Meet Minnesota Carlson’s MBA Class Of 2019

Napoleon Howell 

Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less:  I am a goal-driven, passionately tenacious, courageously decisive, innately curious, intensely disciplined force of life.

Hometown:  Minneapolis, MN

Fun Fact About Yourself: 

  • Former national swimmer (six years on Trinidad and Tobago national team).
  • John Thompson (Chairman of Microsoft) told me that I remind him of himself when he was young.
  • Hosted/singularly moderated an enterprise-wide, broadcasted, hour-long discussion with Securian Financial Groups CEO Chris Hilger.
  • Actively being mentored by Gilead Sciences CFO (and Salesforce/Honeywell board member) Robin Washington.
  • Avid TED Talk consumer/advocate.
  • Attended a Miss Universe Pageant when I was 12 years old.

Undergraduate School and Major:  St Cloud State University, Management Major, Finance Minor

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago: VIP Intern; Securian Financial Group: Leadership Development Program; Advantus Capital Management: Investment Tech Analyst; Securian Financial Group: Innovation Consultant

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Successfully managing and co-leading a multimillion-dollar strategic enterprise initiative (sponsored by Chris Hilger, Securian’s CEO) focused on developing and launching a minimum viable product for middle-market consumers. This initiative has helped and will continue to help Securian penetrate the untouched middle-market consumer base while driving increased revenue and market share, product and customer diversification, and heightened cross-business-unit collaboration. While co-leading this initiative, I acted as a key enterprise Vision 2020 leader, driving enterprise cultural change as prescribed by Securian’s CEO.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Understand that the admissions process is in fact a ‘process’ and that no singular data point can make or break your chances to be accepted into business school if you can clearly articulate your unique value-added proposition to the program. If you can clearly demonstrate to the admission team your unparalleled capabilities, inimitable personalit,y and experiences that can be leveraged to enhance the program, then your chances of acceptance will be enormously heightened.  

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you?  The key factor that led me to choose the Carlson School of Management is rooted in the fact that I believe Carlson will act as a prodigious incubation hub to enhance me both as a business leader and as a compassionate, philanthropic being. Through Carlson’s unique Consulting Enterprise program and robust community engagement efforts, I will be granted the opportunity to further develop the requisite skills needed to prepare me to be a valued global citizen and conscious business leader. This is vitally important to me because I believe conscious business leadership is very much needed in today’s world given the proliferation of greed and egocentric business practices that have pervaded the cultural makeup of many businesses. Shifting this narrative is one of my main goals coming out of Carlson.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Success after my first year will look like the following:

  • I will have pride in my accomplishments (academic/extra-curricular).
  • My hard work and sense of purpose will have given me opportunities to accomplish my many goals.
  • I would have actively and consistently been pushed out of my comfort zone.
  • I would have built a strong connection with my classmates and prospective employers.
  • My talents and skills would have been leveraged by my classmates and the wider community in a value-added manner.
  • I will have accepted a summer internship with an organization that I am passionate about, aligns with my values, and one that will help me further grow as a leader.
  • I would have aided my fellow classmates achieve their goals and desired success metrics.

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