Daniel Czerniawski '19 EMBA Gains Technical, Data-Driven Expertise

As president and CEO of Actors Federal Credit Union (ActorsFCU), Daniel Czerniawski oversees strategic direction and management of the cooperatively run, nonprofit institution to ensure it’s achieving its primary goal: assisting its members who belong to Actors’ Equity, SAG-AFTRA, Local 802 and more than 150 other entertainment-related organizations with their financial needs.

Czerniawski got his own assist in taking over the top slot at ActorsFCU this past January after serving as chief lending officer and chief operating officer at Atlantic Federal Credit Union. He attributes his professional climb in part to his participation in the Executive MBA (EMBA) program at NJIT’s Martin Tuchman School of Management (MTSM).

“I would say that it all tied in very well, while I was working at the Atlantic, as well as during the interview process [for ActorsFCU]. In my five months leading the team at ActorsFCU, I’m certainly applying lessons that I learned from the program [about leadership and corporate change]. Specifically, I have put a focus on gathering as much data and input as possible prior to making decisions,” said Czerniawski, citing case-study work as especially helpful, particularly at the Atlantic where he used his newfound knowledge to effectively steer an overhaul of the credit union’s culture operations and systems.

He started his EMBA in fall 2017 following his involvement in discussions about the program as a member of the MTSM board of advisers (Czerniawski has been a member, along with his wife Magdalena, since 2014). With financial services worldwide becoming increasingly reliant on the ability to be technical and data-driven, the value of the EMBA and its design at NJIT really resonated with him.

“At some point I thought … I should practice what I’m preaching. If I’m going to co-guide where programs should go, I should actually go get my MBA,” recalled Czerniawski, who holds a bachelor’s in marketing with a minor in team management from the University of Scranton.

 

MTSM’s EMBA provides both STEM and traditional management professionals with a “bridge to leadership.” The 18-month online/in-person hybrid program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and begins with an introductory session at the United Nations’ headquarters in Manhattan. It features a three-module curriculum with global awareness and relevance at its core, four immersion/integration “boot camps” and a nine-day international study tour. The program’s success is marked by alumni’s employment with a variety of prestigious companies.

 

Czerniawski grew close with his fellow EMBA students, with whom he traveled to China. There they visited a Volkswagen factory, Alibaba Group and voice-technology firm iFLYTEK. Additionally, the cohort listened to Chinese professors speak about the country’s economics, business and culture, among other activities. He describes the trip as a true bonding experience as well as his fondest memory of the EMBA program. He picked up his EMBA diploma with the group at the university’s 103rd commencement ceremony for advanced degrees May 23.

To those who are considering pursuing an EMBA, Czerniawski touts NJIT and noted, “In this day and age, there’s a need to prove that you have the ability to work with data and science in the business world. It’s a necessity. So for me it was a real straightforward proposition. … I wanted to have a university whose degree immediately conveyed [this] ability … as well as have credibility nationally.”