MBA News 

Taylor Nadauld thanks his 25-year-old self for choosing to leave a lucrative position on Wall Street to earn a PhD. Now the department chair and a professor of finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Nadauld teaches the valuable lessons that he learned of faith and finances to his undergraduate and MBA students.

As a graduate of the MBA program at BYU Marriott, Christian Da Silva knows that education opens the door of opportunity. With the help of loving friends and family and a Cardon International Sponsorship from the Whitmore Global Business Center, Da Silva discovered ways to continue his education and shape a better future.

After growing up all over the world and working in several different career fields, MBA student Ben Nzojibwami has found his place at the BYU Marriott School of Business as the MBA class president. Nzojibwami’s unique background has helped him center his education on relationships and service.

Sixteen interfaith teams of MBA students from across the country gathered in February to participate in the second annual Faith and Belief at Work Case Competition at the BYU Marriott School of Business. Participants addressed how businesses can encourage employees to bring their whole selves to the workplace.

According to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, 96 percent of MBA graduates will enter management roles within 15 years of receiving their degrees. So for most MBA students, learning to be effective and responsible leaders is essential. But at the BYU Marriott School of Business, associate professor of organizational behavior and human resources Taeya Howell prepares MBA students to be Christlike leaders when they enter the workforce.

As an educator, learning was always a priority for Brenna Porter. After being an elementary school teacher for two-and-a-half-years, Porter decided she needed to further her education by earning an MBA at the BYU Marriott School of Business. Porter’s background in teaching helped her forge her own path in the MBA program and bring her true identity to the workplace.

In a lecture hall full of students and future leaders, MBA alum Christopher Clason explained how inspired leaders create value in their professional and personal lives. Awarded the BYU Homecoming 2023 Alumni Achievement Award representing the BYU Marriott School of Business, Clason shared attributes of leaders based on his professional career working in six industries, living in seven different cities, and managing teams in twenty-four countries.

As a member of the Army Reserves and an MBA student in the BYU Marriott School of Business, Jared Sturgell believes in serving others. Over time, Sturgell has found helping others brings immense satisfaction in life, and he continues to serve as a volunteer advisor for the BYU Army ROTC.

Five students within the MBA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business received the 2023 Williams Innovative Leadership Award. This award goes to distinguished students who have been nominated by their peers for their demonstration of extraordinary leadership that embodies the values of BYU Marriott. The award winners receive a cash award of $10,000 in recognition of their efforts.

An avid “peak-bagger,” Brett Hathaway spends much of his free time summiting mountains. While his own career path has seemed like a long trail traversing varying professional pursuits, Hathaway—now a new assistant professor of global supply chain in the BYU Marriott School of Business—feels uniquely equipped to provide perspective to students in their own journeys.

Ten BYU Marriott MBA students were announced as the recipients of 2023 Hawes Scholars Award—an honor that carries the highest distinction given to MBA students at the school and a cash award of $10,000.

Jenn Larson was just 14 years old when she took over the bookkeeping for her family’s dairy farm near Firth, Idaho. She soon saw firsthand how challenging it was for her parents, who lacked any college education, to properly manage the unpredictable revenues of farming. This experience ignited a lifelong passion for finance, and it led her down an unexpected path to becoming a role model she never had.

The MBA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business announced the winners of the 2023 George E. Stoddard Prize, an award given to second-year MBA students studying finance who display leadership and academic excellence.

BYU Law earns highest mark ever and BYU Marriott makes jump in latest edition of U.S. News rankings

The Whitmore Global Business Center at the BYU Marriott School of Business named 13 first-year BYU Marriott MBA students as 2023 Eccles Scholars. The Eccles Scholars Award offers financial support to MBA students who are interested in and committed to international business.

Students, employees, and executives typically work hard to present themselves professionally. Yet BYU Marriott management professor Kristen DeTienne, an example of professionalism herself, calls for something more. DeTienne says, “What’s that extra edge that helps you be effective and enjoy what you’re doing? It’s personal connection.”

With nearly three decades of experience at BYU Marriott, Christine Roundy diligently seeks to care for and inspire confidence in students. As the academic program manager for the MBA program, she does that by meeting students’ needs one by one.

In a one-of-a-kind event, the BYU Marriott School of Business, in conjunction with the BYU Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership, hosted the inaugural Faith and Belief at Work case competition in February. The event hosted more than 50 students from 11 MBA programs across the country, marking the first-ever MBA case competition to deal exclusively with faith and religion in the workplace.

Whoever said “third time’s the charm” was obviously not an entrepreneur. There’s no magic number for successful business launches, but for Ben Miller, a BYU Marriott School of Business MBA alumnus, finding a profitable business idea took him four tries. He eventually cofounded SimpleNexus, a large, prospering mortgage industry platform that integrates multiple homebuying processes into a single system. In the midst of his success, Miller remembers the influence of the Rollins Center for Technology and Entrepreneurship and what he learned there about seeking and preparing for success.

Empowered by the BYU Marriott School of Business, MBA graduate Betsy Rose always strives for positive impact. In every capacity—whether she is working on human resources (HR) projects from a New York City office or cheering up the elderly by volunteering with her therapy dog—Rose is all about making a difference.