Why Owen for Engineers? Meet David Johnson.

Name: David Johnson

Graduation Year: 2010

Track: Executive Edge

Company: Nissan North America

Title: Vice President, New Model Production Engineering and Quality

David Johnson is a 2010 alumnus of the Vanderbilt Executive MBA program. An engineer by trade, David has devoted a large portion of his career to leading and streamlining operations at Nissan. After earning his EMBA at Vanderbilt in 2010, his career skyrocketed – he was promoted 4 times and also transferred to the United Kingdom for 4 years to take on a leadership position in the European Production Engineering Division. His extensive background in several different divisions at Nissan paired with his learnings from the EMBA program have given him the confidence to lead in his current role as Vice President in Production Engineering and New Model Quality. He credits the EMBA program with giving him perspective on work-life balance.

What convinced you that you could or should the Vanderbilt Executive MBA program?

The quality of the professors and the students. In the Executive MBA program, you learn as much from your fellow students as you do from faculty.

What was the greatest hurdle you overcame to start or finish the program?

Work-life balance. During the program, I was also building a new house and my daughter was born between Year 1 and 2. It was a busy but great time!

What advice would you give to someone considering Vanderbilt’s Executive MBA program?

Be ready to work and ensure all your free time is quality time with your family and/or friends. It’s a huge commitment, but a very rewarding one.

How has your career been enhanced as a result of your Vanderbilt Executive MBA Experience?

My career has grown more than I could have expected since graduation. To become the Vice President of the largest Product Engineering region in my company has been a great honor and is a testament to the preparation the Vanderbilt EMBA program provides.