Executive MBA Program celebrates 20 years of transforming seasoned professionals

Mays Business School’s nationally recognized Executive MBA Program welcomes its 20^th entering class during the 2018-2019 academic year. Over the past two decades, the Houston-based program has successfully served over 900 current and former students as they develop into transformational leaders.

The program, which is grounded in Texas A&M University’s Core Values, helps students develop cutting-edge professional knowledge and personal leadership skills. Graduates are prepared to succeed in a constantly changing economic landscape and make an impact in their organizations, communities, and world.

“Mays Executive MBA program continues to be one of our premier programs,” said Mays Dean Eli Jones. “Many of these graduates are now in leadership positions for organizations that span the globe. Others have become entrepreneurs who have charted their own course by creating their own companies. Despite these different professional routes, these students have several things in common – an unwavering commitment to Texas A&M and Mays Business School and a sincere desire to help advance the world’s prosperity.”

A quality MBA program for working professionals

Initially launched in The Woodlands, north of Houston, in 1999, the Mays Executive MBA Program was designed to help cohorts of working professionals earn their

MBA over a two-year period by offering classes every other weekend. “This program was designed for high-performing executives so they would have minimal career interruption. We went to where our target audience was, and that’s a large city,” said Julie Orzabal, the Executive MBA Program director.

Even in such a competitive market, the Mays Executive MBA Program rises to the top. “I looked at several options,” said Onzelo Markum III ’02, a retired law enforcement veteran who used this MBA program to prepare to transition to the business world and then founded the Markum Group. “Texas A&M was the one that stood out for a number of reasons. One was the quality of the education, but the other thing was the quality of the Aggie network, the traditions of the school, and the unique nature of Texas A&M.”

Within a decade, the Executive MBA Program was outgrowing The Woodlands facility. At that point, Mays leaders decided to move the program to a specially designed facility for executive learners at CityCenter Houston. That transition took place in 2012.

A transformational opportunity

Over the years, the Executive MBA Program has successfully remained among the top-ranked programs of its type in the nation.  “The Mays EMBA is continually evolving to meet the needs of the market,” said Mays Associate Dean for Graduate Programs Arvind Mahajan. “We are always looking at opportunities using new technology and knowledge to enhance the student experience and continue the lifelong learning opportunities for our graduates. We have high-performance expectations for our students and offer a rigorous curriculum. We focus on the holistic development of students, honing their soft and hard skills.”

Each cohort is an impressive group of seasoned executives. These students, who average 16 years of work experience, bring a wealth of experience into classroom discussions and projects. In turn, they also are able to apply their Executive MBA experiences to their current positions, thus enhancing their graduate school experience.

The program also boasts an internationally recognized faculty who have a commitment to student learning. Students learn from 23 top Mays Business School faculty;  several have served in the program since it started. “Our faculty members are deeply committed to Mays’ goal of producing transformational leaders and care about student success,” said Mahajan, a Texas A&M System Regents Professor and Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence who helped develop the Executive MBA Program and has been on the faculty since the program’s inception.

Three unique experiential learning opportunities also are part of the Executive MBA program. Students participate in leadership and team-building exercises that focus on crisis communication and creative problem-solving at the 52-acre Disaster City, a world-renowned program created by the Texas A&M University System’s Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). Another experiential opportunity, Mays’ Washington Campus, helps students learn more about the interface between the federal government and business over a four-day consortium. This experience includes interactions with national leaders and policymakers. In addition, the Capstone Project offers the opportunity for students to solve a real-life business problem for their employer, entrepreneurial venture, non-profit organization, or client.

Ultimately, earning an Executive MBA from Mays Business School is a journey of personal and professional discovery in a supportive environment. “The support that you receive from your fellow students in the program, the professors, and the director of the program is something I have never experienced before in an academic setting,” said Victoria Fernandez ’16, chief market strategist for Crossmark Global Investments. “They are there strictly to help you succeed. You are really building a family when you walk into the Mays Executive MBA Program.”