Benjamin Javier Gomez

The University of Texas at Dallas, Jindal School of Management

“An ambitious father who wants his kids to inherit more than just his last name.”

Age: 32

Hometown: Beeville, Texas

Fun fact about yourself: I ran a podcast show right before I began my MBA and plan to start another soon!

Undergraduate School and Degree: Baylor University – BBA in Supply Chain Management

Where are you currently working? ServiceTitan, Strategic Customer Success Manager

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Being recognized as a 2023 “30 Under 30” honoree by Hispanic Executive. It was my first national award, and it arrived at the pinnacle of years of smaller wins and sustained, often unglamorous work. More than anything, it was a testament to the mentors who believed in my potential early — investing in my development and placing me in rooms that challenged me to grow.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? When I began exploring my MBA options, my wife and I were also having serious conversations about expanding our family. Given the significant investment — both financial and in time — I needed a program that would deliver a strong ROI without compromising my availability as a father and partner. The PMBA program offered exactly that: rigorous, concentrated curriculum with the flexibility to honor my priorities at home.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? The caliber and diversity of my classmates. At any given moment, I was engaging with professionals across a remarkable spectrum — from recent undergraduates to executives with 20+ years of industry experience. That dynamic sharpened how I approached team formation, sharpened my communication across professional contexts, and taught me to remain adaptable when building relationships quickly.

How did your online MBA experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student? The PMBA demanded a level of self-discipline and intellectual rigor my undergraduate studies simply did not require. In undergrad, a well-timed study session was often enough to perform adequately. An MBA is fundamentally different — it trains you to think deeply about complex business environments and build transferable frameworks others can apply to their own challenges. That kind of thinking is only developed through sustained, deliberate effort, which requires a discipline that can’t be shortcut.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? Build structure relentlessly. Create a dedicated study environment, identify a consistent window when your energy is still high, and protect that time as non-negotiable. For working professionals and parents especially, your bandwidth will be pulled in every direction. The students who thrive are those who treat their study sessions with the same commitment they bring to their most important professional obligations.

How has your online MBA education helped you in your current job? It has meaningfully elevated my executive presence. I regularly present to C-suite stakeholders, and my MBA training gave me both the analytical frameworks and the communication confidence to do that effectively. I now approach executive conversations with a structured point of view — grounded in an understanding of their business context, industry dynamics, and market conditions — and I’ve developed the ability to deliver insights in a way that is both well-received and immediately actionable.

Did you earn a promotion while in the program or immediately after graduation? Yes. I was promoted to Senior Customer Success Manager, a role that involves managing a larger, more complex portfolio of strategic accounts — with elevated expectations around technical depth, product adoption strategy, and executive relationship management. The confidence and frameworks I built throughout the program were directly reflected in that outcome.

Why did you pursue an online MBA program instead of a full-time residential or executive MBA program? The timing made the online format a clear choice. I had just become a father, recently relocated to a new city, and was navigating meaningful career transitions simultaneously. The flexibility of asynchronous learning — combined with UTD’s strong concentration offerings — allowed me to continue building professionally without putting my personal life on hold. It also created a unique advantage: I could apply what I learned in the virtual classroom to real challenges at work the very next day, compounding the value of education in real time.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? UTD took a thoughtful, balanced approach. The program acknowledged AI’s genuine power to accelerate and enhance analytical work, while setting a clear expectation of academic integrity — if AI was used, it had to be cited and disclosed. What I appreciated most was that it wasn’t treated as a threat to learning, but as a tool that, when used with discipline and transparency, could produce sharper thinking and better solutions.

Number of Hours Per Week Spent on an Online MBA: 16-20 hours a week (including weekends)

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I want to work as an investor or operating partner within private equity or venture capital — evaluating where capital should be deployed to strengthen SaaS businesses, or to identify the next wave of disruptors within the industry. I want to sit at the intersection of operational expertise and strategic investment, where I can create real value on both sides of a deal.

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