From dream to reality

Auburn Executive MBA helps alumnus Stuart Jackson achieve longtime career goal

Auburn alumnus Stuart Jackson (marketing, ’89, MBA, '25) built a successful career at Motorola Solutions over three decades, leading sales, marketing and technical product support teams for various enterprise communications products. Yet one career goal remained unfulfilled.

“I worked my way up the Motorola corporate ladder, but the one thing I'd never done in all those years was to work in an international region outside of North America,” said Jackson, who earned his bachelor’s degree in international business. “I had this thing tugging at me to take that next step.”

After looking into how to land an international position, he determined that an advanced degree was a must.

“I told myself that if I really want to take this goal seriously, I need to go ahead and make [an MBA degree] happen,” he said.

Recalling his undergraduate days, Jackson was quite familiar with the exceptional quality of a Harbert College of Business education.

“When I was here the first time, it was a great experience, but I didn't necessarily fully focus on the academic side,” said Jackson, who began the Auburn Executive MBA at the Harbert College of Business in August 2023. “I had this desire to come back—and I'll say it plainly–to prove myself academically.”

Jackson went all-in on the 21-month Executive MBA program while navigating a significant career transition within Motorola. As he progressed through the program, he pivoted from managing the sales of Motorola business radio products in Walmart stores to managing regional sales for Motorola’s new push-to-talk technology serving public safety and commercial enterprise customers in the U.S.  

The Auburn MBA advantage

The Auburn Executive MBA’s blend of distance learning with week-long on-campus residencies was a great fit, Jackson said, as he was able to develop meaningful relationships with both the Harbert faculty and 30 other members of his cohort—relationships that played a key role in earning the degree.

“The faculty made concerted efforts to get to know us,” Jackson said. “And you would talk things through and they would make [sure] the subject matter not only was relevant to your business or to your career…but they also cared whether you were enjoying the experience. There was an approach of we want you to be successful.”

Completing group projects and learning alongside the other MBA candidates was a major benefit for Jackson.

“Being able to interact with people who had the same goal and same challenges was extremely valuable,” he said. “When you’re going through a challenge, you need people you can talk with and relate to because they’re having the same shared experience. They know what it’s like to sit [at home] all weekend, studying and doing homework.”

The fact that Jackson’s cohort was at different stages of their careers and in different industries also enriched his educational experience because he learned how other executives handled various business challenges and would implement the new knowledge they were learning in the program.

A final benefit of the MBA experience, Jackson said, was the two-week international component, which included traveling with Harbert faculty and staff members to visit businesses in Santiago, Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and enjoying a recreational excursion to Patagonia.

Jackson noticed that the Auburn name carried great weight on the trip.

“There was this credibility with the trip that says when the MBA cohort visits a company for a presentation, there's gravity behind it,” Jackson said. “The Auburn brand is far broader than Alabama. It's far broader than the U.S. The Auburn brand is global. The whole trip and learning experience was just very well structured and very enjoyable.”

A dream realized

Not long after earning his MBA in May 2025, Jackson landed an international sales management position within Motorola Solutions, fulfilling his lifelong career dream of living and working abroad.

Would he have gotten the position without the MBA?

“No,” he said, pointing out that international positions with large companies are in high demand among job candidates and current employees.  “Many times, it comes down to your educational background and those other kinds of skills that you might bring with you to the interview.”

Later this month, he’s relocating to London, where he’ll manage sales of Motorola’s push-to-talk technology to prospective clients in Portugal, Spain and Italy and Western Europe

“I'll be working with our sales partners to help customers understand the technology, how it would be [useful] in their organizations…the ROI,” said Jackson.  “So, the role is important because I must not only help them understand what it means, but [I’ll explain] how it works and why it would be valuable to them.

Push-to-talk technology allows instant voice, text and data communication across entirely different devices, such as two-way radios, smartphones, tablets and PCs. The technology enables field workers, public safety officials and enterprises to seamlessly communicate with one another regardless of whether they’re on a cellular or radio frequency network.

Advice to prospective MBA students

“There’s no end date on learning,” said Jackson, who encourages prospective students to pursue their career goals regardless of age. “One of the hardest parts of the program is literally taking that first step. If you have a goal, it's never too late.”

“The international idea was put in my mind as an undergraduate at Auburn, but the reality hit when I had to get out there and compete in business through Motorola for these slots and it took a long time, but without the Auburn support, both as an undergraduate and really with the MBA, I would have never realized a lifelong career goal.”

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Learn more about MBA programs in the Harbert College of Business