Helen Fox

Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management

“I am a creative collaborator, earnestly curious, and always seeking opportunities for transformation.”

Hometown: Evansville, IN

Fun fact about yourself: I was a part of a task force to locate Uma Thurman’s daughter’s gerbil during a theatre festival in Massachusetts. Also, I’ve known how to read music longer than I’ve known how to write. I can play 7 instruments, but I’ve spent the most time with piano and harp, eventually becoming a classically focused, competitive harpist and pianist.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Washington University in St. Louis—Major: Art History; Minor: History

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? I ran a Pilates studio (Club Pilates—Evansville, IN) and got my Pilates teaching license.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? Deloitte Consulting—Nashville

Where will you be working after graduation? Deloitte Consulting—Nashville

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Forté Fellow and Ingram Scholar

Owen Honor Council Member

Owen Strategy and Consulting Club (First Year Board; Vice President of Alumni Relations and External affairs)

Owen Board Fellow (Selected to be a part of the Vanderbilt Owen’s Board Fellows, a program that pairs students with nonprofits to serve as non-voting members on their board)

Women in Business Association (VP of Health and Wellness)

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of my successful completion of my finance concentration and landing an externship at a PE firm. Given my nontraditional background as a professional theatre actor and the manager of a Pilates studio, I fielded a great deal of doubt when expressing my vision of becoming a well-rounded MBA transforming the finance landscape by seamlessly blending her quantitative and qualitative skills. However, my greatest skeptic was by far myself, so this accomplishment was more than just getting an extra word on my degree. This accomplishment represented all the choices I made along the way that reflected my belief in me, like learning how to code in Python to improve my financial data analytics capabilities and encouraging myself to get involved in the wider Nashville investment community. Proving to myself that not only can I hack it in the finance landscape, but I can thrive in a way authentic to me was a huge moment for me in business school.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? While it might sound odd to describe my proudest professional moment as a time I quit a job, leaving the acting industry is one move I am most proud of in my career trajectory. After moving to New York, I swiftly realized that while I loved acting, I hated being an actor. As an actor, I operated in a consistently dysfunctional and abusive industry. What does changing a decades-old, noxious culture look like? I knew as a performer that I didn’t have the power to enact change, and having recently graduated undergrad, I knew I also didn’t have the skills. Quitting acting was my way of recognizing my worth and my abilities to transform without having to compromise on my wants, needs, or values. Through this experience, I gathered innumerable skills and opened myself up to opportunities I’d never even thought were possible, like being named an Ingram Scholar at Vanderbilt or getting a job at Deloitte.

Why did you choose this business school? For me, people always come first. I’ve always described myself as “relationally-focused”—I learned very early on that for me to feel fulfilled, I have to both enjoy what I’m working on and feel connected to and challenged to grow by the people I work with. Vanderbilt’s program consistently impressed me with their capacity for both curating a healthy, collaborative culture and not compromising on the competitiveness of their program.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Ranga Ramanujan. He had an absolutely profound impact on my MBA journey. He was the first professor to tell us in class, as plainly as he could: ‘This is your life. Do not get caught up in the typhoon that is business school and remember that, at the end of the day, you’re the one who has to live your life and work your job.’ Hearing him urge us to reframe the way we looked at this experience, centering ourselves and our individual principles and priorities, wholesale shifted the way I formed my MBA experience and future career.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Corporate Financial Policy with Prof. Joshua White. This class was the first one I started to see the threads of the quantitative blend with the qualitative analysis, and I felt the seemingly disparate pieces of information I’d learned so far in my first year of business school start to weave together. This class excited me and made me eager to continue my understanding of the subject.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Follies! Every April, we host a fun night of sketch comedy centered around all things Owen. This year, I’m in charge of putting it together and thrilled to prove wrong whomever said I wouldn’t use my acting chops in business school.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Take the pressure off myself to make the “right” career decision. The chaos surrounding recruiting is quite intoxicating, and I felt the urge to pursue what others were pursuing rather than what made the most sense for me and my life. If I could go back, I’d encourage myself to relax, continue to be curious, and remember that this is my career.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? The music scene here—they’re not lying, it’s incredible. I also love the blend of city and country life here. I’ve got museums, Michelin-star restaurants, hiking trails with waterfalls, and rolling fields with cows all within 15 minutes of my house.

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? Quite frankly, Human Resources. While a comedy cartoon that operates in emotional extremes, this show explores and accurately depicts how the interpersonal landscape of business can drive its efficacy. Also, it’s hysterical.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? AI has been a huge tool for me in learning how to code, and I used it extensively when learning Python in my Financial Data Analytics class. From using AI, I have learned so much more about how important framing a question is and knowing what to ask to get what you need. I’ve also learned that now, more than ever, we need to have and practice being the “humans in the loop” as this remarkable but still very new technology continues to develop.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Sarah Beth Bryant has been my hero, confidante, and friend since before we even stepped foot on campus. A former ER charge nurse and now Deloitte consultant, her intelligence, calm in the face of crisis, and ability to connect with individuals in the problem-solving process has blown me away since Day 1. Sarah Beth has a mentality of abundance, always looking for ways to bring more people to the table and bridge gaps between disparate people, thoughts, or ideas, and I know she is going to be a titan in her chosen career path.

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

1. Start my own angel investor fund.
2. Publish a book.

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

“Helen Fox is an outstanding member of the MBA Class of 2025 at Owen with a remarkable ability to integrate creative insight with analytical rigor. Her background in acting, combined with the structured problem-solving approach she has developed at Owen, enables her to ask thought-provoking questions and generate unconventional insights that enrich discussions. I have personally observed how her contributions in class push conversations beyond the obvious, encouraging deeper reflection and a more nuanced understanding of complex issues. Helen exemplifies the importance of blending the liberal arts sensibility with pragmatic business thinking—an increasingly critical skill in today’s evolving business landscape.

Beyond the classroom, Helen’s leadership and commitment to service have been exceptional. As a Forte Scholar and Ingram Scholarship recipient, she has demonstrated both intellectual depth and a strong sense of purpose. Her work with Owen Board Fellows made a tangible impact on the digital strategy and annual report of FIND Design, an organization serving Black and Brown girls in Middle Tennessee. Helen is also deeply attuned to the intersection of business and justice, bringing a values-driven perspective to leadership. She believes in the responsibility of business to contribute to a more just and equitable society and thoughtfully explores how business decisions align with ethical imperatives. Whether in her roles with the Strategy and Consulting Club, the Honor Council, or the Women in Business Association, Helen leads with curiosity, empathy, and a steadfast commitment to making a meaningful impact. She represents the best of Owen—intellectually agile, deeply engaged, and dedicated to bridging the creative and the pragmatic in ways that inspire those around her.”

Rangaraj Ramanujan
Richard M. and Betty Ruth Miller Chair
Professor of Management Faculty Director of Health Care Programs
Professor of Health Policy Secondary Appointment 

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2025

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