Before becoming head of marketing for the Retirement Solutions Group at Empower Retirement in Overland Park, Kansas, Stephanie O’Dear earned a bachelor of arts in journalism-advertising from the University of Missouri. Stephanie O’Dear also holds a master of business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Executive MBA at MIT is a two-year program combining real-life situations with classroom discussion to provide a comprehensive learning experience. Students are able to personalize their coursework to direct their classes toward their desired career goals. After completing core courses, students are able to choose electives ranging from product design and international economics to pricing strategies and advanced system dynamics.
Students come from a range of professional backgrounds who are looking for an edge in their careers and the program provides more in-depth study in specific areas where students desire to build careers, while ensuring they have exposure to the fundamentals of the science of global management practices. The experience also incorporates a capstone project which encompasses the entire last semester where students solve issues for outside companies and travel globally to formulate problem statements and solutions. This allows students to apply their cumulative learnings in real-world settings and tackle challenges outside their sphere of expertise. The entire program is meant to redesign how students evaluate business problems and opportunities and that they graduate with a degree that accelerates their career and connects them to a robust network for life.
