After years away from Rocky Top, a certain self-proclaimed “New Yorker with a southern accent” has returned.

UT alum Monica Langley began her new podcast,“Office Hours: Business Edition,” on Sept. 10 in collaboration with the Haslam College of Business. Fueled by vanilla cappuccinos and aspirations of showing corporate America what UT has to offer, Langley calls this a “full circle moment.”

“I spent four decades away in New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, so I like to bring all my experiences and expertise to help others,” Langley said.

Home sweet home to Langley

Langley is a Vol herself, graduating in 1980 with a degree in journalism from the College of Communication and Information. As a student, Langley was heavily involved at UT as an officer in her sorority Alpha Delta Pi, a Torchbearer Award recipient and managing editor of The Daily Beacon.

Before coming back to her alma mater, Langley worked as a Wall Street Journal reporter and an executive at Salesforce. Writing profiles about CEOs, billionaires and presidential candidates for the Wall Street Journal meant more to Langley than just talking about the big names. She focused on sharing their life lessons, both from their careers and from real life outside of the office. Bringing her industry experience to UT, she strives to give back by hosting semesterly seminars and now, hosting a podcast.

“In the way I would distinguish the Wall Street Journal, and how I wanted to distinguish this podcast, is by pulling back the curtain,” Langley said. “Who are these people, and why do you care?”

Steve Mangum, the dean of Haslam College of Business, brainstormed the podcast with Langley early on, seeing the opportunity to serve a dual purpose. First, the podcast draws corporate America’s attention to UT and Haslam College of Business.

“We hope that it will increase name recognition for Haslam College across the nation, particularly among business executives and corporate recruiters,” Mangum wrote in a statement.

Secondly, the podcast benefits students by giving them access to authentic conversations with business leaders.

“For current Haslam College students, in addition to hopefully increasing available job opportunities, we see the podcast as a great source of up-to-date business insights and ‘up close’ glimpses into the careers of leading business executives and the evolution of their companies,” Mangum said.

Langley talks to students all around campus about what interests them and what questions they want her to ask.

“We really want students here and elsewhere or aspiring business leaders to learn from the guests,” Langley said. “And I think they will learn a lot. Honestly, I sit down, and I know these people really well, and I learn a lot from them.”

Inside the first episode

“Office Hours: Business Edition” releases a new episode on the second Wednesday of each month. Produced at UT, its first episode featured JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who spoke openly about his career struggles and successes as well as his personal life —including two near-death experiences and life as a working dad.

“Jamie Dimon and I have known each other since, we joke, we were ‘kids on Wall Street.’ We’ve known each other for three decades,” Langley said.

Dimon also spoke about the reality of being fired from Citigroup, an experience that hits home in today’s volatile job market. He discussed the process of finding a new job, taking every call and looking into careers outside of banking.

A signature of the show plays off the podcast’s name by asking guests the question “If you could have office hours with anyone, who would it be?” Dimon answered with Abe Lincoln, speaking to his leadership in a time of civil unrest.

Posed with the same question, Langley considered her dream guest out of those not on the contact list.

“One person I do not know personally and would like to have office hours with is Sam Altman,” Langley said. “He is the founder of Open AI, so he is the one that began what is going to be the biggest change in our lives.”

Langley shared that upcoming guest CLEAR founder and CEO Caryn Seidman Becker also chose a historical figure for who she would want to have office hours with.

“Now I don’t want to say, you’re going to have to watch the episode in October,” Langley said. “But it was really interesting that these two CEOs harkened back to leaders of the past.”

Bringing with her a wealth of UT knowledge and corporate experience, Langley is ready to give back to her alma mater through what she does best: telling stories.

“I give you a behind the scenes glimpse of what these CEOs or business leaders are really like, and we delve into their professional and personal lives because that makes it more human,” Langley said.

This story has been modified from its original version, published on Sept. 24, 2025. The original version misspelled Sam Altman’s name. It has been changed to reflect the correct spelling.