When global wealth management firm Alliance Bernstein moved its headquarters to Nashville, Hannah Sears left New York to join them. Along with the company’s managing director, she built and hired the staff for the office and global teams, and she launched a team that opens all new accounts nationally.

As the company has grown in its new home, Hannah has grown along with it. “I have learned most of my financial skills on the job,” she says, “and I am grateful to AB as a research- and education-based firm that invested in educating me.”

At the same time, Hannah knew that she wanted to continue elevating her skills, broadening her knowledge, and preparing for executive-level positions. That desire led her to explore Executive MBA programs that could do all of that—and help her build a wider professional network.

Hannah, who graduated from Harvard, describes Vanderbilt as “a top-tier research institution with an incredible network and reach, loyal alumni, and high-caliber teaching staff. The structure of this program is also perfect for my current career.”

But even more than Vanderbilt’s reputation, she says, “the people are really what drew me into this program and are my favorite thing about it. I’m surrounded by people who are already changing the landscape in their industries.

“The program is designed to give us a community within the program, from the small C-teams to my other friends through the program.” Hannah’s advice to incoming students: “Take advantage of the community of people you are surrounded by. It’s easy to focus on getting through classes and miss the community's tangential benefits.”

Less than one year into the program, Hannah was already seeing significant returns on her participation. “I’ve been able to apply everything we are doing to my work immediately, which is a huge benefit,” she says. “I know so much more about industries I’m researching, which has made me very credible.