Massry Alum Bazadona Named to AACSB 2025 Class of Influential Leaders
ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 31, 2025) — University at Albany Massry School of Business alum Damian Bazadona ’98, has been named by AACSB International to its 2025 Class of Influential Leaders, a group of 24 outstanding entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs from AACSB-accredited business schools.
Bazadona is the founder and president of Situation, a New York City-based digital marketing agency that has helped promote some of the most high-profile brands in the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Meals on Wheels and Major League Soccer.
A first-generation college graduate from UAlbany, Bazadona founded Situation Interactive to bring Broadway to the web in 2001. Since then, the marketing agency has evolved into Situation Group, a collective of companies—including the nonprofit Situation Project, which connects students from underfunded school districts to the arts.
Outside of Situation, Bazadona acts as a speaker and thought leader. He has spoken at Advertising Week, Google, Clio Entertainment Creative Fest, Columbia University, Yale University, New York University and many others. Additionally, Bazadona is a co-founder of TEDxBroadway. He has also returned to UAlbany multiple times to speak to Massry students and hosted undergraduates at Situation for internships in marketing.
In 2017, Bazadona worked with UAlbany’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement to create The Situation Prize — Community, Cause and Advocacy. The award supports undergraduate research, internships, community service and other projects that meet a critical community need.
“Damian Bazadona’s work demonstrates how business schools can fuel solution-minded leaders to create new business ventures and solve complex challenges,” said Lily Bi, AACSB president and CEO. “Through entrepreneurial approaches and visionary thinking, Damian Bazadona is creating meaningful change in the world.”
Now in its 10th year, AACSB’s Influential Leaders member spotlight program highlights the value that business schools bring to business and society. All honorees from this year’s class have a degree from one of AACSB’s more than 1,000 accredited business schools worldwide.
The Massry School of Business has dual AACSB accreditation in business administration and accounting. AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Programs receiving AACSB accreditation have superior faculty, high-caliber teaching, and meaningful interaction between students and faculty.
UAlbany’s dual accreditation is an elite distinction shared by fewer than 2 percent of world's 16,000 business schools. In 1974, the Massry School of Business became the first school in the world to be accredited by AACSB at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Those recognized in AACSB’s 2025 Class of Influential Leaders have used their entrepreneurial skills to not only realize their business dreams but foster economic growth in their communities, generate new value for existing organizations, and leverage innovative thinking to solve societal challenges.
Each leader was nominated by their school, which shared stories of how the honoree leads in fostering innovation, adding value to organizations and making an impact in businesses and communities.
Support for the 2025 Influential Leaders initiative is provided by Risepoint.