Career Directors
Equipping you for success.
Our mission at Simon’s Benet Career Management Center (Benet Center) is to prepare every one of our students for long term career success, not just for their next job. We are committed to the success of every Simon graduate, and that includes providing career advisory support to help you determine—and reach—your professional aspirations.
The Benet Center put me in touch with specific companies—ExxonMobil was one they connected me with. They excel at finding good jobs and helping you get into your desired field.
Students helping students.
Simon’s Benet Career Peers (BCPs) are trained MBA students who are available to advise you on topics like choosing the right internship, building a job search strategy, interviewing, crafting your résumé, and preparing to enter a specific industry.
Meet the MS Career Directors.
Your MS Career Consultant will be available to provide both group support and one-on-one assistance from the day you arrive at Simon. With their in-depth experience of corporate culture, career path options, hiring needs and practices, and more, they are excellent resources to help you further your professional goals. They’ll come to know your technical and interpersonal strengths and how to use those unique attributes to position yourself for success.
Melissa O'Neill
Melissa (she/her) joined the Benet Career Management Center in 2023. She currently serves as the MS Program Director and Finance Career Consultant. In this role, she oversees all MS programs and advisors while continuing to guide Master of Finance students on their career journey. Melissa facilitates career programming, mentors career advisors, and supports students in their job search efforts, both domestically and internationally.
With over 20 years of experience in talent acquisition, compensation management, and career consulting, Melissa is dedicated to helping individuals achieve their career aspirations. She has successfully led HR teams, implemented corporate engagement strategies, managed salary administration programs, and optimized HR processes to enhance organizational performance.
As a career consultant, Melissa combines her expertise in coaching, career development, conflict resolution, and recruiting to provide personalized support to Simon students, helping them identify their strengths and align them with meaningful, rewarding careers.
Outside of work, Melissa lives in Hilton, NY, with her husband Sean, their two teenagers, Braden and Alexa, and their Cavapoo, Ollie. A proud hockey mom, she enjoys traveling to support her children’s passion for the sport.
Manuj Mittal
Manuj joined the Benet Center in October 2023 as an MS assistant director and career consultant. He aims to support Benet Center by providing career advising and professional development services to the finance students. One of his proudest accomplishments is being a two-time Simon alum, he received his MS in Finance in 2020 and his MBA in 2021. He holds his bachelor’s in accounting and finance from India where he also pursued Chartered Accountancy (Indian equivalent to CPA).
Manuj brings a global perspective, having had roles in both the US and India. Most recently, he served as an investor services associate for Morgan Stanley in NYC where he expertly managed relationships with fund investors and managers, overseeing assets under management totaling $50B. Additionally, he has valuable experience in investment banking where he was responsible for creating M&A pitch materials and conducting detailed financial statement analysis for clients in various sectors. Previously, he worked at Grant Thornton within their Audit & Risk Advisory team.
He is a man of strong affiliation and believes that being a part of something bigger than yourself drives us to achieve extraordinary growth. He went to Mayo College, Ajmer (a private boarding school) and is also a member of Rotary International. He was selected to lead the South Asian Rotaract club, spanning eight countries, which empowers young people to take action locally and globally. He is big sports buff and huge supporter of Manchester United. In his spare time, he likes to play golf, listen to music, and travel the world.
Sanket Gomase
Sanket, a December 2020 graduate from Simon’s Marketing Analytics program, joined the Benet Career Management in February 2022. Upon completing his MS degree, Sanket joined ReachMobi as a product analyst and media buyer. In this role he was responsible for leading customer acquisition efforts using digital channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google while maintaining a margin positive ad budget worth $7M annually.
Three of Sanket’s proudest professional accomplishments include starting his first media production company at the age of 18; creating a collaboration platform for musicians called CoCreato which allowed independent musicians to create, record, and publish their original music; and working as a startup advisor for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program.
With a unique perspective as a student and experience within the marketing industry, Sanket looks forward to sharing his professional experience as he coaches students along their career journey.
Outside of the office, Sanket enjoys hiking, trekking, and traveling.
Alex Claussell
Alex joined the Benet Center in January of 2025. She received her MA in Urban Affairs from CUNY Queens College. Her educational background, complements her approach to create inclusive, equitable and sustainable work spaces across all industries.
She brings several years of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Recruitment knowledge within different sectors. Her work history is twofold: and includes strategic planning, People-focused Data Analytics and developing pipelines of talented individuals for some of the top leading tech corporations while delivering exceptional candidate journeys to job seekers during their application to interview process.
Her passion of mentoring others was discovered when she began hosting Community Office hours at her prior organization which allowed job seekers to have a safe space to discuss the struggles and wins within their job search. With these coaching sessions, Alex was able to share her industry knowledge and equip and lead others through their journey to her favorite moment in the job search process: The offer! -- Her passion of helping others is ignited each time she hears someone has finally made it through and have gotten the call they have been hoping for!
Born and raised in Queens, NYC she has a passion for music, food and travel. She considers herself a lifelong learner with a growth mindset. Outside of work, Alex enjoys staying active, drinking her favorite tea blends, cozy video gaming while listening to Lofi Beats and reading! Alex believes it is never too late to start building a path for yourself and that connection and community will give you the strength to do so. It is her mission to empower others to get the careers of their dreams, no matter what barriers life throws at them.