By Nathaniel Luce
Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management has announced its final roster of corporate partners for the 2017/2018 academic year. This is the latest step in the school’s new corporate partnership program, which is designed to broaden and deepen ties with premier MBA employers.
Initial engagement with partners commenced this spring, with affiliated Vanderbilt alumni participating in on-campus events. Shanton Wilcox (MBA ‘98), a Partner at Infosys Consulting, served as the program’s first official Leader-in-Residence, presiding over a case presentation and interacting with students over several days. Procter & Gamble HR managers Erika Long (MBA ‘10) and Youmna Sakr (MBA ’14) held career sessions and non-evaluative office hours for prospective students during Vanderbilt Business’ annual Welcome Weekend, the flagship event for prospective members of the MBA Class of 2019.
The initiative has brought a new level of formality and structure to the longstanding hiring relationships between Vanderbilt Business and top companies in a multitude of industries, expanding collaboration in areas like leadership-in-residence programs, student case competitions, speaker events, executive education and academic research. In total, 20 companies have joined the invitation-only program.
“We are proud to have built enduring relationships with some of the top employers around the world,” said Eric Johnson, the Ralph Owen Dean of the Owen School. “The impetus for creating the corporate partnership program stemmed from our desire to leverage and formalize those ties in ways that mutually benefit students, faculty, alumni and, of course, the companies themselves.”
“In terms of hiring relationships, this new program will help build a more secure pipeline of top MBA talent for employers and offer Owen students opportunities with a critical mass of premier companies across seven industry sectors,” says Read McNamara, assistant dean of corporate partnerships.
“This is a model that has been successfully implemented at other top-tier business schools,” McNamara continued. “We have taken what we think are the best elements of those programs and created a unique offering that provides stability for both employers and students who are exploring career options. At the same time, our partnership program facilitates a more open dialogue between the business world and academia.”
Companies that have accepted invitations to join Vanderbilt Business’ corporate partnership program are as follows:
Amazon.com
American Airlines
AT&T
Cardinal Health
Deloitte Consulting
Eastman Chemical
Emerson
ExxonMobil
Goldman Sachs Private Wealth
Hanesbrands
Houlihan Lokey
HP Inc.
Infosys Consulting
KPMG Consulting
Mars Petcare
Medtronic
Nissan North America
North Highland Consulting
Procter & Gamble
SunTrust
Contact Person: Nate Luce Director of Business News and Communications
Contact Phone: 615.322.3469
Contact Email: nate.luce@owen.vanderbilt.edu
