From beer-making to biotechnology
Jack Chacon has always been drawn to the聽intersection of business and science
By Marya Jones Barlow
Beer, business and biotechnology might seem like strange bedfellows, but Jon 鈥淛ack鈥� Chacon managed successful careers in all three before he was 30.
A former beer brewer in Seattle, the 2015 graduate of CI鈥檚 M.S. Biotechnology and MBA Dual Degree program took his chemistry talents in a different direction after moving to Santa Barbara in 2010.
鈥淚 realized beer was better suited to a hobby, and science had been my vocation all along,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he bioscience industry is a whole galaxy of variation and challenge.鈥�
Chacon spent the past three years earning his master鈥檚 degree while working full-time at Wyatt Technology, a Goleta-based manufacturing technology firm that makes industry-leading laser light-scattering instruments for biological and pharmaceutical research. He chose CI鈥檚 dual-degree program for its innovative blend of graduate-level biological science and MBA courses and its convenience for working professionals.
鈥淚 came out of CI鈥檚 program a different person,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 never would have thought myself capable of thinking so analytically 鈥攁nd working so hard鈥攊f it hadn鈥檛 been demanded of me. The biotechnology portion of the dual degree has allowed me to speak more fluently with my Ph.D.-level colleagues about the experiments they perform, and the business portion has enabled me to move into a management position at my company.鈥�
The exposure I鈥檝e gotten in the MBA program has made clear to me that I would like to continue on with management and administration within the biotech industry.
Originally from Seattle, Chacon attended Seattle University, where he majored in chemistry. After graduating, he spent three years brewing, bottling, kegging and cellaring beer for Pike Brewing Company and Elysian Brewing Company.
Upon moving to Santa Barbara in 2010 with his wife, who鈥檚 pursuing a Ph.D. at UCSB, Chacon was ready for a change. After taking a technical support position at Wyatt, he researched various graduate programs and realized CI鈥檚 Dual Master鈥檚 in Biotechnology & Business was a perfect match.
While Chacon describes the challenge of juggling the program with a full-time job and a commute between Goleta and Camarillo as a 鈥渃oup d鈥檈tat,鈥� he says the rewards were well worth the struggle.
鈥淚n the past year, I鈥檝e been promoted to manager of my department, which is directly correlative to the progress that I鈥檝e made in school,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he exposure I鈥檝e gotten in the MBA program has made clear to me that I would like to continue on with management and administration within the biotech industry.鈥�
Chacon says he still brews beer regularly, and to balance out all those calories, he runs marathons.
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漏 Spring 2015 / Volume 19 / Number 1 / Bi-annual