Kellogg-Schulich EMBA: Alumni Interview

Senior Vice President, Global Operations, Haggar Clothing Co., Dallas, Texas.

TopMBA.com talks to Nanditha Zuckerman about her EMBA experience at Kellog-Schulich and how it has impacted her career. 

For the Zuckerman family, Nanditha’s Kellogg-Schulich EMBA degree, earned in October 2011, has seen an impressive and varied return on investment.
By year’s end, Nanditha and her husband Shawn will move their four children to Dallas, Texas, as she begins her new job as Senior Vice President Global Operations at Haggar Clothing Co.

Her EMBA degree, which she completed during a hectic 18 months while working full-time as Chief Operating Officer of Haggar Canada, meant Nanditha, who had worked at the company for 13 years, had the necessary credentials in hand when the higher level job became available.

“Joining the Kellogg-Schulich EMBA program set me on a path for growth and new challenges.  I am excited about this next phase in my career with Haggar and am very passionate about this opportunity to continue building this dynamic brand”’ says Nanditha, who will oversee operations in Canada & the United States, as well as sourcing and quality control teams in Cambodia, Bangladesh, China and Vietnam.

The journey has been challenging for the whole family, says Nanditha, who gave birth to the couple’s third child, who is now 2½ , soon after starting the program in early 2010. When she graduated in October 2011, Nanditha was pregnant with their fourth child, who is now 9 months. Meanwhile, her job with the iconic clothing manufacturer required periodic travel to Asia & the United States.

“It was a real juggling act,” says Nanditha, who credits her husband’s strong support and willingness to pick up the slack on the home front throughout her busy studies. Although he has a job he loves, Shawn supports the family’s move and will take the first year off to help the family settle in, then may return to school himself. “It was a huge commitment for both of us,” Nanditha says. “It’s a fresh start for the whole family. It’s very exciting.”