How It Paid Off: Tech Specialist to Corporate Strategist

Learn how one alumnus was promoted as a direct result of his DBA

NAME: Dr. Simon Musaeus ’14

DEGREE: DBA

TITLE BEFORE MY DEGREE: Technical Director of Mapping, India

TITLE AFTER MY DEGREE: Global Corporate Director of Mapping and Surveying

TAKING THE LEAP: If our employees pursue business education, it’s often a 3-month course or an MBA. Pursuing a full-fledged doctoral program attracted management’s attention. My early coursework coincided with a new strategy in our business group, and I used my new knowledge to write the business strategy for our India branch.

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS: I grew up and was educated in Germany with no exposure to the American market. In India, 30% of our customers were U.S. companies; our Indian group had issues satisfying them. I didn’t know if it was a business or cultural difference, but there were always tensions. I directed my thesis research to supplier selection criteria that U.S. companies apply to find the correct offshore provider. With the help of my professor, I confirmed my observations that U.S. customers are very quality-conscious, while I had observed that Indian companies focus on building strong relationships. American and Indian companies were speaking different languages. I helped my managers change their behavior toward American customers; they were surprised by the success.

BIGGEST BENEFITS OF EARNING MY DBA: I became a corporate director in charge of a specific business line. My company is Danish-anchored, and I am one of only two corporate directors in 80 years who are not Scandinavian. Walden allowed me to interact with the American way of thinking and open doors to other cultures. Walden is much more international than you’d think, and I like that. — V.W.

Tell us how your degree paid off at myWaldenAlumni.com/shareyourstory.