“I came to Olin to supplement my creative background and to accelerate a career in marketing.”
Compared to traditional MBA students, Dilworth’s career path is more of an expressway. A fast lane for getting where she wants to go. About three months after she graduated from the University of Miami with a BS in communication, Dilworth entered Olin’s MBA program. She wanted to work in consumer packaged goods marketing. So why wait to move forward?
On her takeaways from the program
As an undergraduate, Dilworth majored in advertising and psychology, minored in marketing, and interned for advertising and public relations firms. The MBA program delivered a lot more than industry knowledge and tools.
“Critical thinking was my first takeaway. The program taught me how to reason from multiple perspectives, analyze information, and solve problems. In addition, I was grounded in finance and now understand the impact of a company’s P&L. Most important, though, I learned how to be an effective team leader and team player.
“A strong leader helps her team understand challenges and goals – and reaches out to members who aren’t aligned with group objectives. She knows when to course correct. And she knows that building a coalition is critical to the support and implementation of new ideas.”
Driving results at L'Oréal
Dilworth has made good on these strategies, and her efforts have created value for L'Oréal.
For example, she led the largest, U.S. hair care product launch in the past decade. In 2013, Women’s Wear Daily named L'Oréal’s Advanced Haircare “the launch of the year.” Dilworth and her team received the L’Oréal Paris award for their accomplishment.
Student involvement at the business school
During her two years in the MBA program, Dilworth was a student advisory board member for the Weston Career Center; vice president of programming for the Olin Marketing Association; and vice president of marketing and logistics for the Olin Emerging Leaders Association, which strengthens the job-search skills of younger MBAs with less professional experience.
Her favorite course
Dilworth says Negotiations was her favorite business-school course. “How do you think I got my apartment in New York City?”
Lynn Dilworth, MBA 2011
Career
Current: Director of Branded Products, Debmar-Mercury (division of Lionsgate), New York
Post-MBA: Marketing manager, L'Oréal Paris Haircare, New York
MBA Internship: L'Oréal, New York
Background
Education: BS, communication, University of Miami
Hometown: St. Louis
Experiential learning
Global Management Studies in Japan
Taylor Community Consulting projects for Saint Louis Zoo and Partners for Just Trade
Activities
Member, Weston Career Center student advisory board; vice president of programming, Olin Marketing Association; vice president of marketing and logistics, Olin Emerging Leaders Association
