Matt Dohrmann
“By now, I am sure you have read all of the information about how Fuqua prides itself on the concept of Team Fuqua, but I promise you it is not a cliché. By far and away, the people I have met have been my most profound takeaway from my Fuqua experience. Whether it is my fellow classmates, the faculty and administration, or Duke alumni, the people I have interacted with while at Fuqua will be my biggest asset going forward!”
Weekend Executive MBA
Industry:
Prior Education:
Iowa State University
BS Accounting, 2014
Reflections
Corporate America is dynamic, and every action and decision has some trade-off. Knowing how everything ties together and understanding the consequences of each decision is very important to continue to march the organization forward. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, our supply base faced many challenges. Lead times grew, materials became more expensive, and our factory inventory levels grew. Although my focus was on financials, the knowledge I gained from my MBA allowed me to see the bigger picture that changes to our supply base could impact the business in more extensive ways than just the financials. I worked in a cross-functional team to find the right solution to balance operational risk, supply base resiliency, and financial impacts. This is only one example of how the breadth of knowledge gained from my MBA helped me solve a complex business problem, and I know I will face more and more of these challenges as my career progresses.
Before Fuqua
As the operational accounting site lead at John Deere Turf Care, I am responsible for running the accounting team at our local factory. My team of four is responsible for creating our financial forecast, maintaining our local capital budget, administering internal controls, and providing financial counseling to the business.
After Fuqua
Upon graduation, I hope to transition into a new role that either has increased supervisory responsibility or oversees a larger portion of the business. The leadership and talent planning portions of my MBA will help me become a better manager and leader of people. The non-financial classes have rounded out my business acumen and will allow me to solve business problems that touch on more than just accounting and finance issues.
Five Random Facts About Me
- I was not the most studious in my undergrad and had self-doubts about my success within the program. I have surprised myself with how successful I have been—I have found a new love for learning now that I can apply the concepts to real-life challenges I face at work. I share this in case you have doubts about your success within the program, know that you can do it!
- I was elected to the City Council of Iowa’s third largest city, Davenport. My political skills allowed me to represent our cohort as one of four class representatives. Working with administration and faculty to tackle problems facing the cohort has been an extremely rewarding journey.
- My undergrad was at Iowa State, and surely, I thought I would be the only one in the program who went to Iowa State since it was so far away from Duke. It turns out that five of us are affiliated with Iowa State. The lesson here is to get to know your classmates. You will be shocked at how much you have in common!
- My wife is in the program with me. We struggled to decide whether to apply to the same cohort or stagger our time within the program. Ultimately, we made the right choice to complete our MBA journey together. We were never on the same team or in the same section. However, we were taking the same classes with the same assignment deadlines, which allowed us to understand the commitments needed to complete the program. We committed our weeknights to completing assignments and made sure to schedule something fun in our free time. In the end, having an understanding partner and ensuring you still allow yourself to have fun is the key to balancing being in the program and maintaining your personal life.
- We ran into Adam Silver (NBA Commissioner) in the JB Duke Hotel lobby. Duke is affiliated with so many important people that you never know who you will see on campus.
MSQM:HA students "meet" in Durham without leaving home
Global Executive MBA
Top Areas of Career Focus
Financial Services (20%)
Consulting (5%)
Sales/Business Development (5%)
Energy/Chemical/Gas (9%)
Marketing/PR/Advertising (6%)
Consumer Goods (3%)
Average Age
Average Work Experience
Countries Represented
Non-US Citizenship
Women
Master of Management Studies: Duke Kunshan University
Undergraduate Majors
Business/Accounting (51%)
Economics (22%)
Liberal Arts (14%)
Engineering/Natural Sciences (10%)
Other (4%)
Average Age
Average Work Experience
Countries Represented
Non-US Citizenship
Women
Master of Management Studies: Foundations of Business
Undergraduate Majors
Liberal Arts (33%)
Business/Accounting (24%)
Engineering/Natural Sciences (18%)
Economics (17%)
Other (8%)
Average Age
Average Work Experience
Countries Represented
Non-US Citizenship
Women
Weekend Executive MBA
Top Areas of Career Focus
IT (16%)
Financial Services (14%)
Health Care/Health Services (10%)
Manufacturing/Operations (9%)
Sales/Business Development (8%)
Consulting (8%)