Wayne Dix, EMTM'08

Coming Back to Penn

Wayne studied civil engineering and architectural design as an undergraduate at Penn, then spent 10 years as a civil engineering consultant and project manager before transitioning into technology project management at Morgan Stanley. Eight years ago he was recruited to work at what was then called Equitable Life Insurance Company, and is now known as AXA Equitable. The company provides life insurance, annuities and other needs-based products for the financial service market. Today, as the leader of the Six Sigma group, Wayne oversees a team of 40 people deployed as an internal consulting organization. The team works to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the company's operations. "We analyze the business and work with executives, managers and employees at all levels to discover and implement improvements that have real business value."

Why EMTM?

Wayne's team currently works in almost every area of the company, from technology to operations, distribution, human resources, the law departments and more — "basically anywhere there's a process," he says. Though he's acquired two decades of experience in project management, he arrived at a point where he wanted a more formalized education that would be applicable to both the business and technology aspects of his job. As a large part of his work requires communicating and "selling" new ideas to management, he felt he needed to augment his marketing skills. "For an engineer like me, it's a skill that can be tough to appreciate as well as use."

During an initial search of programs, Wayne discovered EMTM and was sold immediately. "As far as I could tell there were no other programs of this caliber, and coming back to Penn for my master's degree was like coming home."

Career Impact

In his first term, Wayne found that his four courses were full of takeaways. Among the most helpful to him was Decision Models, where he learned linear programming techniques he can use to optimize a portion of the firm's product development process. "Other techniques from the course can be used to make decisions about our selection of IT project investments. Even a class in statistics, a subject that we regularly rely on for Six Sigma applications, was extremely useful. The program gives you confidence in what you already know while introducing you to new topics." Wayne has also acquired the marketing skills he was looking for. "Lessons like the 5 Cs and 4 Ps are interesting to think about as we try to position our team vis à vis our internal customers: the employees of the company. I have a better understanding of the overall context in which we are delivering our services."

Wayne appreciates EMTM's diversity of students and the ways in which each can bring their own wealth of experience to class. "I've offered to put together a panel this spring on the topic of project management. There's a real collaboration and community feel to the learning process, and I think it adds another dimension to the program."

As Wayne continues to build his team and his own career at AXA Equitable, he is certain that the EMTM degree will serve him well and ensure continued success. "If luck is when preparation meets opportunity, then this is the preparation — my work experience plus the EMTM program — and it's going to create even more opportunity."

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