Jim Bradford

Project Pyramid, Meet Jeffrey Barry

A week that started in Birmingham and Charlotte ended with two days in Washington, DC.  Perhaps one of the most interesting calls I made that week was with Jeffrey Barry (MBA '89) in DC. Jeff is a Senior International Economist at OPIC, which stands for Overseas Private Investment Corporation.  OPIC was created to facilitate the employment of private capital in emerging markets.  They fund micro-lending, seek to promote transparency, collaborate with private and public partners for promotion of business development, and provide housing and many other services in over 150 countries worldwide. 

I very much want to introduce all Project Pyramid students to Jeffrey and his organization. Conversely, I’d like to show OPIC that Owen students and faculty have created one of the most dynamic graduate business programs in the area of global & social responsibility today.   

For those interested, OPIC employs 25+ MBA interns each summer in a variety of positions from investment banking to marketing. Jeff has promised to help place interested Owen students in these interesting and very rewarding experiences.

Our Good Friends and Alums at Wachovia

We have many key employer relationships - relationships in which prestigious, employers-of-choice come to us on a regular basis to hire our graduates.

How do these relationships come about? What makes such a strong bond between school and company? 99% of the time the answer is dedicated alumni. 

Let’s use Wachovia, a financial services company based in Charlotte, NC and the 4^th largest bank holding company in the U.S, as an example. We have well over 40 graduates working at Wachovia. They are an incredible group of people who understand that their success creates opportunities for other Owen graduates just like them.  These alums are demanding of the school and of our grads- they want to ensure that those who come to Wachovia are dedicated, hardworking, smart, and will represent us well.   

I had the privilege of visiting with some of our Owen alumni at Wachovia last week.  Chip Wasson (MBA ‘00) is a Vice President in the investment banking group at Wachovia, focusing on the defense and aerospace industry.  A Naval Academy grad and F-16 pilot, Chris is one of our many graduates who call Wachovia home. 

Bryan Hunt (MBA '96) is Vice President, Sales and Trading, in Investment Banking. His passion for recruiting Owen grads rivals that of Chip. The attitude of these two supporters - and the other wonderful alums at Wachovia - is inspiring.  They want to help; they want to make a difference in life; and they understand that their success depends on the success of the school, those who have gone before them, and those who will follow.

A great lesson for us all.   

Bryan Hunt and me

Some of our other great alums at Wachovia in Charlotte.

Furniture Kings

Interested in becoming an entrepreneur? Lots of schools talk about it.  Few have the success rate of Owen grads. 

Jackson Moore and classmate Jonathan Ishee (both MBA ’03) have - almost 4 years to the day from graduation - created a healthy $80 million furniture business.  When I caught up with them in Charlotte, they spoke of opening their first store on graduation day, the tough times and the pleasure of success.  

They value the lessons learned at Owen and the hard-knocks education they received as they built their seven-store Ashley Furniture empire based in the greater Charlotte market. They've experienced first-hand the importance of centralization and standardization of systems, HR and cash management to a start up.  I left our meeting impressed with their accomplishment and proud of their work.  Most of all, it seems to me that they are having fun…just another part of what it takes to build a successful business.

Jonathan Moore and son Jake

 Jonathan Ishee and fiancee Anne Winship