USC Marshall School of Business

There are many career paths a person can follow after earning an MBA. Shawn Ellis is a 2005 MBA graduate who tailored his coursework to land him a position as international marketing manager for Apple Computer's iTunes division in Cupertino, California.

Mr. Ellis helps formulate and oversee marketing programs in international territories, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. It's a job that combines his love of music and technology, and puts him exactly where he wants to be professionally.

Before coming to USC Marshall, Mr. Ellis spent six years as a producer at a small entertainment production company in Tokyo, making music with Simon LeBon of Duran Duran. But he wanted to be at the forefront of the convergence of entertainment and technology, to be the one driving strategy and new initiatives. He also wanted to be part of a globally-oriented organization.

To get to the next level, Mr. Ellis decided to get an MBA. He chose USC Marshall over other MBA programs for its global emphasis and flexibility. "With USC Marshall, you can customize your classes -- you don't have to be locked into a curriculum that doesn't fit your aspirations," Mr. Ellis comments.

When it came time for job-hunting, Mr. Ellis found that USC Marshall's broad curriculum prepared him well for the requirements at Apple and for most other employers. "Apple, like many other large businesses, is a self-described cross-functional, matrix organization. You have to interact with finance and you have to interact with legal. Knowing that I had a wide spectrum of classes that taught me these cross-disciplinary skills was attractive to my boss, as it was to other prospective employers. That's what's needed today."