Phillipia Pundor knows a lot about doing business across borders. For six-and-a-half years, she worked for Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone, managing areas related to compensation such as global mobility, immigration, job analysis and incentive compensation.

Then, in 2012, she took on a senior analyst role in global executive compensation for Nissan, where she supports the remuneration programs for over 430 executives globally.

When she decided to go back to school, the Vanderbilt Global Executive MBA seemed like a natural fit. “I wanted to build upon my expertise and also network with top people in other industries,” says Phillipia, who earned a B.S. in Industrial/Organization Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University. “I’m based in Nashville, so it was great to have access to a world-class faculty 10 minutes from home.”

Although she began the program with a long-term goal of leading Human Capital for a global organization, Phillipia ultimately found learning about operations and other areas outside of her core competencies to be among the most valuable aspects of the program. “Now I have a better understanding of the perspective of other people from different backgrounds, like engineers,” she says. "My second-year strategy team was diverse and was comprised of other established professionals from Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. This team provided me with a unique opportunity to further refine my cross cultural and virtual work team skills. They were a great sounding board for ideas, and it was interesting to compare the different complexities we faced."

Since completing her degree in 2013, Phillipia’s responsibilities have become even bigger and broader. In 2014, she was promoted to Senior Manager for Executive Compensation. Four years later, she became Nissan’s Global Director for Executive Compensation — playing a key leadership role in helping the company attract and retain top talent around the world.

Now I have a better understanding of the perspective of other people from different backgrounds, like engineers.