Bobby Hickson

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

“Adventurous, curious, and passionate about athletics and academics.”

Hometown: Orchard Lake, MI

Fun Fact About Yourself: I completed a triathlon when I was 13 years old.

Undergraduate School and Major: Princeton University, Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Ford Motor Company, Retail Variable Marketing Team Lead

What has been your first impression of the Tuck MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Tuck story so far. I heard of “Tuck nice” prior to joining but witnessing it firsthand exceeded my expectations. During the second week of school, I had a fever and didn’t have the energy to leave my room. Some of my classmates noticed I wasn’t at class and brought me food and checked on me over the next couple of days.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Other than the culture and my classmates, I chose Tuck because of its curriculum. I enjoy the heavy emphasis on core classes, as it ensures everyone has the basic skills needed to succeed post-MBA. When I visited Tuck for the first time, I was impressed by the classes I attended, specifically Operations taught by Senior Associate Dean Joe Hall.

What excites you the most about coming to live in Hanover? What is the one activity you can’t wait to do? I am most excited to explore the Northeast. I have already found a lot of fun spots, like Riverview Farms, cliff jumping in West Lebanon and Quechee, and I’m excited to find more.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Dartmouth Tuck? I am most excited for tripod hockey. Prior to Tuck, I never ice skated, so there will definitely be a learning curve, but I am excited to go out of my comfort zone and learn a new sport.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: In my previous role on the Lincoln Retail Variable Marketing team, I created an automated dashboard that allowed the team to see the performance of live incentives. This identified over $20M in incentive overcharges, which we received full reimbursement, and increased incentive efficiency by over 10 percent.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? I will be returning to Ford as the National Incentive Manager for Ford Blue.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA program? More than academics or extracurriculars, Tuck looks for genuinely kind, caring and open-minded students. The reason why Tuck is so successful is because everyone looks out for each other, in school and after. My biggest piece of advice would be to show that you fit these characteristics.

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