Scott Gotshall

Scott Gotshall, MBA ’05

Senior Counsel at Roche Diagnostics

Six years removed from law school, Scott Gotshall secured his dream job as a corporate lawyer for an international company. Though the job market for lawyers is notoriously competitive, Scott’s business education at Valpo distinguished him from thousands of other recent graduates.

“For me, the MBA was vital to empower me to pursue my career goals,” he says. “Most law school grads are trying to decide which areas they would like to practice and build a career. The MBA provided me a direction and a career path.”

That path took Scott to the North American headquarters for Roche Diagnostics, a medical device company. As a corporate attorney for Roche’s molecular business unit, he supports sales and marketing, ensures compliance with regulations, and gives general business advice. He says the position requires him to be close to the business and have his “boots on the ground.”

“When working with a law firm, you give your advice to a client, and that’s it. You never know if your advice was implemented. Being in-house is a different animal. They ask your thoughts, and most times they are going to take action based on what you say, so you need to know how your advice impacts the business as a whole,” Scott says.

For a medical device company, that means paying close attention to both ethical considerations and industry regulations. Scott believes Valpo’s MBA served him especially well in this industry.

“Companies are only going to be sustainable if they have a principle-based approach. To do that well, you need to go beyond what the law says, which many times is just a minimum requirement,” he says. “The values-based education at Valpo creates values-based leaders who ultimately create and join organizations that can make a positive impact in the world. It definitely factors into the advice that I give, and who I am.”