Jonathan D. Meza 

University of Virginia, Darden School of Business

“Avid learner. Dedicated worker. Treating life as a perpetual work-in-progress.”

Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m a member of the $30,000 club for CUTCO kitchen knife sales.

Undergraduate School and Major:

• Oklahoma State University

• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major in Finance, Minor in Accounting

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: General Motors Financial – Dealer Account Executive

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:  Earning the 2017 GM Financial Top Performer Award and a promotion to Dealer Account Executive.

The caliber of sales talent and leadership at GM Financial is world-class; it was humbling to be recognized amongst the highest performers.

I am appreciative of the opportunity to have developed and managed Tampa Bay, a prolific automotive retail market, for GM Financial.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? While my classmates possess an abundance of individual accolades, I have felt a palpable sense of interconnectedness. My classmates exhibit a visceral consideration for each other’s well-being and success.

Darden’s synergistic culture amongst students breeds strong leadership. Organizational improvement is not achieved in a silo; progress is most effectively realized through collaboration.

What makes the case method so attractive as a means to learn and become a better manager? Leaders must perform in ambiguity when clear-cut solutions are not readily available. The case method simulates the “real world” by posing business situations, which may possess many proposed solutions, for group analysis and resolution.

Additionally, the case method is an ideal grounds for honing active listening skills. Managers with a heightened ability to actively absorb varying points of view are better equipped to drive organizations toward more optimal results.

Aside from your classmates and cases, 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?  Time spent in a full-time MBA program is finite and should not be taken for granted. I sought out an enriched experience offering which transcends MBA rankings and metrics.

The Darden community and the on-grounds energy felt during my visits made the decision unequivocal. Darden students genuinely appreciate each other’s company, as illustrated by the large proportion of students who remain on-grounds and spend time together outside the classroom.

Having the opportunity to develop cohesive relationships with future business leaders adds to the richness of the full-time MBA experience at Darden.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? The Darden Outdoors Club. Charlottesville and the surrounding areas offer beautiful natural scenery which I am excited to explore.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? “Tell me about yourself?”

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career?  Prior to pursuing an MBA, I wanted a sufficient level of exposure to business operations.

The fundamental objective of my most recent role was to grow market share and profitability for GM Financial and for its automotive dealer partners.

The position allowed me to build relationships with leaders within the automotive retail industry, as well as learn directly from the leadership at GM Financial. The time I spent representing GM Financial and collaborating with 16 different automotive dealers to improve their market positions and profitability against competitors instilled in me a valuable perspective on how various business strategies may generate positive, negative, or neutral results.

Now felt the appropriate time to compliment those dense experiences and further sharpen my business capabilities through a world-class MBA program.

What other MBA programs did you apply to?  Ross, McCombs, Marshall, McDonough, Jones

How did you determine your fit at various schools?  My priority was the overall student experience and satisfaction. Again, time spent in a full-time MBA program is fleeting, so I wanted to ensure that these two years are filled with enriched learnings and life experiences that will be retained well beyond graduation and translate into the professional world.

To learn about a schools’ culture beneath the veneer, I spoke with current students and alumni about their MBA experiences. The candid conversations with students and alumni were insightful and helped me to understand each schools’ offerings, beyond the curated presentations.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I was hired into the GM Financial strategic sales program post-undergrad. The program mandates a comprehensive training program and re-location to a domestic sales territory. Sales territory assignments are dictated by business needs and are typically not pre-determined; I was re-located from Fort Worth, Texas to Tampa, Florida.

My position operated remotely, so I did not have daily face-to-face interactions with co-workers. I was new to the job, had never been to Tampa, and did not have any pre-existing relationships to lean on in Florida.

The re-location and the steep learning curve of the rapidly evolving automotive industry stressed me but served as an indispensable opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Operating in an ambiguous environment and working directly with reputable automotive retail leaders within the highly competitive automotive industry was incredibly rewarding. It instilled invaluable business and life lessons and sharpened my resiliency and discipline.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?  My long-term goal is to join the leadership ranks within the transportation industry.

The future of transportation is uncertain, but will certainly have a substantial impact on society, and should be shaped responsibly.