Where are they now? - Diane Flamm

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Diane Flamm, Online MBA – Enterprise Business Development, Zoom

After attending Dr. Ingrid Martin’s MBA information session in 2018, I decided the Online MBA program was right for me. I was accepted into the program for Fall 2019, and I was in the first OMBA cohort at CSULB. The OMBA allowed me to work full time and complete an accelerated MBA in less than two years. I also lived in Orange County, and did not have to commute to campus but instead hop on Zoom in the evenings for my classes and group meetings. When Covid hit in 2020, my cohort was set up for success because we were already using Zoom, and prepared for the synchronous and asynchronous format of learning. 

I studied business and finance in my undergraduate degree at Norther Arizona University. The MBA from CSULB helped me learn about all the areas of business from an executive strategic perspective. Also, in my favorite course taught by Dr. Richard Okumoto, I had to work with my group to create a startup business plan from scratch. It taught me how to strategically create a new business idea, the funding required, and how to be successful with growing the company. Ultimately, the program helped me overcome professional public speaking, and transformed me into a confident businesswoman.

In the last months of class I was interviewing for new roles that utilized my MBA and work experience. I had been working in cybersecurity business development and wanted to continue to grow in the technology industry. In one of my finance courses during the OMBA, I analyzed Zoom’s stock and learned more about the company. I ultimately was inspired to work there after using Zoom for two years and learning about how wonderful the company culture is there. In March 2021, after graduating from my MBA, I immediately started at Zoom in enterprise business development. In my role, I manage the largest Tech and Retail companies in Global 2000, and help market and upsell Zoom into their communications product suite. I have to do a lot of research on the companies I work with and my MBA certainly gave me the skills to do this.