Meet The Class Of 2018 At Kellogg

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Daniel L. Flatley

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Former Marine Officer and Fighter Pilot who loves long walks with his tiny dog.

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have got to be the only fighter pilot that is terrified of heights.

Undergraduate School and Major:

2003: Bucknell University, BA in Psychology and Economics.

2016: Arizona State University, MA in History

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: I was in the United States Marine Corps from when I graduated from Bucknell University, in 2003, until July 2016. For the past two years, I was an F-35B “Joint Strike Fighter” Operational Test Pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, California. At this job, I held the title of Weapons Officer, which means I was the chief tactical expert for the unit, responsible for managing training and combat readiness for the pilots. As an Operational Test Pilot, I evaluated software and hardware components for the F-35 before they reached front-line combat squadrons.

Prior to my time at Edwards Air Force Base, I was an F-35B Instructor Pilot at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. At Eglin, I held the role of Aviation Safety Officer, which is our version of the Chief Risk Officer. This was a particularly challenging position because we, as a Squadron, were designing and implementing a training syllabus for a jet no one had flown to that point.

I transitioned to flying the F-35B “Joint Strike Fighter” in 2012. Before that, I flew the F/A-18 “Hornet” and acted as a Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor in Japan aboard Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni. During that tour, I attended the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as TOPGUN, and planned and implemented multinational air-to-air combat exercises to enhance the training of both our forces and those of our partner nations.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My recent work was centered on weapons projects that were often times in their infancy. What this meant is that the “fruit” of my work would not manifest for 5-10 years after I made adjustments, recommendations and sent things back to the drawing board. That latency forced me to think strategically and be patient about what I could control and how to control it. That mindset shift has not been easy, but I think it is a strength that has contributed, and will continue to contribute, to my success. Cultivating and maintaining that steadfast mindset is my biggest achievement to date.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? Dig deep when exploring what makes a school tick. If you can discern the elements of academic or student culture that make that institution unique and connect yourself to those aspects, you can form a powerful bond that rings true in your essays and interview. Once that connection is built, your success and the success of the school become intertwined. After that, the decision on where to go becomes much easier.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? In keeping with the previous question, the more I learned about Kellogg, the more it became clear they do not pay “lip service” to anything they claim on their website. For example, their emphasis on global impact is apparent through their application portal questions, their connection to an Executive Global Network and their Global Initiatives. The interview process just confirmed what I thought: Kellogg is an institution that backs up what it claims. As a former military officer, that institutional honesty resonated with me.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? Throughout my career, I have led hundreds of junior Marines; however, I have found peer leadership to be the most challenging and rewarding part of my career. Motivating and leading a group of peers through a challenging project, which requires patience and persistence, is my dream role. The employer that gives me the authority and responsibility to manage that talented team is where I will head next.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program?  The most capable leaders I have met through my career all share one common attribute: they never “transfer stress” down the chain. The stress from above stops at their level and is shouldered without complaint. After the academic and recruiting rigors and challenges of Kellogg School of Management, I hope my peers will say the same about me.

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