Rich's Story

Tell us about yourself

I fell into business almost by accident at the young age of 19 because I wanted a full-time job and I could type. I found employment with the County of Orange as a Data Entry Technician and I turned those skills and my positive attitude into becoming the manager of my group within 4 years.
A couple of years later, my wife and I relocated to the Pacific Northwest, where I continued my education while working in the nursing home business in a corporate office. I worked in positions within administration, corporate accounting, payroll, accounts payable, and cash management. I learned a lot about profit/loss business to supplement my understanding of the public service business.

A return to Southern California 5 years later led to my current career in Commercial Aircraft at The Boeing Company. I started out in the Modifications and Services business unit, working closely with project managers, assisting them with delivering goods and services to our worldwide customers. I became a proposal manager, a process documentation subject matter expert, a database manager, metrics developer, and a whole host of other assignments and duties in the 15 years I supported the Mods group. For the last 5 years, I have been part of the Customer Support organization in a similar capacity, driving process improvements, and documentation while running the estimating and planning process for large project execution in support of out-of-production aircraft. I just celebrated my 20th year at The Boeing Company.

After 30 years of working in professional environments thru a litany of different business types and practices, I am looking to further my education with a post-graduate degree, an MBA, so I can continue learning and supporting my business to the best of my abilities and potentially opening doors to new opportunities and challenges.

What interests and excites you about business?

I have always found business to be ever-evolving and reactive to change, pressures, and issues to do better and be better for our customers and the bottom line. I have always been interested in process documentation, lean practices, and remaining flexible so that change is not only expected but welcome. I am excited whenever something new comes along because we must continue growing and innovating to remain competitive. Not everything turns out to be successful, but you learn from mistakes and continue growing as an organization.

Tell us about your experience in the MBA program.

I am new to the MBA program and will be starting next month. However, up to this point, I have found the administration of this program to be helpful, personal, and always responsive.
What strengths/skills have you gained from the program and taken back to work?
I am looking forward to whatever I can bring back to my employer that will help our business.

What is your future goal?

After 25 years, I’m looking forward to moving back into a management role to support my company with their continuous improvement philosophy and to transition from my lead/subject matter(s) expert role into leadership.

Do you have any advice for future MBA students?

This will likely be revised after completing some work within the program, but until then, I would recommend that students remain flexible, collaborative, and work well toward your deadlines. Business relies on collaboration, commitments, and working well with others.