Enterprise Experience: Brands

The Carlson School’s trailblazing focus on weaving experiential learning throughout its core curriculum was the perfect fit for my MBA goals. Prior to Carlson, I worked as an urban planning consultant in the transportation industry. As a career-changer looking to move into CPG brand marketing, I knew it was going to take real experience to bridge my knowledge and skill gaps. The Enterprise program, especially, set me up for success to land my MBA dream job as an Associate Marketing Manager at General Mills.

As a CBE consultant, Ashley Ver Burg Soukup '18 has gained experience in industries as diverse as athletic apparel and healthcare. 

Here are four advantages of the Carlson Brand Enterprise (CBE) for MBA students looking to accelerate or change their career path, like me!

• Real Experience: CBE gives you real strategic marketing and brand consulting experience. This means entering your summer internship with the right skills, resources, and confidence to be successful. I showed up on day one of my internship ready to hit the ground running thanks to the experience I built in CBE.
• Top Faculty Partnerships: The Carlson School is ranked 12th in worldwide business research rankings, which means we have some of the brightest faculty in the world conducting groundbreaking business studies. CBE partners students and faculty, putting academia into practice. This unique partnership equips students with cutting-edge methodologies to solve pressing business challenges post-graduation.

Real experience: students work together in the Brand Enterprise to solve complex business problems with strategic, data-driven marketing solutions

• Diverse Client Exposure: The last thing you want coming out of a graduate program is to wonder, “What if?”. What if I worked for a startup? What if I tried healthcare? What if I pursued consulting? CBE removes the wonder and gives you the opportunity to work with a variety of clients in diverse industries. Thanks to my Enterprise experience, I’m graduating this spring knowing CPG brand marketing is exactly where I want to be.
• Real Results: As CBE consultants, we give our clients objective, data-driven, high-value solutions…and we get to see them act on our recommendations! The real results we see in our work are coupled with real results we see in ourselves. After two challenging, transformational CBE projects, I’m well-prepared for my post-MBA career ahead.

A strong network: CBE alumni gather with current MBA consultants for an annual networking event.