Jordan Work

Texas A&M, Mays Business School

“My faith and family drive me to give my all in everything I do.”

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Fun fact about yourself: During my undergraduate years, I was the Body & Aerodynamics Lead for the Colorado School of Mines Formula Society of Automotive Engineers Team, where we designed, manufactured, and competed a Formula 1 style racecar against universities from around the world.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering – Colorado School of Mines

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school?

Company: OxyChem (a division of Occidental Petroleum Corporation) – Ingleside, Texas

Role: Maintenance & Capital Engineer

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024?

Company: ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions Division – Houston, Texas

Role: Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (“CCUS”) Commercial Business Development MBA Intern

Where will you be working after graduation?

Company: ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions Division – Houston, Texas

Role: CCUS Ventures

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Outstanding MBA Student Award

MBA Scholar Award (4.0 GPA)

Mays Case Competition Team Lead

Sole Student Representative on the task force to design the new Mays Business School Graduate Studies Building

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Being selected as the Outstanding MBA Student was a huge honor. This award is given to the student that embodies the Aggie Core Values: Excellence, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Respect, and Selfless Service. These Aggie Core Values were at the center of my childhood and being able to publicly thank my parents during commencement was very special to me.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Being selected to represent my peers on the Safety Environment and Awareness Team at OxyChem was both an honor and a privilege. The chemical manufacturing site where I worked supplied critical, life enhancing chemicals around the world. While the products we produced better the world, working at an industrial site can be very dangerous. I have experienced this first-hand, as my grandfather died from cancer that he contracted at a chemical plant similar to the one where I worked. Everyone should go home to their families the same way they came to work. Period. I believe I was able to make a lasting impact on plant safety within the organization and make my grandfather proud.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose this business school because of the caliber of our program faculty. The Mays faculty brings unique industry experiences from across the globe and utilizes innovative methods to maximize the effectiveness of their courses.

Once I was in the Mays MBA program, learning from non-core MBA faculty was also very impactful. For example, the Mays curriculum includes a course called Special Topics in Contemporary Business where Mays professors present their research in various business disciplines.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Dr. Bala Shetty represents everything that is great about Texas A&M. Dr. Shetty is the professor of Business Analytics, which is considered the most difficult course in the Mays MBA program. His teaching style is both intentional and effective, while also challenging MBA students to think critically. Dr. Shetty is an incredible professor and an even better person.

After completing his course, I had the pleasure of serving as Dr. Shetty’s Business Analytics Graduate Assistant for all three Mays MBA programs. It was a pleasure watching him push and challenge students from different backgrounds, professions, countries, and stages in their careers.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? All MBA students had the opportunity to share an item that was important to them during our monthly program meetings. This “show and tell” allowed us to get to know our colleagues better on a personal level. The item I presented was my hard hat from my engineering role at OxyChem. I explained how my grandfather worked at the same chemical plant in the early 1990s. Also, I told stories of how some of my plant colleagues knew my grandfather, including one employee who moved down to the Ingleside, Texas area with my grandfather and was still there 30 years later!

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I entered Mays with a clear goal of transitioning from an engineering role to a business role in the energy business. While I made great connections in the energy business during the program, I did not explore many opportunities in other industries. I learned about key differences and strengths of professionals working in each industry from discussions with my classmates, but did not pursue those connections myself. While I do not believe my desire to remain in the energy business would have changed, I believe exploring opportunities and making connections outside of energy would have been insightful and beneficial.

What is the biggest myth about your school? The network of Aggie graduates (known as the “Aggie Network”) is advertised as a major selling point of being a Texas A&M graduate and I have my certainly experienced the benefits of the Aggie Network. Aggies from around the world have been more than happy to provide career guidance to my colleagues and myself solely because of the A&M connection. The Aggie ring has also had a powerful impact, as I have had dozens of meaningful conversations around the country that were sparked by the sight of an Aggie ring.

What movie or television show (e.g. The Big Short, The Founder, Mad Men, House of Lies) best reflects the realities of business and what did you learn from it? Courage of conviction is one of the hardest, yet most essential qualities in business. Michael Burry in The Big Short had both great insight and the conviction to act on it, even when the entire financial world dismissed him. He trusted his analysis and stood by it when no one else would. It is easy to “follow the heard” when making business decisions but incredibly difficult to stand by a risky position without peer support. What sets true business leaders apart is not just the ability to recognize reality, but also having the courage to defend it against opposition and doubt.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? The utilization of AI was as important as the content of our Managing Talent in Organizations course. In this course, we were challenged to develop a talent management framework for a fictious company using AI. This included forming the required job roles, recruitment, onboarding, development, retention and more. During this exercise we curated the required AI inputs, reviewed and modified the output, and concluded with a reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of the tool. This was a unique and effective approach to applying course content and “test” the power of AI.

This exercise displayed that AI is a great tool to improve task efficiency. It can be used as a starting point, during the brainstorming phase, or as an “advisor” that is able to provide input within seconds.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The MBA classmate I admire most is Ahmad Waqar. Ahmad moved to the United States from Dubai with his amazing wife and two daughters to attend Texas A&M. His work ethic is second to none and he pushes everyone around him to perform at their best. Ahmad always went out of his way to assist classmates, provide professional guidance, and be a great friend. It was a pleasure going through the MBA program together and I could not be happier to continue working with Ahmad at ExxonMobil.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

Expatriate Assignment – I would love to have an opportunity to work internationally. I learned an immense amount from my international MBA colleagues. Being able to learn from professionals in their home countries and experience different business environments/cultures would be a great opportunity.

Guest Lecture a Business Course – I had many amazing and influential guest lectures at both the Colorado School of Mines and Texas A&M. I would love to give back someday and hopefully have the same impact on up-and-coming professionals.

What made Jordan such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“Jordan Work was honored at the commencement as an MBA Scholar for his exceptional academic prowess, and at the same time, the faculty selected him as an overall outstanding graduate who embodies the core values – academic excellence, leadership, integrity, loyalty, and service – of Texas A&M University. Being selected for both honors simultaneously is indeed rare in our program. Jordan is one of those unusually gifted individuals who sets the bar high for everyone around him. He interned with ExxonMobil in a position focused on sustainability that was created just to recruit him. Jordan now works full-time with ExxonMobil in the same role that was created to match his interest. He was uniformly admired by his peers, faculty, and staff at Mays Business School for his humility, dedication to his family, and ability to step up his efforts to meet any challenge. Last fall, Jordan served as my graduate assistant for all three MBA programs – fulltime MBA on campus, Professional and Executive MBA in Houston. He was stellar in that role and received high praises from students for going above and beyond to support their educational needs. Without a doubt, Jordan is one of the finest MBA students I have had the pleasure to work with during my forty-year academic career at four different universities. To me he was the ideal MBA student in every way, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve as his professor.”

Bala Shetty
Cullen Trust for Higher Education Chair in Business Administration
Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence

DON’T MISS: THE 100 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAS: CLASS OF 2025