2022 Best & Brightest Business Major: Kevin Link
Kevin Link
Emory University
Goizueta Business School
Describe yourself in 15 words or less: I love dogs, Atlanta sports, and my family. Order of those may vary at times.
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia
Fun Fact About Yourself: My wife and I are expecting our first baby in January 2021 – a girl!
Undergraduate School and Major: Princeton University, Economics
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. Director of Business Development, Retail & Internet
Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the school’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you?
Emory’s small class size and their strong connections to the Atlanta business community are key. I feel the more intimate classroom environment will allow me to make greater and deeper connections with my classmates and professors. It is a learning environment I feel best suited for and one I will be able to better contribute to as well. Additionally, I want to be in Atlanta long term so no better place to be than Emory, not just upon graduation but as part of the alumni network too!
What excites you most about getting your MBA at Goizueta?
What makes you most nervous? I’m most excited to get to interact with my Goizueta classmates, to see how someone with a different personal and/or professional background thinks about tackling a problem compared to how I would have thought about it on my own. I’m also very excited to participate in Emory’s leadership curriculum!
I am most nervous about returning to a classroom environment. Aside from the GMAT it’s been a long time since I’ve had to study and sit for an exam. Hopefully it’s like riding a bike!
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:
When I joined my previous company 6 years ago it was a smaller, but quickly growing, startup. After helping to continue that growth for my first 3 years there, we were purchased by Ferguson Enterprises. Seeing the hard work I had put in for those years pay off for the company with a strategic acquisition was very rewarding. It was also a phenomenal experience to remain onboard and help manage our team through that transition, including a consolidation with a former competitor that Ferguson already owned.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career?
I was at a point with my previous company where I could have continued progressing with them but if I wanted to really explore what else was out there now was the time – what better place to explore those options than a top MBA program.
What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process?
For me, the toughest questions was what I wanted to do after business school. Of course I knew that question would be coming, but one of my main goals of business school is to explore different options and find what I think is the best fit for me. Making sure I communicated that correctly may have been the most challenging.
How did you determine your fit at various schools?
My biggest wants were a smaller class size and opportunities in the Atlanta area, so that obviously made Emory my top choice. Fortunately for me, Emory does a great job providing opportunities for incoming MBAs to get a feeling of their culture and their values. I attended multiple on campus events with info sessions and real genuine interaction with current students and faculty. There were opportunities to virtually sit in on a class, have a “coffee” chat with current students and faculty, etc., etc. All of that really highlighted the family culture at Emory and made me feel right at home!
What was your defining moment and how did it prepare you for business school?
I’ll go the route that’s going to get me brownie points at home…to this point my defining moment is marrying my wife Brittany. While this didn’t prepare me for business school in a professional sense, leaving my job and going to school for a couple years is a huge personal decision and Brittany is the center of my support system. She also pushed me to go for it when all the uncertainty of COVID hit earlier this year, so without her I may not even be here!
What is the most important attribute that you are seeking in an MBA employer – and why is that important?
An environment where the company and managers truly care about and provide opportunities for growth and development for employees. I’ve been lucky in my short career to have a couple great mentors that I’ve always known had my best interests in mind. That has always pushed me to work harder knowing it wouldn’t be for naught. I’ve really enjoyed this type of work environment and they’ve been very productive in my experience, so I would love to find somewhere with a similar culture in my next professional venture.
Interested in exploring Full-Time MBA opportunities? Learn more about Goizueta’s Full-Time MBA program.
