Brittany Walker

Warwick Business School

“Determined risk-taker with a rare smile who sees challenge as a way of continuous self-improvement.”

Hometown: Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I once competed in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Minnesota, Twin-Cites, Major: Retail Merchandising

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Saks Fifth Avenue, Off Fifth – Associate Buyer

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Although I’m proud of the career I had in New York, and at Saks Off Fifth specifically, the accomplishment I’m most proud of is making the decision to leave that career and receive my MBA to pursue the career I want for myself. I was in the position to continue to be promoted and move up in the company. Instead of being content, I chose to challenge myself and strive for excellence by taking what was probably the harder path in the short-run, but the path that I believe will pay-off in the long-run.

Describe your biggest accomplishment at Warwick so far? As part of the Warwick Women’s Network Committee, I had the honor of being invited to attend a round table event with the leaders of the Hampton-Alexander review to discuss the 2018 progress report of the initiative. As an MBA student, it was very insightful to listen to examples of how forward-thinking leaders are implementing changes to their boards and the positive outcomes from the increased gender balance. To be a part of the conversation centered around gender equality in leadership felt inspiring and made me hopeful that more opportunities will be available for my female classmates and I to be in leadership positions in the future.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Restlessness, which is one of the core values of the business school, is truly a value that I find in each one of my classmates.  This core value drives our classroom discussions, group work, and most importantly, our friendships.

Aside from your classmates, 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 set Warwick apart for me was the warmth and support I received during the recruitment process from the entire team that I worked with.  When interviewing with Angela Chapman, I felt that she not only understood what I wanted to gain from an MBA program, she also understood what I was leaving behind and the weight of the decision.  She asked questions that I hadn’t yet asked myself and made me feel that Warwick truly cared that the programme was the right fit for me and that I would be gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to achieve my future career goals. Knowing that this year was going to include a great deal of personal growth and intensive work, I really valued the feeling that I had a supportive and enthusiastic team behind me from the very beginning.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? Warwick Women’s Professional Network Committee; it’s such a unique opportunity for me to act as the MBA representative on a committee of professional women of whom I can learn so much from and who have welcomed me into their network of empowered and supportive women.  As part of this committee, I have the opportunity to help shape our community of Warwick women and curate conversations around current matters.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Curiosity! After receiving a promotion and recognizing I was on the path to what I thought was my dream job, I realized the career was not fulfilling enough for me. I desired more engagement and connectedness with innovation and transformative solutions. In order to further my learning of business environments outside of the retail industry, and develop my leadership skills, I decided to pursue an MBA to broaden my scope.

What other MBA programs did you apply to?  Warwick was actually the first school I applied to (I applied first round) and I accepted the offer before applying to other schools based on my interactions with the recruiting and admissions team, the programme structure, and school rankings. The other schools I had anticipated on applying to were Imperial, Oxford, NYU, and Chicago Booth.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? To evaluate the universities, I created a spreadsheet with fact and figures for each school. The below factors are a few that I prioritized when determining what school was the best fit.

Size of the Cohort: I wanted a programme where I could get to know the staff and professors on a personal level and wouldn’t just be a number.

Traditional vs Innovative: I didn’t want the traditional MBA programs that have a large focus on finance. Instead, I preferred programs that included innovative modules and had a large focus on entrepreneurship. The LeadershipPlus module at Warwick was a module that stood out compared to other programs.

US vs the UK: The UK was ultimately more attractive because of (1) one-year vs two-year programs, (2) lower programme cost, and (3) increased diversity.

University Culture: To understand the culture at various UK universities I attended a couple of open days and attended a strategy lecture at one of the schools. Although I got a feel for the campuses and a couple of professors, I think the feel of the cohort varies every year so that part is hard to gauge.  Additionally, it’s difficult to judge the culture based on one day.

Career Goals: My career goals include strategy consulting and entrepreneurship, so for me, the programme structure was important because I wanted to ensure I was gaining relevant skills for both career paths. Again, an innovative programme was a priority as well as a programme that had many opportunities to connect with the business community and gain real-world experience.

Career Support: For me, it was important to have a strong career center team during my MBA journey since I am planning to change industries.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My defining moment was moving to New York after college. Working to rebuild my life in a new city, and within the competitive retail industry, pushed me to build self-confidence and develop a voice.

Where do you see yourself in five years?  In five years, it’s most important to me that I’m doing a job that I’m passionate about and that contributes to society. As Sheryl Sandberg said, “the combination of passion and contribution is a clear path to happiness.” I hope that I will be happy in my career in five years by prioritizing these two values.