Hali Hoyt
"I was able to take a wide range of courses within the School of Information, but also had the opportunity to take many classes outside of the program to really support my interdisciplinary career goals (and even personal goals)."
As an OM I am considered an entrepreneur in residence for IBM. I manage technology and service offerings across markets, clients and industries. I am responsible for every facet of the overall user experience and financial success of my product. As an OM I lead cross functional teams of design, engineering, sales, marketing, finance, and support to serve our users. I am passionate about solving problems with technology and IBM allows me to do just that. Specifically, I use AI and IOT to optimize large scale operations at an enterprise level.
In addition to my day job, I am also the Creative Director for Fully Free, an art collective that addresses critical identity issues through mixed-media storytelling. In this role I formulate project mission and vision, keep our team aligned, develop strategic partnerships, and engage the community to create community-informed works.
The interdisciplinary nature of the iSchool's MSIS program really prepared me to jump into a role like OM and be successful. I was able to take a wide range of courses within the School of Information, but also had the opportunity to take many classes outside of the program to really support my interdisciplinary career goals (and even personal goals). While I think student orgs are very important, I decided to focus more on networking within industry. I took leadership roles at Facebook, at local consulting firms, and within start-ups. This gave me a good idea of the culture of the tech sector and allowed me to build strong relationships within the field.
My advice for current iSchoolers: Understand your strengths and weaknesses. If you try to be the best in everything you will expend too much energy in places that don't serve you and your goals. I suggest to put your time and energy into the places and people that will give you the most value, boost your learnings, and help you achieve your professional goals. Match your professional goals to your strengths. Collaborate with people who value your strengths and who fill the gaps of your weaknesses. Please feel free to reach out on LinkedIn, I'm always happy to chat with current iSchool students!