Vanderbilt Owen Executive MBA Viewbook by Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management

NO MB A SO NE AR

C A N TA K E Y O U S O FA R .

Executive MBA

EEAARRNN AA W

Note: By the time you read this brochure, some of the titles for our students and alumni may be out of date. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good reason for that: Vanderbilt graduates are highly valued and tend to move up quickly in the business world. ii Vanderbilt Executive MBA

WO R L D - C L A S S M B A ON A SCHEDULE THAT WORKS FOR YOU. Ready to make yourself a more valuable player? Make an immediate difference in your organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and a lasting difference in your career. Earn a degree with the power to open doors around the world. Be a part of a close-knit, supportive community that stays with you for life. If these are your goals, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come to the right place.

1.8

The average number of years it takes our graduates to pay back their financial investment in this degree.

Personal Scale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Return on Investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Career Management Services . . . . . . 6 Flexibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Respected Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Your Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 C-Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 EMBA Faculty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Leadership Development . . . . . . . . . 18 Choose Your Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Year One. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Executive Edge Track, Year Two. . . . 26 Two Weeks in the Life . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Global Immersion Track, Year Two. . . 32 Nine Days in the Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Family Involvement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Are You Ready? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

L E A R N G LO B A L LY. ON A PERSONAL SCALE.

Those may seem contradictory. At Vanderbilt, they’re complementary. We’ve built a globally recognized MBA program for executives with world-class faculty and resources.

that focuses on understanding your goals and helping you decide if this is the right fit at the right time.

At the same time, our program is small. On purpose.

The program format is designed with you in mind.

We give you a level of personal attention that larger schools simply can’t deliver.

Our unique Leadership Development Program is entirely structured around your individual strengths, style, and needs.

Our program for working professionals starts with a personalized admissions process

Professors know you by name, and their doors are always open to you.

Staff from our Walker Management Library provide personal assistance. Our career management professionals make their job all about you—even before your first class—and will help you long after you leave. Vanderbilt doesn’t end with graduation. Once you join our family, it’s for life.

Join us in person. See for yourself.

2 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of the reasons I chose Vanderbilt were the brand name that is globally recognized, the renowned professors, and the small class size, which meant more focus on me and my development.â&#x20AC;?

SURABHI KHANNA Director, Quality Assurance and Agile MEDHOST VA N D E R B I LT E X E C U T I V E M B A , 2 0 1 9

Why Vanderbilt: Return on Investment

MAKE YOURSELF MORE VALUABLE

FROM WEEK ONE. 4 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

Our students tell us that they: n

Start seeing dividends from their MBA investment almost immediately.

Apply what they learned on Saturday in their workplaces the following Monday.

Gain confidence as they better understand the functional areas of their organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;confidence that enables them to offer ideas and take on increased responsibility.

Receive recognition from colleagues (and superiors) who notice a difference in their performance.

Quite often, receive promotions well before they graduateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a tangible recognition of increased value.

Bottom line: Your Vanderbilt MBA will earn significant ROI, both right away and for the rest of your career.

of EMBA students reported a promotion due to the program.

Why Vanderbilt: Career Management Services

CAREER MANAGEMENT TH R O U G H O U T Y O U R C A R E E R . “My company was in a transitional period, and I was nearing the completion of my MBA, which was the perfect timing to look for career growth opportunities. The career services team set me up for success with résumé and interview preparation support and advice tailored to my circumstances.”

RACHEL KIPPENBROCK Area Director of Revenue Management Marriott International VA N D E R B I LT E X E C U T I V E M B A , 2 0 1 6

6 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

Wherever youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re aspiring to go in your career, our career management team is here to help you get further, faster. If your aim is to rise higher in your current organization, our career resources and coaching are designed to teach you career enhancement and advancement. If your aim is to find new opportunities elsewhere, our team can show you how to make yourself more marketable to employers and teach you to navigate the job search. Our resources remain available to you throughout your career. Once you join our community, you can call on our alumni career management team for the duration of your professional life.

10,000+ Vanderbilt Business alumni will be in your career network from day one.

Why Vanderbilt: More Flexibility

S C H O O L O N S AT U R D AY. H O M E O N S U N D AY.

Two years. Two Saturdays a month. Our schedule gives you an important degree of flexibility, enabling you to complete all of the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requirements while minimizing disruptions to your career and the time you spend away from your other commitments.

8 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

“With two small kids and a full-time job, going back to school for my MBA seemed almost impossible. The ease of Saturday classes made getting an MBA attainable. It’s the perfect solution for a working professional.”

JOAN SMITH President A xilus VA N D E R B I LT E X E C U T I V E M B A , 2 0 1 8

Many MBA programs for executives don’t simply happen during the weekend. They are your weekend, with classes running from Friday night through Sunday. At Vanderbilt, we efficiently pack a full MBA curriculum into a schedule that limits your classes to Saturdays. That way, you won’t have to take time away from your career on Friday afternoons. And you can be home on Sunday to relax, spend time with your family, and be refreshed for work on Monday morning. Participating in classes on Saturdays minimizes your days away from work and family and gives you the flexibility to manage your time according to your needs.

Why Vanderbilt: Respected Name

A NAME RESPECTED AROUND THE WORLD CAN MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

IN YOUR CAREER. 10 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

The number of part-time or undergraduate students who compete for career services or professors’ time.

If you’re interested in an MBA that will propel your career forward, take a closer look at Vanderbilt. The Executive MBA program is the same degree awarded to our weekday MBA students. It carries the prestige and door-opening power that comes with the Vanderbilt name. It connects you to an active and supportive network of Vanderbilt alumni all over the world. It tells people that you haven’t merely obtained an MBA. You’ve earned it. 11

Why Vanderbilt: Your Network

JOIN A NETWORK THAT ACTIVELY WORKS FOR YOU. At Vanderbilt, you’ll become part of a network of successful business people with an array of backgrounds and experience— leaders who will become mentors you can call on for advice and support for the rest of your career. As our students attest, our alumni go out of their way to help. They make introductions. They serve as professional sounding boards. They take your call and answer your questions. They will make the return on your Vanderbilt investment even greater for years to come.

“My new employer actually found me—LP had a great experience with recent Owen alums and was specifically looking for more. Those alums became my advocates through the interview and hiring process. I was able to change companies and make a significant career move during my first year in the program.”

DANIEL RYAN Business Development Analyst Louisiana-Pacific Corporation VA N D E R B I LT EXECUTIVE MBA, 2020

12 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

TIM MURRAY

RAVI APRIL CHARI,M.D. WOLFE President, HCA Healthcare West Florida Division

Senior Manager and HR Business Partner at Nissan

VA N D E R B I LT

EXECUTIVE MBA, 2003

EXECUTIVE MBA, 2008

EXECUTIVE MBA, 2018

Tim Murray is CEO of Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), one of the world’s top aluminium producers. He joined Alba in 2007 as general manager of finance after responding to an ad in The Economist. Then things moved fast. In 2010, he was instrumental in launching Alba’s initial public offering on the London and Bahrain stock exchanges. Tim served as Alba’s chief finance and supply officer, chief financial officer, and chief marketing officer before being appointed CEO in October 2012.

Dr. Ravi Chari has been on the leading edge of medical care for years. Among a number of other advanced procedures, he is a well-known expert in minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgeries now used in treating cancer of the liver, pancreas, and bile duct. After earning his MBA, Ravi was named chief medical officer at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. Two years later, he became chief medical officer for HCA’s TriStar Division, which included 17 hospitals and nine ambulatory surgery centers in three states.

April Wolfe was already a seasoned HR professional before she began looking at Executive MBA programs, having worked in various HR roles at multiple manufacturing companies. “I realized that HR wasn’t really the field that I needed additional education and growth in…the thing that I really needed was business acumen,” she says. The program made a difference in her work: she was promoted to senior manager and HR business partner in early 2018, a promotion that Wolfe “absolutely” credits to the Executive MBA program. In 2019, Wolfe accepted a new global assignment in Hong Kong.

CEO Alba

of our EMBA students are typically referred by an alumnus of the program.

of students are directly referred by a corporate client or employer with an established relationship with us.

You’ll benefit from a highly supportive network of students and alumni around the world who will be there to help you throughout your career.

Why Vanderbilt: The C-Team Experience

WHO COMPRISES A VANDERBILT C-TEAM? Each C-Team is made up of four to five individuals who bring a diverse set of skills and experiences to the table. The diversity comes not only in job function and industry, but in age, gender, and ethnicity and more. It’s those unique backgrounds and life experiences that create the ideal opportunity to maximize the learning experience. Intended to simulate a real-world corporate C-Suite team, the Executive MBA C-Team becomes a supported “learning lab,” in which members can draw on the expertise of the team while stretching to reach their own leadership potential. It’s the reason our alums often say they learn as much from their peers as their world-class faculty.

CEO Law

Medicine Entrepreneurship

Megan Flynn

Sales Program Execution Manager AT&T Dallas, TX

Michelle Sauer

Global Brand Manager Jack Daniels, Brown Forman Louisville, KY

CMO Marketing

John Croft

Sales Business Development

Regional Sales Director Abbott Brentwood, TN

C-Team

CHRO Human Resources

Bettie Kirkland

Executive Director Project Return Nashville, TN

Trey Lee

President and CMO Real Time Neuromonitoring Associates Nashville, TN

Lorena Castro

HR Business Partner, Digital Power, Industrial Automation, and Strategy Execution Schneider Electric Nashville, TN

Adam Currie

Director, HR Business Partner TruGreen Memphis, TN

Leonard Lucas

Director, Legal Counsel Asurion Nashville, TN

14 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

Willis Towers Watson

Senior Consultant Willis Towers Watson Nashville, TN

Ricardo Quiroga CEMEX Director of Engineering, Projects, and Operations Support Houston, TX

COO

Operations Engineering Process Control

Clarence Price

Contract Specialist General Services Administration Nashville, TN

Kathleen Brock

Civil Engineer Tennessee Valley Authority Lookout Mountain, TN

Austin Moss

Controller MAPCO Express Nashville, TN

CFO Finance

Christina Mosser

Financial Advisor Morgan Stanley Knoxville, TN

Accounting Banking Wealth Management

Rick Montgomery

Senior Finance Manager Bridgestone Americas Nashville, TN

Daniel Cecalacean

Global Production Management Lead, Desktop and Secure Products Vertiv Huntsville, AL

CIO Information

Technology Data Architecture

Surabhi Khanna

Director, Quality Assurance and Agile MEDHOST Franklin, TN

Moto Yoshikawa

Senior Manager, Information Systems Nissan North America Tokyo, Japan

CPA, CFA, PMP, JD, Series 7, MD & PHD:

Just a few of the professional designations and graduate degrees held by our Executive MBA students.

Why Vanderbilt: EMBA Faculty

ALL WORLD-CLASS BUSINESS SCHOOLS HAVE GREAT PROFESSORS.

OURS WILL KNOW YOU BY NAME. Our faculty are renowned as researchers, scholars, practitioners, and teachers. But what sets them apart from other top business school faculty is their friendliness, helpfulness, and down-to-earth accessibility. When you have questions or need guidance, their doors are always open. And those close relationships don’t end when you leave here. Even years after graduation, it’s not uncommon for our executive MBA alumni to call professors for advice. That’s just how we do business. Once you’re here, you’re part of the Vanderbilt family. Relationships with faculty One thing that students consistently tell us they love most about Vanderbilt Business. (How many top B-schools can say that?)

Best Professors (The Princeton Review)

16 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

LUKE FROEB Professor of Management, Economics

Professor Froeb has taught the core Managerial Economics class in Vanderbilt’s MBA programs for 25 years and has been named the “Outstanding Professor” of the Executive MBA program. His previous roles include serving as chief economist for the Antitrust Division of U.S. Department of Justice, chief economist for the Federal Trade Commission, and staff economist at the Department of Justice.

DAWN IACOBUCCI

D A V I D A. OWENS

Professor of Management, Marketing

Professor for the Practice of Management and Innovation

Professor Iacobucci has consulted for top multi-national corporations, including Cisco, Merck, Yamaha, Procter & Gamble, and Hewlett-Packard. She was the editor of the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Consumer Psychology. She also serves on the editorial boards of several journals. Professor Iacobucci served as senior associate dean at Owen from 2008 to 2010.

Professor Owens is the former CEO of Griffin Technology and consults with companies such as Lego, NASA, and Nissan. He also directs the Vanderbilt University Accelerator–Summer Business Institute. His most recent book, Creative People Must Be Stopped!, details the ways that companies inhibit innovation without even trying. Professor Owens was recently named the Evans Family Executive Director of the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s innovation center.

Why Vanderbilt: Leadership Development Program

D ON’T J U S T L E A R N B U SINE S S . LEARN TO LEAD. Being a business leader is more than mastering business fundamentals. That’s why we go beyond other programs to help our students understand, develop, and refine their own leadership styles to manage projects and lead teams. Through our top-tier Leadership Development Program, you’ll have your own personal executive coach, plus an assessment used by Fortune 500 companies. With these resources, you’ll gain insights into your personal leadership style, as well as understand and leverage your strengths, challenges, and drivers, which will ultimately help you to become a more effective leader. Here, leadership learning is lifelong. Even after you earn your MBA, you’ll have ongoing access to leadership coaching and tools as you progress in your career.

6 Months, You Choose Your Timing One-on-One Coaching 5 Sessions with Executive Coach n

Provides you with the space to reflect, explore, and discover

Holds you accountable for action toward your leadership goals

Diagnostic Tools (used by Fortune 500 companies) Hogan Assessment n Personal assessment to help you gain insights into strengths and challenges

New Leadership Mindset and Habits Continue Your Leadership Journey n Integrate your learning and practice in real time during the program (in the classroom and on your team), on the job, and in your personal life n

18 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

Utilize your new perspective to hone and improve your leadership style

â&#x20AC;&#x153;You will be challenged and will discover and develop skills you did not have or did not know you had. You will also have a lot of fun in the process.â&#x20AC;?

CARLOS SANCHEZ Group Quality and Supplier Quality Manager Federal-Mogul Powertrain VA N D E R B I LT EXECUTIVE MBA, 2019

To learn more about our distinctive Leadership Development program, please visit: business.vanderbilt.edu/emba/leadership-development/ 19

Why Vanderbilt: Choose Your Track

ONE WORLD-CL ASS MBA . T WO UNIQUE WAYS TO EARN IT. The Vanderbilt Executive MBA program offers you two tracks in your second year. In the Executive Edge Track, go beyond business theory to immerse yourself in the kinds of high-level work that business leaders take on. Working with your cross-functional C-Team, you’ll gain the skills required to launch a new business and develop growth strategies for existing ones. In the Global Immersion Track, you’ll work on cross-cultural teams with students from four dynamic economies and explore new cultures and appreciate the nuances of doing business globally. You and your team will complete a Capstone Strategy Project to help a multinational company solve a specific international business challenge, and you will be prepared for greater international leadership responsibilities anywhere in the world.

F E AT U R E S

COMMITMENT

Both tracks give you practical experiences you won’t find elsewhere. You will graduate with a credential that is respected around the world.

FA C U LT Y

DEGREE

20 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

EXECUTIVE EDGE TR ACK

GLOBAL IMMERSION TR ACK

For those who want to focus on developing leadership and strategic skills and the advanced financial acumen necessary to drive organizational performance.

For those with global responsibilities or those aspiring to take on cross-border assignments in their next role.

Cross-functional team projects

Cross-functional and cross-cultural team projects

International residency

4 in-country immersions

Creating and Launching New Ventures Project

Domestic Capstone Strategy Project

International Capstone Strategy Project

Vanderbilt Leadership Development Program

Vanderbilt Career Management Services

YEAR 1:

1 week in residence; alternating Saturdays

YEAR 2:

2 three-day weekends; alternating Saturdays

4 nine-day residencies

6 days for International Residency

4 weeks required, plus travel

Renowned Vanderbilt faculty

Vanderbilt and partner-school international experts

Vanderbilt MBA

Vanderbilt MBA Certificate from 4 Americas Alliance Schools

Your Experience: Year One

Your Vanderbilt MBA experience opens with an intensive, weeklong residency in historic New Harmony, Indiana. There, you’ll begin immersing yourself in the curriculum. You’ll form bonds with classmates—including the members of your cross-functional C-Team—that will last throughout your career. During your week-in-residence, you’ll disconnect from the demands of your daily routine and acclimate to being a student again.

NEW PROGRAM. N E W O P P O R T U N I T I E S. NEW NETWORK.

N E W H A R M O N Y. 22 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

No other Executive MBA program offers a kickoff experience like this.

“Truthfully, you don’t really know what to expect coming into this Executive MBA program. New Harmony is the perfect way to break the ice by putting you back into a classroom mindset and providing the opportunity to create what genuinely become lifelong bonds with your classmates. The experience you have will set an exceptional foundation from which to build over the course of the program.” SCOTT McMAHAN Sales Representative, Cardiac Diagnostics and Monitoring Medtronic VA N D E R B I LT E X E C U T I V E M B A , 2 0 2 0

Your Experience: Year One

B UIL D T HE NE X T P H A SE OF Y O UR C A R EER ON A S T RONG F O UND AT ION . During the first year of the program, all of our students share the same curriculum on Saturdays. It’s comprehensive. It’s integrated. It’s highly pragmatic, focused on helping you gain a broader perspective on business enterprises and a global perspective on today’s business climate. Vanderbilt’s first-year curriculum equips you with a strong foundation on which you’ll build higher-level skills in leadership and strategy to give yourself an executive edge. Get the quantitative building blocks that enable you to understand the mechanics of business and ask the right questions to make informed decisions.

24 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

Average salary increase within 10 years.

“The most valuable thing was the people I met. From the professors, staff, classmates, and especially my team, I learned more than I ever expected. They had a dramatic impact on my everyday thinking.”

JARED JOHNSON Manager, Enterprise Financial Systems FedEx Services VA N D E R B I LT E X E C U T I V E M B A (GLOBAL), 2018

Your Experience: Executive Edge Track, Year Two

P ICK UP W HER E MO S T E XEC U T I V E MB A P RO GR A MS L E AV E OFF. If you choose Vanderbilt’s Executive Edge Track, your curriculum in year two will focus on the strategic aspects of managing a successful organization in a competitive environment. You’ll take a deeper dive into such key areas as strategic alignment of human capital, negotiation, managing the global enterprise and risk, and corporate financial policy.

Your year-long strategy sequence culminates in two immersion experiences that constitute the hallmarks of the Vanderbilt Executive MBA program.

1 2

Creating and Launching New Ventures. You and your C-Team will create and present a business plan, either for a startup or an expansion into new areas.

Capstone Strategy Project. You and your C-Team will integrate everything you’ve learned to build a strategic plan for a real client company.

INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY During your second year of Vanderbilt’s Executive Edge Track, you will also have the opportunity to broaden your global perspective through a week-long International Residency. Through visits to companies and conversations with local executives in one or two host countries, you’ll gain new insights into the differences and complexities of managing business across borders.

26 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

Your Experience: Executive Edge Track, Year Two

HO W EDL E Y ’ S B A R -B - Q UE BE T T HE F R A NCHIS E ON VA NDER BILT S T UDEN T S . Will Newman envisioned his barbecue restaurant as “a tribute to all things Southern”—and to the hard work and unfailing hospitality of his grandfather, Edley Newman. In its home base of Nashville, Edley’s has quickly expanded to three locations. Where should they go next? For help with that question, Newman turned to four Vanderbilt Executive MBA students.

Project:

Analyze opportunities for a fastcasual BBQ restaurant chain to expand beyond its Nashville locations through a regional franchising strategy

Client sponsor:

Will Newman Proprietor, Edley’s Bar-B-Que

28 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

“What sealed the deal (about Edley’s proceeding with the Lexington location) was the analysis done by the Vanderbilt team. We took their recommendations very seriously.”

WILL NEWMAN

Edley’s has a fairly distinctive offering in the BBQ segment. We were interested in taking the franchise route to expand. But we also had a lot of questions to investigate, which made this an excellent project for the Owen EMBA team. Initially, they gathered a lot of information from us about our startup costs, financials for each location, our menu, and research on our customers. The team also did significant independent research at the Owen library and completed a number of different demographic studies. The process was about creating a framework and diving into our questions to deliver data-driven answers. There was a two-month period when we were communicating bi-weekly. The students would come to us with questions, and I’d make members of my team available to answer them. The team presented an interim report to capture discoveries up to that point and test their assumptions. The core of the work involved an analysis of seven markets within a four- or fivehour drive from Nashville. The team analyzed these markets to identify which would be most attractive, based on everything from demographic factors to ROI for franchisees. Coincidentally, I had been approached by a developer about opening a location in Lexington, Kentucky. What sealed the deal was the analysis by the Vanderbilt team. They recommended Lexington as our top expansion priority, and we took their recommendations very seriously—we opened there in 2017. The team members were all extremely professional and eager to learn more about how they could be of service. It was a great project from beginning to end. Would we like to sponsor another project? Yeah, send ’em our way!

WILL NEWMAN Proprietor, Edley’s Bar-B-Que

T W O W E E KS I N TH E L I F E O F MADHU MURPHY WEEK ONE Sunday A good day to relax and be with family. My husband and I pick up my mother-in-law, attend church, and enjoy lunch.

Everyone’s busy. Here’s an example of how one of our Executive MBA students fits it all in. Meet Madhu Murphy. As a pediatric intensivist and an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and also as a wife, mother, and grandparent—Dr. Madhu Murphy wears many hats. How did she manage to add school on top of an already busy schedule? Here’s a glimpse at a typical two weeks.

Monday I get to the hospital at 7:00am and leave at 6:45pm. I communicate with my C-Team throughout the day using Slack to keep in touch and keep projects moving. On my commute home, I make sure to speak with my mom, friends, and family. In the evening, I carve out an hour for readings and work on assignments for the following week.

WEEK TWO Sunday–Monday Week 2 is dedicated to less work at the hospital, more time for school. Sundays are similar to week 1. After church and lunch, I spend the afternoon doing school work, then join my husband for dinner. Monday, we have our grandson all day. He makes an occasional appearance on my C-Team evening calls, and he likes to say hi.

30 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

Tuesday–Thursday I work two night shifts 5:00pm to 7:00am at VUMC. This week, we have a big strategy assignment due, and we are meeting more frequently in the evenings, either in person or on the phone.

Tuesday–Thursday Starting at 7:00am, I am at the hospital all day. If I have an hour or two of down time at the hospital, I make sure to read or complete small assignments. My husband is a firefighter, so our schedules don’t always align. When our 24-hour work schedules collide, our dog stays with my mother-in-law, so I may run over to get the dog and check on her after leaving the hospital. On one of those nights, I work with my C-Team. We meet for dinner or have a conference call to work on projects due the following week. We typically work from 7:00pm until 10:00pm.

Friday–Saturday Friday I have an extended shift, starting at 7:00am and finishing about 30 hours later on Saturday morning. Once home, I eat and nap until 2:30pm. My husband and I usually try to do an activity together—like going to Costco, running errands, or grabbing coffee at Starbucks. Something to get me upright and out of the house after the overnight shift! Saturday evenings we spend time quietly at home with family.

“The program has literally changed my life—given me confidence to redirect my career and helped me to feel valuable again. It has made me more resilient at work and better at my job, while exposing me to new ideas, places, and people.”

MADHU MURPHY Pediatric Intensivist Vanderbilt University Medical Center VA N D E R B I LT E X E C U T I V E M B A , 2 0 1 9

Friday–Saturday During the weeks I have class, I make sure I’m off from the hospital on Friday and spend most of my time at home finishing assignments and preparing for class. On Saturdays, I arrive to class at 7:00am. The long day in class has a completely different rhythm than the long days at the hospital; I learn so much from my professors and classmates that the time flies by. When class ends at 6:30pm, my husband and I head downtown to the Monster Truck Jam. It’s a great way to connect and re-set for the next two weeks.

Your Experience: Global Immersion Track, Year Two

F O UR D Y N A MIC EC ONOMIE S . ONE UNR I VA L ED GL OB A L MB A . In Vanderbilt’s Global Immersion Track, you don’t merely observe global business. You immerse yourself in it. In Year Two, you will embark on the Global Immersion Track (Americas MBA for Executives), in partnership with four international schools. During four week-long residencies in Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and the United States—the largest economies in this hemisphere—you’ll develop an understanding of what drives success in these countries and the ways business and people are inter-connected within the region. Your cross-cultural team in Year Two will include classmates from each country. Your curriculum at the university in each country (taught in English) will include broad-reaching subjects such as global strategy, corporate social responsibility, leading a global innovation strategy, launching new ventures, and cross-cultural management. Under the oversight of a regional in-country faculty member, your team will embark on a year-long Capstone Project in which you will advise a company on a strategic business challenge in the Americas, giving you the opportunity to work in global virtual teams and to apply your academic curriculum throughout the year. The Global Immersion Track provides you with the understanding of global business that prepares you for greater international leadership responsibilities anywhere in the world. This unique experience gives you an unparalleled opportunity to explore each country’s people, politics, culture, and business dynamics, exposing you to issues to consider and questions to ask regarding any international business undertaking. It’s true that we take a different approach from other schools. We don’t do it just to be different. We do it because it better prepares you to take on the world.

32 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

WHERE YOU’LL GO

Vancouver Simon Fraser University Beedie School of Business: a Canadian leader in global business teaching and research

Mexico City Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM): named the best business school in Latin America

São Paulo Fundação Instituto de Administração (FIA): an Executive MBA program ranked by a number of leading international publications as among the best in the world

Nashville Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management: globally recognized as one of the country’s top business schools 33

Your Experience: Global Immersion Track, Year Two

HO W FI V E E XEC U T I V E MB A S T UDEN T S HEL P ED BR ID GE S T ONE A MER IC A S IMP RO V E DIS T R IB U T ION . During and in between your four international immersions, you and your cross-cultural team will complete a Capstone Strategy Project for a company doing business in the countries you’ll visit. This assignment requires you to apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to a real-world, realtime challenge faced by a global company. Here are some highlights of one such project from the perspective of the sponsoring company.

Project:

Analyze Bridgestone’s distribution model in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina and recommend ways to improve it.

Client sponsor:

Vibhav Veldore Director, Agriculture and Off-the-Road Tires Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations Latin America

34 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

“The team did a lot of research, both into our operations and into those of other companies, so we could benchmark best practices. (Their) work equaled outputs we would expect from premium consulting firms.”

VIBHAV VELDORE

When I was approached about sponsoring a project, we were planning to work on a distribution study involving several countries in Latin America, where I had worked for a number of years. We wanted to optimize our distribution model to serve our customers better, and we wanted an outside perspective on what we were doing. So the timing was perfect. It was not hard to convince our management that this would be a good project. They are well aware of things Vanderbilt has done, and it helped that I am an alum of the program. The team set a timeline and executed it. We had meetings at least once a month. The team members from outside the U.S. participated by phone conference. We also had much more frequent, informal communication when I could answer questions or offer guidance. They had full access to me and my time. When they visited Brazil, our corporate team made time to meet with them and take them to our facilities so they could see everything in person. The team did a lot of research, both into our operations and into those of other companies, so we could benchmark best practices. The teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work equaled outputs we would expect from premium consulting firms. They confirmed some of our thinking by putting data to some things that had previously been our assumptions. They also simplified solutions for some of our systemic challenges. We had pre-meetings to go over their findings and recommendations. They did a fabulous job. Our management was very excited about the presentation they made to us. In fact, I received positive feedback directly from the president of the company!

VIBHAV VELDORE Director, Agriculture and Off-the-Road Tires Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations Latin America VA N D E R B I LT E X E C U T I V E M B A ( G L O B A L ) , 2 0 1 5

Your Experience: Global Immersion Track, Year Two

N I N E D AY S I N TH E LIFE OF ALAN MYERS

Alan Myers chose the Global Immersion Track for several reasons. First, he believed that a deeper understanding of international business would help him in his career. Second, it would be easier on his family for him to be gone four times for a long week than for him to commute from Memphis to Nashville every other weekend. Here’s how Alan describes the typical routine during his immersion experience in Mexico City.

Saturday-Sunday

Friday Mexico City is only two short flights from Tennessee, and I am able to leave home Friday morning and arrive early afternoon. Once I land, I head directly to ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México—our partner school) for a working lunch with my team members. In the late afternoon we meet more formally with our Capstone Project faculty. Later that night, we reconnect with all of our classmates at a welcome dinner at a fantastic restaurant with an authentic Mariachi band. Having an immersion experience in January also allows us to escape Nashville’s winter, and it’s great to be in Mexico with the sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

The weekend is spent primarily with our teams and capstone coaches finalizing our Capstone Project, which we will present to our client in about one month. When we are not at a residency, we work on the capstone remotely, so having this in-person time to finalize our deliverables is very valuable. It’s not all work though. On Saturday afternoon, the cohort heads to the Teotihuacan Pyramids, which is an incredible cultural experience. And after our team meetings on Sunday, students organize a river boat cruise, which is relaxing and a lot of fun.

Monday During the week we have class from 8:30am to 5:30pm. Our classes during this residency focus on family businesses and international competitiveness. The faculty at ITAM are awesome, and I am learning so much from them. We have a guest lecturer today, the CIO from Cinépolis movie theaters, who discusses strategy surrounding upscale movie theaters. It’s fascinating! This evening, our team decides to visit a theater to see their business model first-hand and enjoy a movie. 36 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

Tuesday On Tuesday, we continue our classes, have lunch, and end the day by working on coursework with our team. The lunches here have been fantastic. The university prides itself on their dining facilities. They have an unbelievable chef and cooking team. We eat really well in Mexico!

Thursday-Friday We are back in class and work on group assignments with our teams. For one deliverable, we write about technology disruptions and another about pricing strategies. One of our Vanderbilt professors also comes down to Mexico City on Friday and kicks off his Nashville residency class on creating and launching new ventures. Since we will part ways tomorrow, the cohort decides to get together one last time, and we spend the evening at a Mexican wrestling match. This is a lot of fun and another great cultural experience.

Wednesday On Wednesday morning, we take a break from the classroom and go on a business visit to KidZania. All of us Americans have never seen anything like this before—impressed is an understatement. This interactive city teaches kids about business and careers via realistic role play. The facility is huge! What’s notable is that the CEO of KidZania personally meets with our group for over an hour. KidZania has operations in 21 countries, so we talk a lot about doing business internationally.

Saturday Class wraps up by noon, and we say our final goodbyes. Everyone is excited for our next (and final) residency in Nashville. I head to the airport and am home by early evening. It was a long nine days, but the educational experience in this program has been incredible.

“The ITAM residency was a great experience. The ITAM students were fantastic hosts and welcomed us into their culture.”

ALAN MYERS IT Director, North American Papers, Latin America and India, International Paper VA N D E R B I LT E X E C U T I V E M B A ( G LO B A L ) , 2 0 1 9

Your Experience: Family Involvement

Y O U R FA M I LY I S PA RT O F O U R FA M I LY. Your family will be affected by your decision to pursue this career move. So we make a point of involving and welcoming them from the get-go— starting with an invitation to spouses and partners to attend our initial information sessions. Once you enroll, your family becomes part of ours. Families are invited to cookouts, Vanderbilt football games, and special family days. In these ways and many others, we help build a sense of community. That’s part of what we mean when we say we take business personally.

“We want our students to be successful. We want to know if there is anything that is keeping them from being successful and if we can help, we will.” MACIE SMITHERMAN Director of Student Services Vanderbilt Executive MBA Program

38 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

The number of babies born to EMBA students in an average year.

of Executive MBA students commute to Nashville from other cities and states.

ARE YOU READY? The commitment to return to school as a working professional is a big one. You may have questions, such as:

n Is my employer ready? n Is my family ready? n Do I have the level of experience that makes me a good fit n Is it the right time in my career?

for the program?

n What is the workload like?

Through a personal consultation, we’ll help you think through all of these questions and more as you make your decision. We’ll help you approach your employer, too. In every way we can, we invest time and energy in your success— because we measure our own success by yours.

Prepping you for success. For many, the mathematical proficiency required for a world-class MBA program can seem intimidating—especially if you’ve been out of college for a while. The prospect of taking an assessment like the GMAT or the Executive Assessment can seem daunting, too. Among the ways we invest in you is by offering assistance before the program starts, to help make sure you’re ready for success from day one. Depending on what you need, we offer online math modules and classroom-based math instruction. Similarly, for those whose native language is not English, we can offer assistance in preparing forthe assessments.

Do I have to take an entrance exam? Every applicant is required to take either the GMAT or the Executive Assessment. This is an important tool—for us and for you. Since so much of your work at Vanderbilt occurs in teams, this is one way we ensure that you’re surrounded by colleagues whose caliber will help you gain the most from your experience. Additionally, we can use this current evaluation of your academic readiness to guide your on-boarding process, so when classes start, you can hit the ground running. Not sure which test is right for you? We’ll help you decide.

40 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

V A N D E R B I LT

THIS IS 1

We’re building a new type of business leader.

Vanderbilt exists for a certain type of student—the type that we think will change the world for the better. We’re the B-school built for the persistent. The genuine. The professional who knows he or she hasn’t heard it all before—and uses that humility to grow. To learn. To change. Where we come from, that’s called wisdom.

We take business personally.

Most business schools place a big emphasis on numbers. Our passion is people. Talk to any Vanderbilt professor. Or student. Or staff member. Or alumnus. The first thing you’ll notice is a genuine desire to help each member of our community succeed. That isn’t accidental. In fact, it’s part of our collective DNA. An emphasis on each individual is something we’ll never lose.

BUSINESS®

WHAT WE DO. 2

We solve problems collaboratively.

Our culture is collaborative above all else. And that’s purposeful because the business world thrives on teamwork. Which is good, because working together is what makes us stand out.

CONSIDER THIS YOUR3PERSONAL INVITATION. We lead with ideas, not egos.

Going back to school as a working professional

It’s just in our character to believe that effort will a bigentitlement. decision. IfSoyou are seriously considering alwaysisoutdo while Vanderbilt Business an MBA, you undoubtedly have many questions. graduates will proudly display their diplomas on their office Hopefully walls, they’dthis muchbrochure rather get answers down to business than a few of them, talk about pedigree. andtheir we are ready to help with the rest. We want

to get to know you and your career aspirations to help you determine if now is the right time, and if this is the right place.

We are competitive, not cutthroat.

This, we believe, is our defining strength. Because while we live to prove ourselves by competing, we also know that winning doesn’t mean leaving others behind. At Vanderbilt, we grow the most when we learn from each other.

If the Vanderbilt Executive MBA program is the right fit for you, we’ll help you through every step of the application process.

That is our personal commitment to you.

We work harder than most. (And like it that way.)

Knowledge is only half of the equation. Effort is just as essential. And it’s something that’s often overlooked at top schools. We fill our school with people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do what it takes to get the job done. Going that extra mile is standard practice here, where the lights stay on late and the coffee brews before dawn. 41

ARE YOU READY? The commitment to return to school as a working professional is a big one. You may have questions, such as:

n Is my employer ready? n Is my family ready? n Do I have the level of experience that makes me a good fit n Is it the right time in my career?

for the program?

n What is the workload like?

42 Vanderbilt Executive MBA

V A N D E R B I LT

THIS IS 1

We’re building a new type of business leader.

We take business personally.

BUSINESS®

WHAT WE DO. 2

We solve problems collaboratively.

We lead with ideas, not egos.

We dig deeper.

Our culture is collaborative above all else. And that’s purposeful because the business world thrives on teamwork. Which is good, because working together is what makes us stand out.

It’s just in our character to believe that effort will always outdo entitlement. So while Vanderbilt Business graduates will proudly display their diplomas on their office walls, they’d much rather get down to business than talk about their pedigree.

It starts with our faculty. You will find their work in top academic journals. But it doesn’t stop there. Their ideas and expertise spill over into the classroom and influence ever-evolving business beliefs and practices. This curiosity to stretch, learn, and grow is practiced by all members of the Owen community. Yes it’s extra effort. But the dividends are worth it.

We are competitive, not cutthroat.

We work harder than most. (And like it that way.) Knowledge is only half of the equation. Effort is just as essential. And it’s something that’s often overlooked at top schools. We fill our school with people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do what it takes to get the job done. Going that extra mile is standard practice here, where the lights stay on late and the coffee brews before dawn.

8 We challenge the status quo.

Like many top business schools, we receive high marks and rankings. But that doesn’t mean we’re content. We’re constantly looking ahead. (It’s the best way not to get left behind.) We love to challenge assumptions. Many times we end up reinforcing long-held business rules. But often, we find a new way that’s different and better—and we find it first. 43

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF BUSINESS SCHOOL? It means being competitive without being cutthroat. It means digging deeper and working harder. It means embracing ideas, not egos. It means collaboration and connection. It means building a different kind of leader. Together.

Vanderbilt is proud to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

ÂŠ2019 Vanderbilt and the Vanderbilt logo are registered trademarks and service marks of Vanderbilt University. REV. 10/19 Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. Visit business.vanderbilt.edu for Vanderbilt Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s complete EEO and affirmative action statement.