Robert Rickard

Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management

“I thrive on collaborative problem-solving, uniting with others to create impactful solutions and meaningful change.”

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Fun Fact About Yourself: I played on scholarship for the Texas Tech golf team during undergrad.

Undergraduate School and Major: Texas Tech University and Finance

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Emerson Electric and Strategic Planning Analyst

What has been your favorite part of Nashville so far? Why? I love eating great food and trying new restaurants. So, my favorite part has been exploring the food scene. If anyone is ever in Nashville and loves dumplings, Steam Boys is the place to go.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Vanderbilt Owen’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? One key programming element that attracted me to Owen was the mod system, where we take a new set of classes each quarter instead of each semester. As someone who wants to explore multiple “majors,” the mod system is fantastic and enables me to learn as much as possible during my time in MBA school.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Vanderbilt Owen? My favorite class so far at Owen has been Operations Management. Professor Mumin Kurtulus did a great job utilizing simulations throughout the course to provide us with hands-on experience that reinforced key class concepts such as bottlenecks and the bullwhip effect. Additionally, the class concepts were extremely relevant and will be valuable throughout my career, even if I do not go into operations.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: While in internal strategy at Emerson, I utilized the findings from a research project to persuade the leadership of my business unit to support establishing a customer success function. Following this, I successfully led a global customer success pilot program across eight countries, resulting in the permanent establishment of the customer success function.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? My biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far has been being selected to be a first-year board member for the Owen Strategy and Consulting Club. Many people have already invested in me during my time at Owen, and being on the first-year board provides me with an opportunity to start giving back as well.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? I do not have one favorite memory but rather a collection of memories from all the time spent with classmates inside and outside of school. The Owen community is extremely welcoming and supportive, and I am thankful to have already formed many friendships that I hope to carry with me beyond my time at Owen.

DON’T MISS: MEET VANDERBILT OWEN’S MBA CLASS OF 2025/