You’ll find over 6,000 Vanderbilt MBA and MSF alumni around the world, especially in larger metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Houston. The companies who hired them are often household names, and the roles and responsibilities of Owen’s alums require expertise in nearly every chosen field. This vital, active network is discipline-diverse and geographically dispersed.
Owen alumni serve as advocates, advisors, and mentors. Successful professionals and business leaders, Vanderbilt MBAs and MSFs return to campus time and again to share their expertise and experience with Owen students in meaningful ways.
Alumni Spotlights
Taking the Opportunity to Give Back Throughout his busy career, Ron Ford has taken time to give back to Vanderbilt. He served on the Owen Alumni Board for 11 years, including a stint as president. During that time, he interacted with the Vanderbilt Alumni Board, becoming a member a few years ago. He assumed president of that group in October and became a member of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust in April, an honor that he says, "is more than his dream come true."
"Owen changed my life. I wouldn’t be where I am today if the late dean Marty Geisel hadn’t taken a chance on me."
A Passion for an Alma MaterBruce Heyman, managing director of the Private Wealth Management Group for Goldman Sachs’ Midwest region-- has a passion for people. It is this interest in, and involvement with, his private investors that built his clientele of high net-worth individuals into one of the largest for this firm.
Bruce’s passion for people extends back to his alma mater. He and other Owen alums from Goldman Sachs take it upon themselves to help prepare first-year students for careers in the industry. In addition, he and his wife Vicki-also an Owen alumn--have volunteered to chair this fall’s Reunion/Homecoming November 5-6.
"I hope Owen alumns turn out in droves. It will be a great time to celebrate where Vanderbilt has been and where it is going."
Excerpt from Vanderbilt Business, Summer 2004
Leading the Quest for the Best Since David became CEO of Ingram Entertainment in 1994, he has grown the company into the leading national distributor of home entertainment products with 2003 net sales of $1.025 billion. Given his affinity for challenges, his decision to help his business school alma mater launch a multimillion dollar campaign made perfect sense.
"If a business is not aspiring to be better, then it’s on its way to decline. Similarly I’d like to see the Owen School working to get better in all areas. But that requires raising money to get the best students and best faculty."
Gaylord's EVP-Personally and Professionally InvolvedKloeppel graduated from Owen with honors in 1996 and went to New York City, where he worked for Deutsche Bank as an investment banker before returning to Nashville and Gaylord. Kloeppel has strengthened the relationship between Owen and Gaylord by encouraging the company to hire Owen students and to establish two Gaylord scholarships at the School. He and his wife Ann,’96 are also involved as alumni; Ann serves on the Owen Alumni Association Board of Directors, and David serves on Owen’s campaign Steering Committee. David received the Distinguished Alumnus award in 2003.
Excerpt from Vanderbilt Business, Summer 2003
MBA ’04 VP Corporate Recruiting, Investment Banking & Equities, Citigroup Global Markets Recipient, 2004 Graduate Business Foundation Leadership Award
Vanderbilt MBA wins national honor for leadership The annual Student Leadership Award recognizes the graduate business student who best exemplifies the Graduate Business Foundation’s ideals of leadership and innovation. In 2004, this award went to John Owens from Vanderbilt.
While pursuing his MBA, John Owens established the Owen 2x1 campaign—a student-run, student-led internship and career placement program. He also created Student Career Profiles, an online tool that captures each Owen School student’s career preferences.
Owens is the second Vanderbilt student in the 14-year history of the award to receive this distinction. In 1996, Jody Handler was named the winner for creating 100% Owen, a year-round volunteer program at the school that thrives today.
Exceptional Airline…Exceptional AlumnEven if you don’t know alum Doug Parker personally, you may know his work-when you fly on American West Airlines and your flight is on time, your baggage is not lost, and you have an overall excellent experience. Currently America West is one of the top three airlines across the board, and in 2003 the company’s stock rose a whopping 750 percent, catching the eye of the investment world.
"Owen has been very important to me by providing a great education, opening doors, and most importantly, in forming friendships, all of which have served me well over the years."
PhD or MBA? A HealthCare Professional ChoosesArmed with a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cell biology, Elaine went to work for Kosan, a biotech firm that, during her four-year tenure, grew from 40 to more than 100 employees and went public. In order to reach senior levels of management, she had to make a big decision: PhD or MBA? She determined that an MBA made sense for her.
"Vanderbilt’s MBA program also made sense. The health care and operations classes allowed me to excel in both of my internships: working on clinical trials at Cumberland Pharmaceuticals and improving Johnson & Johnson’s supply chain. Gaining a business perspective has taught me there are two kinds of people in this industry: those who discover and those who build on those discoveries. I found I am the latter."
