From the Tepper School to Industry Trailblazer

Story by Danielle Braff
Photography by Michael Will

When Melissa Marshall (MBA 2006) arrived at the Tepper School of Business 21 years ago, she was searching for an MBA program that valued rigorous analysis over soft skills and embraced collaboration over competition.

Now, as vice president of Commercial Strategy and Optimization at Westinghouse Electric Company, Marshall credits the Tepper School’s distinctive approach with shaping the leader she is today and inspiring her to give back to the school that set her on her path. “The Tepper School is not one of those cutthroat schools where people step on each other to get ahead,” Marshall said, speaking from her home office in Nashville. “The class felt like a family: We’re in this together.”

Productive Collaboration

At Westinghouse, Marshall is recasting the internal audit team as a strategic business partner, where employees take the same approach to solving business problems collaboratively. A graduate of Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, Marshall confessed that she does not always have the best business ideas. She might have a good idea, but she said the magic happens when working with others to produce something even better than she could have alone.

“The professors always encouraged us to do group work,” Marshall said. “You need to figure out how to work with different people.” The favorite part of her job at Westinghouse is solving problems and building teams by finding people whose skills complement her own.

She honed her problem-solving skills in classes that were not necessarily pivotal for her future aspirations. Still, she recognized that broad knowledge is an asset. Then, she said, when working on business problems in the real world, she felt confident because while she might not be the expert, she knew enough to ask the right questions.

In school, she said, it is key to experiment with different ideas and solutions because there are no real-world consequences. A student can make mistakes and learn from them, then later execute and deliver on objectives with confidence in the professional world.

The Finance Leadership Development Program

Marshall’s experience helped her prepare for the unexpected. In 2020, she and a colleague created the Finance Leadership Development Program (FLDP) at Westinghouse. Marshall had previously worked as an auditor for Alcoa, where she observed that the most successful employees had all completed a similar program. This led her to develop the FLDP to help new hires at Westinghouse build leadership and financial skills.

This was not something Marshall had ever dreamed of conceiving at Westinghouse, but she realized it was a great way to learn about the company and the different functions of finance, and to help others develop skills in this area. She had this role for about four years before moving to her current position. “I imagine this is what it’s like to be a teacher when you see your students being successful,” she said.

Giving Back to the Tepper School Family

Marshall’s collaborative mindset found a natural home at the Tepper School. She feels a deep, family-like connection to the institution, which she credits to the students’ constant drive to find new and better ways of doing things. This shared passion for innovation has inspired her to support several Tepper School funds and initiatives over the years, and she continues to give back to her alma mater.”

For Marshall, lessons from the Tepper School are a blueprint for helping others and to keep learning herself.