Jasmin Randle 

University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School

“Strategic thinker brimming with curiosity, driven by innovative ideas that bring positive change for others.”

Age: 37

Hometown: Dumfries, Virginia; temporarily based in Okinawa, Japan for my husband’s overseas tour

Fun fact about yourself: I am the youngest of six kids, and we all have J names: Jimmy, Jason, Jennifer, Jerica and Jerin (twins), and Jasmin.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BA in Journalism

Where are you currently working? Salesforce Inc., Global Delivery Change Leader

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I recently received an award from my MBA program called the Core Value Award. The prize is awarded to students who exemplify UNC Kenan-Flagler’s core values. My award highlighted my ability to create inclusive spaces for my classmates and myself to share and be vulnerable around challenging topics to deepen our learning together. This award meant a lot to me because, whether I am working with my coworkers or classmates, I genuinely respect the perspectives of all my peers, and I want to hear what they think and how they feel. Coming from a large family, I have been raised to listen to and respect differences to get along. We were also raised to share our opinions to learn and grow with one another. I was truly honored that my university felt I was worthy of this recognition, and I plan to carry on those values in any space I am in.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? Not only does UNC have one of the best business schools in the country, but it has a global presence that is respected across the world. UNC Kenan-Flagler is also known for building world-class leaders and thinkers committed to bringing good change to the world around them. UNC has a reputation that proceeds itself when it comes to its graduates and their readiness to take on the biggest challenges in business and beyond. I knew that attending this program would expose me to elite and talented professors and classmates who would change how I saw myself and the world—it exceeded my expectations.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? The professors in the online program were particularly excellent at teaching virtually. They were always prepared for their classes and had unique ways of helping us explore the content and think freely together, even if challenging perspectives were present. It was always a good time, and I enjoyed attending class throughout the week.

How did your online experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student? As a working mom with two toddlers and a very busy husband, the online program’s flexibility was essential. While I appreciated the face-to-face time in undergrad, interacting directly with my classmates inside and outside the classroom, UNC Kenan-Flagler’s use of technology has created a way for us to build those same connections. I believe that students online make a concerted effort to connect because we want fruitful relationships with other working professionals. UNC Kenan-Flagler does a great job creating opportunities for online students to connect, such as Summits, Coaching Circles and many group projects.

I also think the extra touch of online was the inspiration from other working professionals and parents all trying to achieve our degrees together. Every late-night, arduous exam experience and back-to-back papers did not go unrecognized by anyone. There was always grace and empathy bestowed on one another because we were all on this journey together.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? The best advice I received at the beginning of my MBA experience was from my outstanding student advisor. She explained to me that my life was going to temporarily shift to now accommodate 10-15+ hours a week of class and studying. Considering all of my ongoing responsibilities, the only way to survive one of the top programs in this country is to understand and deeply connect to “my why.” I had to get very serious about why I was making a big commitment. I had to figure out what that answer was for me and let it be my winning prize at the end of my journey. This advice came into handy whenever I ran into roadblocks or challenges in any of my courses.

How has your online education helped you in your current job? Tremendously. I originally signed up for the program to become laser-focused on my leadership and team management skills and perspective. The world is changing quickly, and the next generation of leaders has to lead differently. We must build resilient companies and highly skilled workforces and lead with high empathy and discernment across all stakeholders and dynamic market shifts. At a tech company like Salesforce, which is making a large bet on agentic technology, they are looking for leaders who understand the depths of this transition as they get 70,000+ employees and millions of customers to buy in.

I use my MBA knowledge daily on the job to contribute to this shift, whether it is using my business communications learnings to construct effective emails; using my marketing lens to understand how Salesforce is putting the building blocks together to dominate market share and beat out the competition; or using my finance knowledge to follow the quarterly earnings call helps to understand the current health of the company. I also fundamentally understand my role and everyone’s role in the company: We are all here to protect and create value for the company. By doing our part in our roles well, we contribute to our company’s success. No role is too small or large not to support creating and protecting value for the company. 

Did you earn a promotion while in the program or immediately after graduation? As I completed my MBA, I was offered a new role at Salesforce. When I began my degree, I was on a talent development team serving in a learning and development role. As I got halfway through my MBA, I became deeply interested in obtaining a strategic operations role after taking a few courses covering this area. Fortunately, a role in the COO’s Office within our Professional Services Division established a new operational transformation team, and it was a perfect fit for me. As of April 2025, I was the first hire as the Global Delivery Change Leader. This new role combines my past change management experiences and my new strategic operations skill set. This role is a big step in my career.

Why did you pursue an online MBA program instead of a full-time residential or executive MBA program? Being a mom of two toddlers and having to step away from the workforce twice to deliver and raise my newborns back-to-back, I was hesitant about stepping out of the workforce again for a full-time program. However, being a curious learner, I really wanted to take all of the courses offered in a full-time program. The Executive MBA program would require me to be away on the weekends, which would have been hard on my family.

Therefore, UNC Kenan-Flagler’s online MBA Program offers the best flexibility by offering classes both in the early mornings and late evenings to allow everyone to work with their work schedules and families to fit in class. I was a part of the “9 p.m. Cohort,” where many parents opted for 9 p.m. classes after wrestling their kids to eat dinner, take a bath, and get in bed before logging in. Thanks to having a supportive husband, we made it work for 18 months!

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? We were highly encouraged to explore using AI with integrity as we completed our assignments and group work. In one instance, a professor wanted us to understand the importance of using proper prompts to get the best answer. He asked us all the same question and wanted to see the diversity of answers that were produced and who was able to get the correct answer based on the correct prompt. It was one of my earlier lessons around having a real understanding of how to use AI tools.

In addition, when applying the tool in group assignments, AI was often used to jumpstart our project outlines and group work, helping the group organize faster and think through the presentation outline. When we used the AI output, we often had to refine the content on the backend to ensure it reflected our learning.

There was consistent encouragement to use AI to support our learning and productivity. However, we need to use it ethically and with the utmost integrity.

Number of Hours Per Week Spent on an Online MBA: 15-20 hours per week

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I want to continue exploring and growing my operations career, potentially becoming a COO or having a strategic role with senior leadership. To close out my career, I hope to move into politics to serve my community eventually.

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

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.