Meet Cambridge Judge’s MBA Class of 2017

Bethany Thomaier

Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Emerging markets strategy specialist, with start-up scrappiness and experience leading consulting projects for Fortune-500 multinationals.

Hometown: Boulder, CO

Fun Fact About Yourself: My great-great-Aunt, Winnefred Bertrand, was the oldest women in the world when she passed away at age 115.  I hope to have her good genes!

Undergraduate School and Major:  George Washington University, B.A. International Affairs

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Frontier Strategy Group (Washington, DC) – Engagement Manager, Custom Engagements

Frontier Strategy Group (Washington, DC) – Analyst, Product Solutions

Krooth & Altman LP (Washington, DC) – Paralegal

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At Frontier Strategy Group, I was a founding member of our Custom Engagements business unit, responsible for emerging market strategy projects with Fortune-500 clients. As a “start-up within a start-up”, we built our operating structure from scratch and partnered closely with our commercial colleagues to prove our value proposition and win client business. Doubling revenues for three years straight was an accomplishment – even better was the 10x expansion of our team that provided me the opportunity to work with the smartest and most interesting people.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? Visit as many schools as you can.  Your first couple campus visits will all seem the same, but the differences will begin to emerge around school three or four. After that, be honest with yourself about what is and is not a fit. Applications are expensive and time consuming – don’t do more than you have to!

Also, for your GMAT and GRE, don’t panic if something goes wrong. On my first GRE attempt, the test centre internet went down for an hour in the middle of my final quant section.  I didn’t get the score I wanted, and I panicked, but it ended up fine. That’s what re-tests are for! Don’t let test issues get in your head and distract you from all the other parts of the application process.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA I originally applied for the Cambridge MBA because of the global perspective and the one-year, more cost-effective program length. I eventually chose it because of their interview weekend – fantastic people, beautiful campus, and targeted career advice from the first session. Beyond that, Cambridge’s College system allows you to live and learn with non-MBAs. The business world isn’t a vacuum, and I wanted my business education to embrace cross-industry perspectives.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? Post-MBA, my dream job would be a global strategy role at a healthcare or consumer goods company.  These two sectors offer huge opportunities to drive positive change in wellness outcomes and economic empowerment around the world.  This degree of tangible impact is a key goal of mine moving ahead.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program?  “I’m already brainstorming ways for us to work together in the future.”