by By Katelyn Powell
After three intense quarters of gameplay in the Enterprise Challenge simulation of The 12-Week MBA, Paige Montemayor, CEO of the fictitious company Nanotel, faced a pivotal decision: Acquire a smaller technology company or pass on the fleeting opportunity.
Paige called a team meeting with the other students—whose roles in the game ranged from Chief Operations Officer to Head of Research and Development. Together, the Nanotel team thoroughly discussed the potential acquisition’s risks and rewards within the simulation.
After considering diverse perspectives, Paige proposed a team vote and ultimately decided to decline the acquisition. Her approach preserved Nanotel’s financial stability and earned her high praise from her peers, who admired her inclusive decision-making and confident leadership.
Early Career
Paige always knew she wanted to work in business, but like many recent graduates, she wasn’t sure which path to take. With a strong focus on business, she pragmatically began her career in HR, starting in payroll. However, it quickly became clear that payroll alone wasn’t her calling. She wanted to explore additional Human Resources functions.
Paige reached out to her college network and heard about an incredible opportunity. Her friend had been recently promoted to Human Resources Business Partner and needed someone to backfill her previous role. This was a turning point for Paige, who accepted the role and began envisioning herself as an HR Business Partner as well.
As someone who believes she “can accomplish anything with hard work,” she doubled down to prove herself in the industry. No stranger to a challenge, she recounts one memorable experience during Hurricane Harvey, when she single-handedly ran Goodyear Tire’s entire payroll during a 14-hour marathon.
From doing payroll in The Woodlands, to coordinating HR at an oil and gas company in Houston, she finally landed in Dallas to work at Ryan, a tax services firm. And after five years in the industry, she accomplished her goal of becoming a Human Resources Business Partner.
The 12-Week MBA
“While I was at Ryan, I was introduced to The 12-Week MBA program,” she said. “Of course, I wanted to do it! It was a great way to get some people management experience because I’d been an individual contributor mentoring others for so long.”
Paige had two learning goals when she enrolled in The 12-Week MBA:
- Become more comfortable reading financial statements
- Learn effective strategies for managing people
The 12-Week MBA utilizes hands-on learning to teach critical business skills. The course covers people management, finance, business acumen, executive-level influence, and more, immersing students in simulation “games” to provide opportunities to practice without consequences.
“The Business Challenge simulation was such an eye-opener for me,” Paige said. “I didn’t think I would be great with the numbers. But I learned that having a general understanding of the finance topics was really what I needed to communicate effectively with my business partners.”
Paige also learned a lot from her peers. In Management Challenge, she worked with students from all over the world to coach a team of diverse AI-enabled employees.
She said, “The other students in the class really showed me there are many ways to achieve success and that respecting different approaches is crucial. I feel way more qualified to manage people now.”
The 12-Week MBA culminated in Enterprise Challenge, where Paige was assigned the role of CEO of Nanotel. During this simulation, all the business concepts and skills really came together for her.
“Being CEO during that simulation was stressful, but it was awesome to get validation from everyone that I was doing a good job,” she said. “It was also fun working together and dominating the market within the game. It taught me a lot about cross-collaboration and leadership.”
By creating space for others to share their opinions and leading by example, Paige was able to refine her leadership skills within the simulation and hopes to apply them to her real-life challenges as well.
Looking Ahead
Now a seasoned HR Business Partner, Paige is focused on consistency and making a meaningful impact. While she’s content with her current role, she looks forward to future opportunities in people management and mentoring—two skills she honed during The 12-week MBA.
If you’d like to try out Enterprise Challenge and test your own skills as a CEO, sign up now for The 12-Week MBA. We’re also happy to explore ways to bring The 12-Week MBA to your company. Click here to speak with an enterprise expert.
