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Play video: Dwight Mathis '11 - Creating Global Leaders (0:48)

Dwight Mathis '11
United States
“It’s worth the price of admission to be able to differentiate myself and to have the sustainable competitive edge that Thunderbird has already delivered.”


Dwight Mathis '11

Dwight Mathis ’11 chose Thunderbird’s Executive MBA program for one simple reason: to become a better version of himself.

“The only way to have a sustainable competitive edge is to always learn and always find a way to innovate,” says the managing director of Merrill Lynch’s Phoenix, Ariz. offices. “The world is full of learned people who are beautifully equipped to compete in a world that no longer exists. I decided a long time ago, that to maintain a competitive edge, I need to make sure, every year, that I am getting better, improving.”

Thunderbird, he says, helped him do just that. “In the areas of cultural awareness, economic awareness and business awareness, there is not a question in my mind that I’m different and unique from my competitors and peers because of what I’ve learned at Thunderbird.”

Mathis points to Thunderbird’s faculty as a key strength. “I didn’t clearly understand what it means to be a global citizen until I started interacting with professors at Thunderbird. There is one professor who leads development programs in Africa, others who have been managing directors for Big Four accounting firms and global organizations, and still others, from a leadership point of view, who give real-world advice about how to deal with challenging people issues.”

One of the greatest takeaways, Mathis says, is the applicability of the program. “I lead an organization that does $150 million in revenue, and the things I learned at Thunderbird I implemented in my business strategy a week after class, or my business plan for the year ahead.”

Mathis says that, throughout his career with Merrill Lynch in North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico and Arizona, he’s been exposed to great executive coaches who have helped him become a better leader. “I have to admit, however, that my experience with Thunderbird has been as good or better than any of those coaches I ever spent time with.”

Mathis says that his Thunderbird experience also influenced the way he approaches his staff. Given the current economic situation, he says, Merrill Lynch has experienced a great deal of uncertainty. “I encouraged our workers – our bankers, our wealth advisors – to really invest in their competencies, to make sure that when this year is over, they’ve controlled what they can control.”

And for Mathis, that means making oneself better – something he feels he accomplished with Thunderbird as a partner.

“This experience made me a better leader, and it helped me to shepherd our organization through a pretty traumatic transition this year.”