Mae Levine Sinclair, Business Analyst, Business Services, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Lake Forest MBA Class of 1997
Significant life change often leads to reassessment. So it was with Mae Levine Sinclair, MBA ’97. In 1993, after her then-husband died, Sinclair determined that she would do the things she’d been putting off: learning to swim and getting her MBA. (Sinclair’s LFGSM classmates may remember her as Mae Levine; she married Kenneth Sinclair in 1998.)
"I was really trying to stay busy and cope with the loss of a loved one," she said."My son was entering college that fall, so it was a good time for me to focus on personal gratification and doing things that I wanted to do."
Once she’d determined to seek an MBA, Sinclair began talking to others at Discover Card Financial Services, where she worked as sales training manager. "I noticed, in conversations I had with coworkers, that Lake Forest Graduate School of Management always came up, so I went to an open house," she said. Sinclair was impressed with what she saw and with the support the School was willing to provide to a student who hadn’t been to school in nearly 20 years.
"I took the math refresher course that was offered and was quite surprised to find I remembered so much," she said. "That helped me ease into school and build my confidence."
Sinclair believes that initial confidence boost was just a taste of what was to come when she was awarded her MBA three and one-half years later. "Getting the MBA gave me great confidence in my abilities as a manager," she said. "I realized that there was a lot I’d learned in the business world that I didn’t know I knew. And while I found that I already knew more than I thought I did, learning from practitioner faculty meant that I was continually picking up things that I could take back and apply immediately to my job situation."
The growth in Sinclair’s skills and confidence have led to two promotions, one to director of sales support for Discover Card, earned while she was still attending LFGSM. Then in 1998, less than one year after earning her MBA, she was named business development director for the entire Western region of Discover Card. The promotion necessitated a move to Arizona.
"I’m responsible for building relationships with merchants in the entire western region of the country, covering everything from Chicago to Alabama and over to California. My team includes 175 sales representatives, 28 middle managers and six high-level managers. It’s a big team, but most of those who are my direct reports knew me in my previous position," she noted.
Sinclair believes that the general manager focus of the LFGSM program, along with insights and skills gained in several specific courses, have been influential in her career success. "At LFGSM, I learned how to manage a business," she explained, "Now, as director, I'm responsible for managing and marketing the business, developing new business, coaching and counseling managers. Those are skills I honed in my MBA course work."
Perhaps Sinclair’s fondest memory of LFGSM is finishing her MBA studies. "I cannot explain the exhilaration of completing it. I had a huge celebration, with all of my friends from work and all of my family from back East." It was a party richly earned and enjoyed.
Sinclair encourages fellow alums to contact her at: Discover Card, 2402 West Beardsley Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85027-3301. Her email address is: mlevine@novusnet.com.
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