SMU Cox Welcomes the 85th Class of the Professional MBA Program

Seventy new PMBA students started their program by meeting current students, faculty, staff and alumni. They participated in teambuilding activities and concluded orientation with an evening reception. The students’ backgrounds included business, engineering, nonprofit, science and technology. All are working professionals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area representing companies such as American Airlines, AT&T, Avocados From Mexico, Capital One, Fidelity, JP Morgan Chase, Lockheed Martin, Marcus & Millichap, Neiman Marcus, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Pioneer Natural Resources, Prudential Financial, Raytheon Technologies, Thomson Reuters, Top Golf, Toyota and Trammell Crow Company.

Cox MBAs Participate in PepsiCo Business Case Competition

Marco Peña and Sullivan Franklin-Mitchell, both MBA ’21, participated in the 5th Annual PepsiCo MBA Invitational Business Case Competition, hosted by Texas Christian University. The Cox students joined 13 other business schools, including Neeley School of Business, Olin Business School, Stern School of Business and Yale School of Management. Participating MBAs were divided into eight teams. Each team developed a case focused on perimeter planning and its importance to incremental sales of core products, specifically for the brands Lay’s, Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Off The Eaten Path, SunChips, Smartfood and Simply. The teams received perimeter locations and their respective cost, promotional prices for each brand, marketing tactics and a promotional pricing table. As deliverables, they identified brands, perimeter location, pricing and timing. They also needed to provide a comprehensive marketing plan to support their recommendation, with CPM and ROI based on budgeted spend as well as consumer-centric rationale. Franklin-Mitchell’s team won second place, winning $5,000 to be equally divided among the four members.

“I learned so much and am so grateful to have been included in this opportunity,” says Franklin-Mitchell. SMU Cox has been invited to the annual competition since its inception. Peña and Franklin-Mitchell, concentrating in finance and marketing, respectively, were selected by the Career Management Center and Graduate Cox Student Services to represent the Cox School at the competition.

Marketing Trek to Seattle

In early October 2019, marketing career coach Shanna Upchurch took 30 MBA students to Seattle, where they made visits to Amazon, Expedia, Jones Soda Co. and Starbucks hosted by Cox alumni and/or prominent company leaders. The purpose of the annual trek is primarily to educate students about large corporations and expand their networks. In that spirit of networking, the MBA students also enjoyed a happy hour with Seattle-based alumni.

Reception Offers Inaugural Class of OMBAs Rare Opportunity to Meet in Person

Newly launched in May of 2019, the Cox Online MBA (OMBA) emphasizes the importance of feeling like a part of the school and campus. The Dean’s Suite provided an ideal location for OMBA students to gather. Twenty OMBAs, some of whom traveled from out of
town with their families, had the opportunity to meet with fellow students and SMU Cox faculty and staff. They also heard from Dean Matt Myers; Shane Goodwin, Associate Dean of Graduate Programs; and David Jacobson, Professor of Practice and Executive Director of
Online Education.

“We wanted to welcome our Online MBA cohorts to the program and also offer an opportunity for students to network and meet faculty and staff in person,” says Jillian Melton, Director of Professional MBA and OMBA Admissions. “The reception was outstanding, and we’re
working on creating more in-person events throughout the year to bring our online students together.”

The Cox School’s OMBA program is unique in that it creates opportunities for remote students to experience campus in person. The reception was not the first time OMBAs came to campus. Last fall, OMBA students supported the winning Mustang season with a program-sponsored tailgate tent on the Boulevard.