments; partnerships, both joint ventures or alliances; and growth strategies and new lines of business that help position the North Carolina health system.
"On a daily basis I might be working with our internal teams such as a department chair or a service line manager to understand their needs and priorities; external experts like an investment banker or advisor on a transaction; or a counterparty such as a prospective partner in a joint venture to identify, advance and complete a given transaction," he explained.
Thaker has used the skills he developed during his time at MSU throughout his career.
"I think that’s what is special about economics is that it seeks to understand the way the human world works in a way that not many other disciplines can come close to," he said. "Whether it’s a matter of geopolitics, consumer behavior, or individual health decisions, economics is a lens into the tradeoffs and optimization-seeking behaviors that surround us. Most importantly, studying economics gives you mental models that you can’t 'un-see' once you have them and shape the way that you think about the world, incentives, and how others operate."
Thaker cherishes all that he learned and those he connected with at MSU.
"I just look back with tremendous gratitude for the university, for those who invested in me and for the growth opportunities that I had at MSU," he said. "There are so many things I got to do at MSU that I don't think I would have had a chance to anywhere else. A lot of that comes from clarity in mission - being an organization that is academically rigorous while also prioritizing practical impact and training of the next generation alongside the research mission in a way that is far from universal. I think it's something that all of us as alumni should take a lot of pride in and continue to feel a lot of connection to."
The MSU Department of Economics is exceedingly grateful to Thaker for giving his time, talents and resources to serve on the board.
To learn more about the MSU Economics Alumni Advisory Board, visit https://econ.msu.edu/alumni/advisory-board.