Growing up in Bend, Oregon, Neal Rusk moved to Salem to receive his undergraduate degree in economics and psychology at Willamette University. Post-grad, he dived into a career in finance, spending the next eight years working in portfolio management for a global wealth management company, doing everything from back-office operations to trading. In 2019, he got the chance to work abroad with his company and spent three years in Ireland and Luxembourg, where he was responsible for building a new portfolio management department for his firm’s European business. “It was an enriching growth opportunity for me to live abroad, but I felt a calling to return to school and pivot my career to something that brought me more personal meaning.”
After being in the workforce, Neal returned to Oregon to pursue his MBA at Portland State. He felt drawn to The School of Business’s MBA program because of its deep network in the Portland area and the values of responsible business leadership that are woven throughout the MBA curriculum. Portland State’s MBA program is truly unique, and it was exactly what Neal was looking for.
Business has been a passion for Neal for most of his life, and he always planned to earn an MBA. He considered pursuing it after his undergraduate studies, but felt compelled to get work experience before going back to school. “There are a lot of people and companies out there harnessing the systems of business to drive positive change, and I wanted to return to school to develop the tools needed to join that effort.” Going back to get my master’s wasn’t an easy task, but my wife supported my decision to become a full-time student again. Doing the program full time afforded me the time to dive fully into every class and really embrace the learning, and I couldn’t have done it without her support.
Neal found that grad school required a lot of dedication, and there was substantial learning that happened outside of the classroom. “This was a shift for me that took some getting used to, but it got easier with time and practice. I embraced the discomfort, treated every class as an opportunity for growth, and developed relationships with many of the professors I met.” The School of Business helped give Neal the resources to succeed in his studies through its welcoming atmosphere, supportive community, and professors that care deeply about values in business and educating the next generation of business leaders.
Throughout his MBA program, Neal learned about many different elements of running a business, covering everything from accounting to supply chain management. This broadened his perspective on what it means to be a business leader in today’s world, especially concerning a company's profitability and society’s insatiable focus on growth. Neal came to understand that effective leaders must consider the impact of their business operations on all stakeholders, including people and the environment. Neal says, “More businesses around the world are starting to move in the direction of stakeholder capitalism, and I plan to harness this holistic education to continue to advocate for that type of thinking. Business has tremendous power to solve some of our world’s most pressing problems if it can be leveraged in the right way.”
"The School of Business’s MBA program helped me prepare for my future by teaching a wide variety of skills and embedding everything within a systems-level perspective. The breadth and depth of knowledge we acquire throughout this program position us to step in and lead in all aspects of business. We’re taught to be analytical and get into the weeds, but then to zoom out and see the bigger picture. We’re taught how to lead in every step of a business’s value chain, but then to take that step back and understand how each step interacts with the environment around it."
Neal advises future students wanting to earn a degree in business to imagine what business can do for our society. Studying business uniquely positions you to help drive the change you want to see. It makes us better leaders, more responsible consumers, and more informed policy advocates. “Take the leap to study business, embrace everything you learn with a growth mindset, and look at everything through the lens of the problems you want to solve. Doing this will open many doors for you.”
Neal has already accepted a job at Nike working in the Finance Leadership Rotational Program, where he will spend two years in different finance leadership roles before settling down in a role. He says, “My goal coming out of the program is to leverage my finance leadership background to work on Nike’s sustainability initiatives.”