Roger Kopp, Vice President of Sales, Primax Recoveries, Inc., Lake Forest MBA, Class of 1992
When he started the 4-year weekend program at the Schaumburg Campus, Roger Kopp realized he was getting far more than the basics. The insight he gained has been opening doors for him ever since.
"Every course showed me that there was a big, wide world out there that I hadn’t had any exposure to in my work," Kopp explained. "I was getting insight into what virtually every level of management was experiencing. I learned what drove them. I could see how they viewed their organizations and it put me more on their level."
That insight helped him better serve the needs of his CEO/CFO customers as an assistant director at Advanced System Applications, where he was working when he began the LFGSM program. When he was ready to move on and up, he began searching for a position with a consulting company where he felt he could best use his newly-gained knowledge. He became a partner in the financial services practice at CSC Consulting, a $6.4 billion worldwide systems integrator. Then in June 1998, he was recruited by Primax Recoveries, Inc., to serve as vice president of sales. At Primax, he is also part of the organization's internal management team.
"Today’s business projects require a keen understanding of the driving forces of an organization from the personnel, political, regulatory, social and cultural perspectives," Kopp said. "I feel strongly that my time at LFGSM provided me with that understanding."
The program also provided him with information and resources that he continues to use regularly in his business. He still keeps his class folders and textbooks handy, but perhaps his most valuable resource is the "breakfast club" of six fellow LFGSM graduates he meets with every six to eight weeks.
"We spent a lot of late nights together during the program. Now we send each other e-mail messages and continue to share information," he explained.
A friend recommended LFGSM to Kopp; now he recommends it to others. "The real life example (from instructors) was invaluable," Kopp said. "They aren’t professional professors; they’re working in real situations." He credits the program with giving him the impetus to not only move ahead, but excel in higher positions. Kopp believes that, "the students at LFGSM took the program seriously and that's what you need to succeed."
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