Moore School MBA alumna Vanecia Carr (’20 MBA) has used the skills and knowledge that she has acquired from the Professional MBA program to broaden her duties and responsibilities in her position at Domtar.

When Carr initially enrolled in the Professional MBA program, she was the director of customer and brand marketing for Domtar, a corporation that designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of communication, specialty and packaging papers and other products located in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Carr said she decided to pursue an MBA because she wanted to increase her business and financial acumen while increasing opportunities for additional responsibilities and advancement. When she came across the Moore School Professional MBA program, she said she believed that it was the right fit for her because of the program’s flexibility and reputation.

“I like the format of the program with the campus in Charlotte and the opportunity for virtual learning,” Carr said. “The Darla Moore School of Business is a reputable program and carries a lot of prestige within the state. I researched the professors, and I liked the level of experience that many of them had within the business world.”

After graduating in December 2020, Carr said that she is thankful that she decided to further her education at the Moore School because she has learned something new with each course she has taken.

“The entrepreneurship course that I took showed me how to take an idea for a new product or service and bring it to life within an organization,” she said. “The HR course that I took showed me how to approach different personnel issues and how to handle various global challenges within a firm. I have learned something from every course and have taken things that I have been able to relate to my position and company. I have also shared some of these things with my team to help our entire group perform at a higher level.”

Since enrolling in the Professional MBA program, Carr has gained additional responsibilities and was recently promoted to senior director of marketing and product management. Carr’s responsibilities in her new role as have expanded to include developing and executing all marketing, creative and product management strategies across the business. She will focus on maximizing sales and profitability through strategic marketing, business development and product roadmap strategies and tactics.

Carr said that she applies the skills that she gained from the Moore School in her new role on a daily basis. She said that during her time in the Professional MBA program, she enhanced her strategic-thinking skills, developed a broadened business perspective, improved her time management skills and found new ways to collaborate with teams.

“I have learned things that have enhanced the way that I approach situations at work,” she said. “I am thinking about our challenges and the potential solutions more strategically.”

In the future, Carr said she hopes to continue using her business skillset to acquire a greater leadership role that is more focused on strategic business strategy. She said that her goal is to one day be vice president of marketing and product management or vice president of business strategy.

-Claire McGrath