Isaiah M. Green

Duke University, Fuqua School of Business

“Learning is my form of relaxing. My happy place usually includes books or a podcast.”

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m a big history nerd. Every year, I compile a reading list on one particular subject. 2025 is all about the history of economics. I covered the history revolutions last year, and my favorite year covered art history.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of North Carolina, Asheville, BS in Management

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Process Automation Specialist at Converse (Nike, Inc.)

The MBA program is renowned for its “Team Fuqua” culture, which is predicated on six paired principles: Authentic Engagement, Supportive Ambition, Collective Diversity, Impactful Stewardship, Loyal Community, and Uncompromising Integrity. Which of these resonates most with you – and what does that principle demand of you as a Fuqua MBA? Supportive Ambition. Even before getting to campus, as a Consortium Fellow and Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) Professional Development Fellow, I’ve had the opportunity to gain early exposure to different career paths. While I’ve been sure of the path I’ve wanted to go down as I began my MBA, I’ve taken this paired principle to heart. I’ve supported my classmates as we prepare for interviews, case prep and get acclimated to the new challenges we’re facing as MBA students.

While applying, I saw what this paired principle meant to the first-year students who were more than willing to take the time out of their days to help me put together the best application possible and welcome me on campus once admitted. Now that I’m a Fuqua MBA I am blessed to be able to pay that forward with my fellow and future classmates.

Aside from your classmates and school culture, what was the key part of Duke Fuqua’s MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I knew after a few years at Nike that I wanted to be able to work more on strategy. Fuqua’s Strategy concentration really struck me as having the opportunity to go deep on corporate strategy in my classes, coupled with a breadth of hands-on experiential learning moments. I felt confident that this setting would allow me to really hone my skills and knowledge base that will make me a more thoughtful professional in the short term, and a more impactful professional in the long term.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Duke Fuqua? I’m most excited about the Fuqua on Board opportunity. During undergrad, I had the opportunity to serve as the student member of the UNC System Board of Governors. Serving on a board that oversaw one of the largest employers in my home state during the COVID-19 pandemic opened my eyes to the ways that boards can drive impact and shape long-term visions and strategies for organizations. Being able to dive back into that space while at Fuqua really sticks out to me as a special opportunity. I look forward to being able to flex that muscle as I learn how to be a more intentional board member and help solve problems with the unique perspective I’ll have as a temporary student member.

What do you like most about North Carolina so far? I love being back in the great state of North Carolina. The thing I’ve loved most has been being able to tap into experiential learning opportunities I’ve been able to source that are centered at the future of business.

North Carolina is an agricultural hub, and I’ve been able to start working with a startup shaping the future of agriculture right here in my home state.  This opportunity has been a really phenomenal way of bringing what I’ve learned as an early career professional to a new space, while also learning so much about what makes North Carolina’s business environment so special.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career? While at Converse (Nike, Inc.), I got to work as the associate product manager for the Women’s Chuck Taylor All Star business. Every single person I’d meet would have a story about their first Chucks, and to be able to see people wearing shoes I worked on in every single airport around the world has been an incredible feeling.

While on a trip in Italy a couple of summers ago, I happened to see a young kid beg their mom to buy him a new pair of Chucks, and they just happened to be ones I had the chance to work on. To know that the work I’ve been a part of to light up someone’s day all the way across the world will always be a memory I’ll cherish.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? For me, success during this time looks like having had a multitude of opportunities to deepen my business acumen in ways that today feel challenging or daunting but will prepare me to be a more impactful and thoughtful leader post-MBA. I remain open to what the specifics of these experiences might be, but I intend to prioritize the ones that bring me closer to my Team Fuqua community and the communities I hope to serve as a business leader.

DON’T MISS: MEET DUKE FUQUA’S MBA CLASS OF 2027

© 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.