Kenny Bierman, a 2015 full-time MBA graduate, works for PepsiCo as a senior category adviser for Walmart. Before Bierman began his journey in the MBA, he worked for more than eleven years for the U.S. Air Force. His journey towards his MBA was non-traditional, but the experience helped transform his career.
Bierman fell in love with the Air Force when he was a young boy. Growing up on the outskirts of a military base, he recalls watching the planes flying over his house, and hoping one day fly on those planes. This was a dream he sustained throughout high school and worked diligently to be awarded an Air Force ROTC scholarship to the University of Oklahoma for his undergraduate degree. After college, Bierman was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force and went to flight school.
Looking back at his time in the Air Force, Bierman speaks fondly of all the opportunities he was given and the skills he learned. “Not everyone gets the chance to live their childhood dream, but I was truly living mine. I had the opportunity to go to the United States Air Force Weapons School, which we consider the Ph.D. of flying your aircraft. This time in my life really helped me to develop my leadership style and how I approach situations with high stress. Our model is to be humble, credible and approachable.”
As Bierman ascended in rank, he was stationed across the globe in Iraq, Afghanistan, the horn of Africa and Japan. A fluke accident, as Bierman describes it, broke a bone in his lower back. Unknowingly, he flew with a broken back on some of his missions. The injury lead to a series of surgeries as doctors attempted to help keep Bierman healthy and able to fly. As the pain and back issues continued, he suspected that he would soon be deemed unfit for military service.
“Something I learned in weapons school is to always prepare for the unexpected,” Bierman said. “So, I started to work on my contingency plan, just in case my back surgery didn’t work out the way I was praying it would.”
He reached out to friends and family at home for advice. Bierman says it was difficult knowing what career he wanted to pursue. He grew up with aspirations to serve in the Air Force and hadn’t considered other careers. People recommended that he earn an MBA. Bierman began researching the Walton College.
In an incident Bierman describes as “divine intervention,” he was given permission to begin military retirement early and start his transition to civilian life the same day he received his letter of admission to the University of Arkansas.
Bierman said the support he received from the MBA program was crucial. “[My MBA] wasn’t just a continuation of my undergraduate degree,” Bierman said. “It was the first step in my career change, and a completely new education. So, I took my [courses] very seriously.”
Transition to a corporate setting from his time in the military took adjustment. Bierman had to become accustomed to “a whole new world.”
He was determined to learn as much as possible and was able to apply some of his military skills to the program. Kenny was a trained leader, and his involvement in the program gave him a chance to lead a different group of people with different skills and mentality than those he worked with in the Air Force.
Bierman was an active member of the MBA Student Advisory Board, the Graduate School’s Dean Advisory Board and joined the entrepreneurship program. He also mentored some of the younger students in his cohort, something that Bierman says taught him a lot about leading in business. “I think I learned more from them than what they may be learned from me,” he said. “I learned how to manage someone when there aren’t strict rules and regulations already in place like there are in the military. When I was a Major in the Air Force, there is a long chain of command, so I didn’t interact with the airmen much younger than I was because there were multiple levels between us. My time mentoring taught me how to manage someone who was 15 years younger.”
He also faced physical challenges in the program. A head injury at the beginning of the program presented an obstacle for Kenny, but his determination to learn persisted even while he was in pain.
Throughout, he continued to experience back pain from his injuries, which made standing for long periods of time difficult. Bierman said he had to learn to adjust his style when giving presentations and incorporating movement so he could finish his speeches.
Despite hardships, Bierman thrived in the Walton MBA program. Now leading a successful career in business, Kenny is fully transitioned into civilian life and is succeeding in his corporate position. Looking back at this transformative time, he describes the experience of obtaining his MBA as “amazing” and says he is always “looking for ways to give back to the university.”
