Lucy Mitchell

Emory University, Goizueta Business School

“An enthusiastic and passionate leader who is continuously learning and eager to meet new people.”

Hometown: Acworth, GA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love to scuba dive! My favorite dive spot to-date was in Phuket, Thailand.

Undergraduate School and Major: Georgia Tech, Industrial Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: The Coca-Cola Company, Senior Manager of New Revenue Streams

What makes Atlanta such a great place to earn an MBA? Atlanta has so much to offer for young adults—there’s a great foodie scene here, The Beltline is a fun way to walk around the city and stay active, and Atlanta has the US’s busiest airport so it’s easy to travel. Plus, Atlanta is home to so many different Fortune 500 companies. So, there is excellent access to real-life learning opportunities during the MBA, and the post-MBA job opportunities are endless.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Emory Goizueta’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? My post-MBA goal is to join a strategy consulting firm (let’s face it, the post-graduation job is why we’re all here!), and Goizueta’s reputation for sending graduates into consulting in the Southeast is truly unparalleled.

Additionally, I was amazed at the personal interactions I had with each Goizueta student and admissions representative throughout my entire application journey. I applied to several schools and nowhere else did I have such a feeling of inclusion and true concern for helping me to find the best learning environment and cultural fit.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Emory Goizueta? I absolutely love to travel so I’m super excited to participate in Emory’s Global Experimental Modules (GEMs). These 1-to-2-week courses are offered twice per year, and the locations can vary from Japan to South Africa to Israel. I want to participate in as many GEMs as possible and hopefully check off a few more countries from my bucket list!

In addition to the food, art, and people, GEMs are a fascinating way to learn how business is conducted in a foreign country. These insights will broaden my depth of strategic thinking, while preparing me to work in a global firm.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I designed Coke’s supply chain for Simply Spiked, which was launched across the U.S. in June 2022.

Simply Spiked’s supply chain was particularly complex because that product contains real juice. So, I had to successfully join the juice component with the flavoring components—which were all produced in different states. Then, Coke would then ship those components to their Alcohol Independent Manufacturer (AIMs), which would manufacture them into the final product Simply Spiked. Additionally, this new product launch occurred during a global supply chain crisis and trucker shortage—so there were many unprecedented challenges and complexities.

It was incredibly rewarding to see Simply Spiked on shelves this summer since I spent so much time working on this new product launch. I loved this project because it was externally facing, so I worked with the AIMs every day. I always like a role or project that is externally facing because it adds a layer of accountability. Plus, you get exposure to the ins and outs of another organization. Also, the alcohol business was a brand-new endeavor for Coke, so it had a lot of leadership attention.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? I recently listened to a podcast from the creators of Freakonomics called People I (Mostly) Admire, episode 80 “Get Your Share of the Pie.” For anyone going to business school in pursuit of entrepreneurship, this podcast is for you. It interviews the Yale game theory professor who started Honest Tea. This professor established the entire company using very basic economic principles, and he eventually sold the brand to Coca-Cola.

As a previous Coke employee, I knew that Honest Tea was in our portfolio of brands. However, I had never heard the fascinating back story of how the brand was created. I highly recommend this podcast—it was fantastic!

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Emory Goizueta’s MBA program? In your application, discuss how you will get involved at Goizueta and/or how you plan to give back as an alumnus. In order to get concrete examples of how you would contribute at Goizueta, I highly recommend reaching out to current students or alumni. Ask them about their favorite aspects of the Emory MBA. The more of the Goizueta community that you talk to, the more you will be able to picture how you would fit into the community. Goizueta wants candidates who will be involved, beyond just the academics.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2024: INFLUENCERS & INNOVATORS