David Rajakovich ’01 ECI

David Rajakovich, an Economics and International Studies major with a Spanish minor, graduated Maxima Cum Laude in 2001 as the Flubacher Scholar.  He went on to be a U.S. Army officer from 2002 – 2005, spending a year in South Korea and dedicating  most of his time to leadership teams of PATRIOT missile batteries.

After serving, Rajakovich spent two years working at Alcoa, leading projects and improving efficiency through scheduling and capacity management.  From there, Rajakovich earned an MBA with a Finance concentration from the University of Exeter, graduating with distinction (UK’s equivalent to Maxima Cum Laude). 

Rajakovich currently works as the Lead Consultant at Positive Purchasing in the UK.  He helps in facilitating workshops and training courses globally to develop sourcing (purchasing) strategies for companies.  Positive Purchasing has also recently introduced an online "Academy" that combines e-learning with access to tools and information for purchasing professionals to use on a day to day basis. Rajakovich is fluent in Spanish and conducted a training course in Mexico City.  He believes that his background in economics has given him a different perspective on purchasing, and he occasionally tries to introduce economic concepts during his purchasing workshops/training courses.

Rajakovich has also published an article in The Journal of Production Markets, where he established a successful prediction market that estimated the number of patients that would be admitted to a local hospital in Exeter, UK.  A summary can be found at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ubpl/jpm/2009/00000003/00000002/art00005 .

Rajakovich was very influenced by Dr. Ratkus’s sincere belief in his potential and Dr. Mshomba’s class on the Political Economy of Africa, which “opened his eyes” to key issues in making and understanding the effects of economic policy.  He said that both professors inspired him to make the most of his talent.