Xavier Roque is a current MBA student specializing in Strategy, Innovation, and Leadership. With the support of his leadership at Bristol Meyers Squibb, Xavier chose to pursue his MBA degree to continue growing in his role as an Associate Director for Global Procurement and Strategy Organization. While he is still wrapping up his first year of graduate coursework, he has already been able to leverage strategies and mindsets developed at TCNJ to directly improve negotiation outcomes for his team of Category Managers as well as additional cross-functional colleagues at BMS.
After earning his Bachelor’s of Science in Biology (also from TCNJ!) in 2011, Xavier started his career as a laboratory technician at Accutest Laboratories. He transitioned into procurement administration at Lockheed Martin in 2012, initially with the aim of using his time in the corporate world to save up funds for medical school. His goals evolved as he quickly developed skills in negotiations, supplier relationship management, and KPI tracking. Ultimately Xavier charted a path that enabled him to combine his passion for science with his procurement talents, and that path led him to Bristol Meyers Squibb in 2020.
Xavier began his MBA coursework in Fall 2024. As he was getting started in the program his supervisor at BMS charged him with addressing some of the company’s challenges related to supplier negotiations. The company was running into consistent issues during contract renewals. Category Managers charged with leading negotiations were coming into the process with insufficient prep time and historical relationship data, and these deficits were putting BMS at a disadvantage in the negotiation process.
Initially, Xavier’s supervisor tasked him with developing a negotiation checklist that Category Managers would complete prior to the start of contract discussions to enhance the rigor of negotiation preparation. Xavier leveraged his Strategy, Innovation, and Leadership skill set to take things a step further. In order to create an inclusive professional development process for BMS staff, he started hosting office hours to review contract keywords, environmental factors affecting renewals, and negotiating tactics with team members preparing for contract renewals. This quickly grew into a “Shark Tank” style forum, where negotiators could present their prep work and strategy planning to their peers, get live feedback, and encourage other attendees to think about solutions for their own negotiation challenges. As Xavier explains it, “What began as a mandatory effort for 25 people has now grown to include over 150 employees—many of whom asked to join voluntarily after hearing about the forum,” and this has had positive impacts on individual contract negotiations and overall camaraderie among negotiators.
Xavier credits his TCNJ MBA experience for providing a space where he could develop new ideas with like-minded learners and execute on those ideas for the benefit of his colleagues at BMS. He encourages all current and future graduate students to constantly consider opportunities to apply learning in their own professional contexts. He’s quick to point out, “I’m not a C-suite executive. I’m in my little corner with my slice of the pie and I’m applying the learnings right within my four walls.” Even when it comes to things like negotiations, students can apply skills in contexts big and small. “Negotiation can be right in the office with your peer, where you are trying to figure out a path forward on how to accomplish a task”.
You can connect with Xavier on LinkedIn to network and learn more about his accomplishments at TCNJ and in his career: