By Mackenzie Burckbuchler
Jack Cogan
After graduating from Syracuse University, Jack Cogan spent 7 years building financial analysis experience through positions with Goldman Sachs and Viacom. Although he excelled in his work, Cogan was intrigued by the world of marketing and yearned to be creative. During his free time, he fueled those passions by taking improv classes and enrolling in a Digital Marketing course at General Assembly.
“At improv, I realized I enjoyed creative environments and being around people of all different personalities and skill sets and backgrounds,” said Cogan. “After the Digital Marketing class, I pursued freelance marketing outside work, helping small businesses and nonprofits with campaigns.”
As Cogan experienced this sense of fulfillment from freelance work, he realized he wanted to pursue full-time Brand Management and other marketing roles. Given his heavy financial background, he decided earning an MBA would offer him the best opportunity to transfer his skills and climb the ladder quickly. Since Cogan was making such a sizable career change, he wanted a smaller program with a close-knit community. Ultimately, this led him to choose Vanderbilt.
“I was making a big shift, so I wanted a small program where I could get to know every classmate by name. The community at Vanderbilt was a big motivator. I wanted those personal connections and wanted to build a family at school. I believed this would motivate me and help me excel.”
Once at Vanderbilt, the Career Management Center (CMC) helped Cogan polish his resumé and cover letter so that he was well-equipped to apply to internships. Cogan, impressed by on-campus recruiter Mattel, ultimately landed a summer internship with the company.
“I could not have had a better experience,” said Cogan. “One project I worked on was creating a new toy idea for Matchbox. I talked to engineers who told me which toys could be made, consumer insights teams who have done focus groups to know what consumers actually want, and sales teams who are in touch with retailers. I got to learn what a brand manager does and own a project from start to end.”
After this experience, Cogan spent the second year of the MBA program honing in on soft skills through campus leadership roles. He served as President of Owen’s Marketing Association and organized a Marketing Symposium and Case Competition. These experiences allowed Cogan to showcase his work ethic to recruiters and exemplified his leadership potential.
When the job search began, Cogan prioritized location. He wanted to work near family and friends. However, he also liked the idea of working for a major CPG company. With these criteria in mind, he re-introduced himself to PepsiCo recruiters at the National Black MBA Association Conference. As he told his story, he landed interviews and ultimately accepted an offer as their Marketing Associate Manager of the Frito Lay Division.
As Cogan embarks on this next step in his journey, he knows that his experiences have set him up for success and his aspirations have come to fruition. He has developed both personally and professionally at Vanderbilt which will enable him to quickly make an impact at PepsiCo.
“In my application essays for MBA programs, I noted that a short-term goal of mine was to work at a major CPG company, such as PepsiCo. Now, I am excited to start my career with that company in Dallas, a city I want to be in,” says Cogan.
Click through the timeline below to see a visual of how Jack Cogan got the job as Marketing Associate Manager.