Why They Served: Profiles Of M7 MBA Veterans

Major Dan Kronz, Wharton MBA ’22

Dan Kronz, MBA ‘22 at Wharton, studying organizational effectiveness

Military service: Major in the Green Berets in the U.S. Army Special Forces, served for 11 years

Why did you join the military? I had wanted to become a Green Beret since I witnessed the attack on America during 9/11—I was 13 years old. I felt a deep need to serve my country, and I wanted to defend the people I loved and the ideals that make our country great. I also viewed serving in the Special Forces in particular as the hardest challenge I could do—the difficulty in earning my Green Beret was a big part of the appeal.

I originally commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the US Army. I then graduated from Airborne and Ranger School, and served with 10th Mountain Infantry Division. I deployed to Afghanistan in 2013 and earned my Combat Infantry Badge.At that stage, I had served long enough to try out for the Special Forces, where I went through a grueling two-year qualification stage (that has a 70% attrition rate) to earn my Green Beret.As a Green Beret,I served multiple deployments to both South America and Afghanistan. I participated in the peace talks with the FARC in Colombia, as well as aided to the first peace talks ever with Taliban leaders in Qatar.In Afghanistan, I served under Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan (SOTF-A) as the leadAdvisor and Commander in Helmand Province. To put it in perspective, Helmand Province saw more fighting and more US casualties than any other province in Afghanistan. At the time, it was the only province still under Taliban control, so we were in the most contested, most intense fighting area in the country.

Why an MBA? To be honest, I had always wanted to one day become the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the Army—business school hadn’t really crossed my mind. But I was hand-picked by the Chief of Staff of the Army for the PB-GSIP (Performance Based graduate School Incentive Program)Basically, the Army wanted to give top-performing captains the opportunity to go to grad school. At the time, I was rated the number one captain in 1st Special Forces Command—which includes Green Berets and other Special Operations entities. When the opportunity arose, I immediately saw the value in getting my MBA. Whether you are running a company or rising in the ranks of the military, the realities of leadership, management, operational strategy, talent, innovation, and forward planning are the same. There is a lot that the public sector and government can learn from the private sector, and much that the private sector can learn from the military.

Why Wharton? In my opinion, Wharton by far has the strongest, most well-connected, and supportive Veterans Club of all the top business schools. At any of the top business schools, you will receive an excellent education and have a terrific cohort of classmates. What made the difference to me was the role that the Vets Club played—and continues to play—in my experience. When it comes to helping veterans get top jobs out of the military, preparing them for their careers if they stay active duty, plugging them into an incredible alumni network, or even in terms of support and involvement by the school administration, Wharton was clearly the best choice.

Why do you believe veteran representation matters in MBA cohorts?What shocked me upon arrival to Wharton was that for many of my classmates—both foreign and American—I was the first veteran they had ever personally known. But due to the way our volunteer military is structured, unless you are part of the unique community that forms our Department of Defense, it perhaps shouldn’t have been surprising that people outside of our community simply haven’t had the opportunity to interact with, or truly understand, what it means to have served in the military. This year in particular I found myself having many interesting, often thought-provoking conversations with my classmates about the bungled drawdown out of Afghanistan, and the foreign policy implications of the actions our military has around the world. It is impossible to disentangle the global economy, foreign policy, domestic policy, and business—and I think that veterans can bring a valuable perspective to the classroom that may differ from people who have never served.

 What’s next ? I am extremely inspired by the concept of entrepreneurship through acquisition. I had decided to serve my country to give back to America. I cannot not think of a better way to give back to my country, post-service, than by helping small business owners and the grassroots of society.My goal would be to acquire a variety of businesses, working directly with their founders—who have invested their life’s work into the companies they have built—and continuing to run them in a way that reflects the dignity and importance of the role of small businesses in the US economy.

 

Amanda Terrill, MBA ’22 at Wharton

Amanda Terrill, MBA ’22 at Wharton

Military service: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer for 7 years stationed in San Diego, CA.

Why did you join the military?  Both of my parents were in the U.S. Army for 20 years. My mom was especially proud of her service and dedicated much of her career to furthering women’s leadership opportunities in the military. Her career had a big influence on me while I was looking at universities and she encouraged me to apply for ROTC. While I was doing Naval ROTC at UNC Chapel Hill, I wanted to become a Foreign Area Officer (FAO) in the Navy. To become an FAO, I would have to serve onboard ships for about four years before being able to lateral transfer.

Amanda Terrill with the admiral. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob I. Allison)

On my first ship, USS SAN DIEGO, I deployed to the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf for 7 months. We were underway for 93 days straight and were out to sea for 200 out of 216 days. During that time, I was the Engineering Division Officer for Repair Division. The Repair Division oversaw all firefighting and damage control equipment, toilets/sewage, welding, and a majority of the maintenance done onboard the ship. For my next tour, I was selected to be the Navigator of an LSD, USS RUSHMORE. After a year-long shipyard maintenance period, we had to get the ship certified before getting underway. I was in charge of training all navigation watchstanders and ensuring the ship would pass its navigation certification. After completing this assignment, I was selected to be a speechwriter and Admiral’s Aide to a 3-star Admiral. As speechwriter, I wrote speeches for the Admiral in charge of all policies for the surface navy. He then promoted me to become his Admiral’s Aide, where I ensured he was prepared to execute his daily responsibilities. I was heavily involved in preparation and logistical support and was his right-hand person.

Why an MBA? MBA has a lot of translatable skills between what I learned leading teams onboard ships and the perspective I gained from a high level executive team on an Admiral’s staff. The Navy emphasizes technical prowess, but I felt that I was lacking the business skills that many professionals in consulting or investment banking use on a daily basis.

Why Wharton? Wharton has a well-renowned reputation for being a quantitative MBA. I wanted to gain hard skills during my MBA that I will use post-business school in consulting. Wharton is also a larger MBA program, so I feel that I have significantly extended my network by attending such a big school. I also wanted to move back to the east coast, preferably close to NYC and DC. Philly is the perfect city to be located to have access to other major cities in the area.

Why do veterans make good business students? Veterans make excellent business school students because we are able to critically think through problems and execute solutions. I am currently taking a course called “MGMT 802 – Innovation, Change and Entrepreneurship”. I absolutely love this course because it is all simulations where you are placed into an unknown scenario with a team and have to overcome any challenge that arises. Veterans thrive in these types of scenarios because we are used to high pressure situations when you are required to work with a team and create the best outcome. Veterans get the job done and make decisions in a concise and logical manner.

What’s next? I am going to be a consultant at Alvarez & Marsal Consulting Retail Group. I plan to work in consulting and maybe enter the retail industry in a couple of years.

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