By Nathaniel Luce
On May 12, Adena Friedman (MBA ’93), CEO of Nasdaq, will address the 2017 graduates of Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt’s Recreation and Wellness Center. Ahead of the event, she answered a few questions about her time at Vanderbilt Business, described the value of a business school education, and dispensed some advice for incoming MBAs.
Why did you choose Owen?
First, I really liked how small it was. Having it be 200 students was pretty amazing. I had gone to a small high school and small college, so to have the intimacy of only have 200 people in your class was fantastic for me. It was really great because we got a lot of interaction with the teachers.
The second thing is that it had the reputation for being a more collaborative, less cutthroat, friendlier. They had a services marketing area that I found pretty interesting as well.
What aspect (if any) of business school surprised you / didn’t align with your expectations?
Business school just clicked with me right away – I felt like Owen was the first time I went to school every day and loved everything I was learning. It felt very different from college, where it was important to put yourself in uncomfortable situations – taking classes that were interesting, but outside of your comfort zone, and figuring out what you like.
I found the amount of group work to be surprising, but the tools I learned while working in groups was extremely valuable and ones that I have applied to my career countless times over.
What clubs/activities did you take part in at Owen?
After 25 years, I can’t say that I remember every club I joined, but I was in the Beta Sigma honor society in my second year, as well as the International Club and the Marketing Club.
Which classes at Owen have you applied the most over your career?
I can honestly say that I have used all of my classes to the betterment of my career. While at Owen, I was drawn to product management, which was a field within marketing. Being a product manager is like being a CEO of your own company within a larger organization – and I have applied those skills and learnings to every job in my career thus.
While I concentrated on marketing, I took general business and finance classes as well. Those classes have certainly applied to my career as well, from modeling and valuing a company to personal and leadership skills. One surprise has been my extensive use of the basic Operations class I took while at Owen. It was the only class that I really didn’t grasp as well while I was there, and yet I have used what I learned in the class consistently throughout my years as a product manager and business leader.
Can you describe your typical day as a business school student?
A typical day as a business school student almost always ended with everyone pulling chairs together in the lobby to work on group assignments. I remember the lobby and the rooms near the library being the hub where everyone gathered to hunker down for an all-nighter or to complete the latest assignment.
In my second year, I did an internship at a local bank – Union Planters Bank – which really filled my days and created a very good balance of learning new skills at Owen and then applying them in a local business.
What were the hot spots for you and your classmates during your time in Nashville?
What I remember most was going to the Thursday evening events on campus, now called Closing Bell. These were great events where we were able to socialize with classmates outside of group projects. San Antonio Taco Company (SATCO) was the other great place on Thursday and Friday afternoons. It was a lot of fun on a nice day to gather friends and enjoy Coronas and tacos together.
Do you have any advice for Incoming MBAs?
A couple of things.
It goes so quickly. Make sure you really soak up everything you can about the experience. Join organizations, and have those interactions with the teachers. Really get engaged with them, because they want to engage with you — that’s one of the best things about Owen.
You might go in thinking you’re going into the MBA program to do one thing (e.g., get your CPA or learn financial modeling), but take advantage of the variety of the core curriculum. I had to take an operations class; it was my least favorite class, but I’ve used the basic skills from that class consistently throughout my career. At the end of the day, any time you engage in program management, project planning, or overall product management, you’re using Gantt charts and other skills they teach in operations. So don’t assume you’re not going to use what any particular class is teaching you. Honestly, you end up using almost all of what they teach you.
What is the value of an MBA degree?
The MBA program offers you a ton of choice, and it teaches you the core of leadership. If you want to make it to the top of an organization, and if you want to have a broad mandate, an MBA is the best education that you can bring to the table. I find that I’m actually very drawn to MBA students. If you need to hire someone with legal expertise, you hire a lawyer, but if you’re looking for someone who’s an up-and-comer who brings a variety of financial and business skills, and someone whom you want to bring up the organization, you hire an MBA.
Contact Person: Nate Luce Director of Business News and Communications
Contact Phone: 615.322.3469
Contact Email: nate.luce@owen.vanderbilt.edu
