Bradley Blanchard, MSBA '15
Brad had just started the NYU Stern Master of Science in Business Analytics program when he could already see dividends. Shortly after completing the program’s initial module, he was interviewing for a position as data scientist at J. Hilburn, the men’s clothier. “Learning how to articulate and frame a data mining problem was instrumental in preparing me for the interviews,” Brad recalls. “It enabled me to envision how my future growth in the program could help J.Hilburn accomplish the goals it had established.”
That confidence helped him obtain the job. Since then, Brad affirms, the Stern MSBA program “has enabled me to grow my role within the organization far greater than I could have ever expected without it. It has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities that data analytics provides to organizations, and it has allowed me to think outside of the box to meet everyday business challenges.”
Brad, the father of five at age 31, comes from a small town in Texas whose population was less than that of his freshman dorm. He’s worked as both an operations and financial analyst for Fossil Inc., positions, he says, that led him to understand the importance of analytics: “Every role I have had in my career has required me to report information to important stakeholders within the organization about certain elements of the business. Early on, I simply supplied spreadsheets containing the information I was requested to provide; however, as I matured, I began to see my role as more of a story-teller. I wanted to understand the most important components of the story and explain them to my audience in ways which were intuitive and actionable. I began to transform my information into visualizations, which forced me to focus on the most critical areas of my analysis. I was now delivering insightful content which I believed was leading to data driven decision making. Once I realized that telling the right story could positively influence decision making, I was sold on analytics.”
Well before receiving his MSBA degree, Brad and his employer were already seeing robust ROI from the program. “I have been able to consistently apply the content covered in my coursework to my position within the organization,” Brad asserts. “By leveraging the skills acquired through the program, I have been able to help create a data-driven culture throughout the organization that has empowered business leaders to make more informed decisions. Learning how to build predictive models during the program has led to advances in marketing automation at J.Hilburn, which enables our organization to deliver relevant content and a more personalized-experience for each of our customers.”
Thanks to Stern’s program, says Brad, “I know my life’s work will be in the area of analytics, and there are few returns greater than being professionally equipped for the journey ahead!”