"If you’re getting an MBA, make sure it’s global."

T. J. Singla
MBA Executive Class of 2004, OneMBA Global Program
Senior Solutions Manager, Exel plc in Shanghai, China

With the world getting smaller, my boss told me a global MBA was the answer. I didn’t realize it’d be the greatest career advice I’d ever receive.

At the time, I was a supply-chain project manager based in the U.S. My goal was to advance to an overseas management position, but I needed broader global business knowledge. I was impressed that OneMBA is a partnership of five top-ranked schools on four continents. It’s truly global in comparison to programs that basically transplant an American MBA classroom to another part of the globe.

During my first year in OneMBA, I was working in Columbus, Ohio, so commuting to Washington, D.C. for classes wasn’t a big deal. Other executives were traveling farther, from Canada, Texas, California…even Germany!

Then my company offered me the overseas promotion that I was hoping to get after graduation. The decision wasn’t easy, but I took the promotion, moved to Asia and continued with OneMBA. I managed flying in for classes because they were only held once a month.

OneMBA prepared me for global business by training me to work with people all over the world. For example, I met my global team members from Latin America, Europe and Asia during our European residency week. In the following months, we studied Corporate Finance in a Global Environment at our home universities.

Our global team project required us to work remotely, analyzing financial issues affecting business in each world region. We also dealt with logistical issues and cultural differences that impact global teams in the real world. I learned to modify my approach when working with people from other world regions, which has made me a more effective global manager. Only OneMBA could have given me this.

While OneMBA has had a positive impact on my salary, the benefits I’ve gained from experiencing other business cultures, building networks and improving my global skills have been just as valuable. The return on my OneMBAinvestment looks great, no matter how I measure it!