Alexandra Kostakis

When the opportunity to teach entrepreneurship at the Whitman School of Management knocked on Alexandra’s door in the summer of 2011, she jumped at it. Already a successful entrepreneur, she was excited to try something new and share her experiences with students. Having the courage to get out of her comfort zone and do something she had never done before (teach) has become her trademark. Her mission is to inspire students to follow their dreams and discover their entrepreneurial mindset, something that can be applied to any area of their lives not just starting a business. She teaches a variety of entrepreneurship classes to undergraduates, graduates, military students, and executives. Her passion for teaching and connecting with students has led her to several other projects:

* Whitman IMPRESS house mentor (since March 2014)

* SU Project Advance faculty director of the entrepreneurship program (since July 2014)

* Faculty director of the Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Learning Community at Syracuse University (January 2013-May 2022)

* Instructor, IVMF Boots2Business Program (March 2013–March 2017)

Alexandra still runs Hellinis Imports Company, which she started with her mother in 1999. In addition, she manages her husband’s contracting company and their rental property business.

When not teaching or being an entrepreneur, Alexandra can be found pursuing her other passion: motorsports. She races her BMW E92 M3 race car with her husband as team WayTooFast MSports in the Time Trials series of the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). In addition, she manages the team and is a high-performance driving instructor for the organization.

Alexandra has a BS in marketing and advertising from the Syracuse University Whitman School of Management and the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications. She also has an MBA in finance from the NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business.