2016 MBAs To Watch: Brad Myers, Texas A&M (Mays)

Brad Myers-Texas A&M-PoetsAndQuants_MBAsToWatch2016

James Bradley Myers (Brad)

 

Texas A&M University, Mays Business School

Age: 29

Hometown: Vail, CO

Undergraduate School and Degree: Miami University – Finance

Where did you work before enrolling in business school?  Cirque Mountain Apparel – Vice President of Sales

Where did you intern during the summer of 2015?  Kinder Morgan, M&A – Terminals, Houston, TX

Where will you be working after graduation? Deloitte Consulting, S&O Finance – Austin, TX

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: MBA Association, President; Aggies in Business, Managing Director

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Creating “The Hitch,” a family-friendly place for the MBAs and other graduate students to tailgate, network, and enjoy Aggie sporting events. While the early-morning games were sometimes a challenge to set up for, it provided a great opportunity for our class to bond and enjoy some well-deserved time outside the classroom.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Helping grow Cirque Mountain Apparel from a $12,000 investment into a company that provides jobs all throughout the United States.

Who is your favorite professor? Dr. Arvind Mahajan   

Favorite MBA Courses? International Finance, Corporate Strategy, and Statistics

Why did you choose this business school? It just felt right. That was my experience at Mays from the beginning. Small class sizes and a close interaction with top professors made me feel like I wasn’t just a number, but a person they relied on to come prepared to class every day. The ROI and the speed of the program was also a major factor. I could get out of school with limited debt, in a faster amount of time, and obtain a top-25 MBA program job offer. 

What did you enjoy most about business school? It would be the friendships and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. We were able to travel to Dubai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, and many other places with not only Mays students, but other MBA candidates from around the nation.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from business school? Never underestimate the power of constructive feedback.

What was the most surprising thing about business school? How people with different backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, and value structures can always find common ground and work together. In a world with so much negative news, it is incredibly refreshing.

What was the hardest part of business school? Deciding where to allocate your precious time and managing your Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO).

What’s your best advice to an applicant to your school? Show passion through something in your life outside of your job. Most people live a very similar day-to-day life, but it is what you do outside of your career that adds an X-factor.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when… I saw the caliber of my sister’s classmates when I visited her at Ross.”

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be… slinging sweet gear at Cirque Mountain Apparel.”

Which executive or entrepreneur do you most admire? My mother is one of eight siblings born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. I’ve been traveling there since I was a child and have seen the good times turn into a less-promising era. Tom Kartsoits has plugged into the core of what made Detroit great and created a company (Shinola) that showcases the craftsmanship of laid-off autoworkers. The dedication to the American workforce and training these former auto industry employees is something truly inspiring. Not to mention, the products they sell are just plain SWEET. I can only hope that future companies in America follow this model to teach and foster the growth of tangible skills.

What are your long-term professional goals? Long-term, I think I will find myself with the decision of whether to jump back into starting a company or taking a more structured approach to my career. I don’t see myself retiring at a young age, which leads me to believe I will try to be an educator of some kind down the road. Life is about adapting and finding new things you love. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? First and foremost, I would like to thank my sister, Allison Myers. She was the one who encouraged me to go to business school and pursue a graduate education. She’s my role model, friend, and, most importantly, a person who has given me support throughout my entire life. She may or may not have convinced me to jump into consulting, too.

Second, I want to thank my parents, Kent and Janet Myers. I was lucky to grow up in Vail, Colorado and to have parents who encouraged my sister and me to go see the world. Conversations at dinner revolved around pushing the envelope of life and appreciating exploration and self-discovery. I can’t thank them enough.

Finally, I’d like to thank Alex Biegler, my old business partner. He came to me in 2011 with the idea of Cirque Mountain Apparel and thought I had the “special sauce” he needed. He’s a class act and an even better friend.

Favorite book: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Favorite movie: Almost Famous

Favorite musical performer: The Avett Brothers & St. Lucia

Favorite television show: “60 Minutes,” I have major commitment issues to leisure programming.

Favorite vacation spot: Kootenay/Selkirk Mountain Ranges, British Columbia.

Hobbies? Ice hockey, skiing, golfing, hiking, and biking.

What made Brad such an invaluable addition to the class of 2016?

“Throughout Brad’s time in the MBA program, I always knew he was a bright star in the classroom. As the associate director for the program, I had the opportunity to talk to all of our professors and Brad’s name was always mentioned as one of the top performers. But aside from his academic prowess, I was most impressed by what Brad accomplished outside of the classroom. He served as the president to our MBA Association, and the organization’s mission is to ‘integrate student’s professional, academic, and social lives by maximizing networking opportunities and celebrating our successes.’ Brad worked hard to ensure that this mission was lived in the activities of their organization. He worked hard to create a lot of activities, from social happy hours to family-friendly events, which helped unify his entire MBA class and their families into our program.

“Since Brad was MBAA president, that made Brad one of our top student leaders. I could always count on Brad to share with us the good, the bad, and the ugly on improvements that we can continually make to continue to propel our MBA program to excellence. He was quick to share his insights in productive and constructive ways, but he was also quick to tell his classmates to get in line as well. Overall, our MBA program is better due to the legacy and impact made by Brad Myers.”

Amber Acosta

MBA Program Associate Director

Mays Business School

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