Marley Brown

Yale School of Management

“I embrace uncertainty and truly believe that the unexpected opportunities are the best ones.”

Hometown: Queens, NY

Fun Fact About Yourself: I was named after Bob Marley

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University, Chemistry

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Opto Investments, Investment Analyst

The Yale School of Management is regarded as a purpose-driven program. What is your mission? How will your MBA at Yale SOM help you fulfill that mission? Growing up in Jamaica, Queens, I experienced the vibrancy of a community built by small business owners. Over time, the spirit of my home has disappeared as small businesses struggle to survive. An environment in which small businesses thrive yields the economic benefits of job creation, increased competition, and accelerated innovation. More importantly, entrepreneurship supports self-actualization and gives individuals new ways to interact with their communities. These experiences informed the focus of my career: leveraging financial markets to empower communities. SOM’s core curriculum will certainly arm me with the technical skills needed to pursue a career in finance. More importantly, interacting with peers who are challenging the ways that businesses interact with society in an academic setting will be essential to my learning. Consciously centering accountability will be critical as I aim to serve my community; Yale will offer me avenues to explore the intersection of accountability and business.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Yale SOM’s MBA curriculum or programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Yale’s focus on impact attracted me to SOM and now that I am here, I can say that this was absolutely the right choice for me. As I have progressed in my career, I have constantly returned to the same questions: How can you remain accountable to your community and society at large while scaling a business? What does it mean for an organization to be mission-driven and what factors impact an organization’s ability to remain committed to that mission? At Yale, I have the explore the complex relationship between business and society in an academic context. I am surrounded by classmates who are considering similar questions and are aiming to understand how impact might fit into their career in the long-term. At SOM, I am constantly reminded of the importance of accountability and I believe this will allow me to develop into a well-rounded leader.

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at Yale SOM? Modeling Managerial Decisions is a course that has really stretched my thinking. The course unites quantitative and qualitative methods for decision-making in a pretty unique way and I’ve been forced to seriously consider the limitations of qualitative and quantitative approaches to decision-making. I have enjoyed all of my classes thus far, but MMD has felt especially relevant to my development as a leader.

What is your unique quality that will enable you to make a big contribution to the Class of 2027? As someone who built their career in the startup space, I have always learned by doing. The fast-paced work environment of startups has molded the way that I think about my career and growth. I am not scared to ask for new responsibilities even if I am not quite ready for them. As I interact with new classmates, I hope to encourage them to advocate for themselves and embrace new challenges in their careers.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment in my career so far has been my success as a team lead and manager. I was promoted from Associate to Director after about 18 months of working at an early stage fintech startup and had to quickly adjust to a variety of new responsibilities. At the age of 22, I had less work experience than the colleagues I was being asked to lead. While navigating the discomfort of managing former peers was challenging, I became their biggest champion over time. Being thrust into this position taught me that the best leaders lead with empathy and compassion. The lessons I learned in that role will stay with me for a lifetime.

What do you hope to do after graduation? In the short-term, I aim to obtain an investment role at a lower middle market private equity firm with strong engagement with its portfolio companies. This will allow me to hone my operational and investment skills with a focus on true value creation. In the long-term, I aim to found a firm that supports small businesses by providing capital and advisory services.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Yale SOM’s MBA program? The best piece of advice I can give anyone is to take the time to reflect on why you’re embarking on the MBA journey and how you think Yale fits into your vision of your future. Having a strong sense of self will help you convey your story to any admissions team.

DON’T MISS: MEET YALE SOM’S MBA CLASS OF 2027

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