Kelley MBA Yields Capital Return

We’ve all seen those Capital One commercials that ask commandingly, “What’s in Your Wallet?”   Well, one Kelley Direct graduate is playing a key role in getting that Capital One credit card in your back pocket.
 
Jelani Ellington, who received his MBA online from Kelley Direct in 2003, is now using his skills at Capital One, a Fortune 500 company. Working out of the company’s Business Management Office, Ellington is a manager in operation analysis. His responsibilities include leading a team in creating and re-engineering new processes and analyzing current operational issues and offering effective solutions. “A lot of what I do is work on our processes to increase the company’s efficiency,” says Ellington.
 
When asked how his life has changed since earning his Kelley degree, Ellington is quick to answer. “I am now in a management position at a top 10 bank and a top 100 world bank,” he says. “That is something that would not have been possible without the knowledge that I learned from Kelley. I use quite a few skills from the program and have been recognized for my analytical abilities. The Kelley curriculum is a comprehensive, holistic way to look at business issues.”

Top School, Ideal Program

Ellington decided to go back to earn his MBA in the first place while working at General Motors Corporation as a product development engineer. He started doing online research on MBA programs around the country, and Kelley caught his eye. “I went to the U.S. News & World Report Web site and pulled up the top-tier schools and began researching them,” he recalls.  “Upon arriving at the Kelley Web site, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a top-tier school had an online program. I was sold. I took the GMAT the next month, applied and was accepted to the university, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
 
Ellington found the online nature of the degree appealing. With his career humming along at GM, he loathed the idea of putting on the brakes and uprooting his life and career for two years. “Getting an MBA in a traditional setting has a large opportunity cost. You have to derail your career and earning potential to learn,” he says. “With the Kelley program, you do not have to give up your career and you can still earn your degree. You can attend class whenever and wherever you want—you are not locked into a certain geography or time and you don’t have to commute to go to school and study groups. One of the best things about Kelley’s online MBA is earning a degree from a top institution without disrupting your career.”
 
In Brief
 
Best thing about working at Capital One: “There are quite a few things that I like about my current job. Chief amongst these things is the flexibility. Capital One has what is called a ‘Future of Work’ arrangement, which gives me the ability to work remotely so I don’t always have to come into the office.”
 
Personal Motto: “There is a quote that I live by: ‘the more discipline I have, the more freedom I have.’  I invested the time and I am still reaping the rewards of my Kelley education.”
 
Most Useful Kelley Class: “This has to be Quantitative Analysis taught by Dr. Venkat. The course is very useful now because it’s currently what I do at Capital One. It also taught me how to maximize all the features of Excel.”