A Meaningful Memory

It's been nearly one year since the merger announcement of Ryerson Holding Corporation—a processor and distributor of industrial metals—and US metals service center and processing company Olympic Steel.  

Piyush Rathi (MEM '26) got a behind-the-scenes look at the potential impact of that merger last year, and the lessons from the experience still resonate with him today.  

Weeks after the announcement, Piyush and eight of his classmates in Northwestern's Master of Engineering Management (MEM) program were guests at a holiday party hosted by Chicago Tube & Iron (CTI), one of the largest specialty steel service centers in the US. Olympic Steel acquired CTI in 2011.  

MEM’s emphasis on combining engineering expertise with management, strategy, and industry exposure is what initially attracted Piyush to the program. He never expected that industry exposure to include a company holiday party. 

"The event brought us directly into a major industrial organization during a significant moment of transition," Piyush said. "The experience offered an uncommon level of exposure to executive leadership, company culture, and strategic conversations, especially meaningful given the ongoing Ryerson - Olympic Steel merger." 

The two companies merged in February.  

Piyush is currently a trading and data analytics intern at Roeslein & Associates, an engineering, procurement, and construction company that specializes in can making, renewables, and industrial manufacturing. He still thinks back to the CTI Holiday Party as an example of the value of the MEM network.  

Piyush and his classmates were invited to the event by Ayan Das (MEM '25), who was interning at CTI at the time. While there, Piyush met Donald McNeeley, CTI chairman and an MEM adjunct lecturer. 

McNeeley went out of his way to introduce Piyush and his classmates to party attendees. 

"Being publicly introduced by Professor McNeeley as a Northwestern graduate student in front of CTI’s senior leadership and employees was a meaningful moment," Piyush said. "It signaled trust, recognition, and the value placed on being Wildcats."  

In addition to conversations with McNeeley, Piyush spoke with a number of senior leaders and employees at CTI.  

"Experiences like that bridge theory and practice, allowing students to understand how classroom concepts translate into executive decision-making and organizational strategy," Piyush said. "MEM equipped me with both technical depth and managerial perspective, while opportunities like this provided direct exposure to industry leaders and real operational challenges."