Leah Wetzel has worn many different hats throughout her career. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, she worked at Thomas Reuters as a Quality Assurance Analyst on the brokerage processing side of the business. During her time at Reuters, Leah was filling in responsibilities for a vacant business analyst position. She had to develop a lot of knowledge on the fly, but this experience ultimately sparked her interest in business. She made the decision to transition to the business analyst role.
In 2015, Leah decided to return to school and pursue an MBA in Operations and Technology Management at the Wisconsin School of Business. She was interested in a career in product management and wanted to further expand her skills in this area. One class that Leah found particularly useful in her future career as a Product Manager was Hart Posen’s Business Strategy Class. She found that the frameworks she learned in Hart’s class helped her better understand the competitive landscape surrounding products and brands. One area Leah wishes she had taken more classes in was how data analysis integrates with AI solutions. She feels that technology is headed in this direction and with her degree in Computer Science it would have been beneficial to build upon her foundational knowledge to further her understanding on this topic.
While at UW-Madison, Leah was heavily involved in the Wisconsin School of Business community. She served as the treasurer for the Graduate Business Association, was a member of the Graduate Women in Business Club, and was a Fellow in the Fellowship in Enterprise Development program for which she received a Certificate in Entrepreneurship. Through the Fellowship program, Leah was able to help develop her intrapreneurship skills by supporting her peers in developing their entrepreneurial ideas. She would later use these skill to influence change in her career at Intuit.
Leah graduated from UW-Madison in 2017 and received the 2017 Jerred Service Award, as well as being recognized as one of Poets & Quants 2017 “MBAs to Watch.” Post-graduation, Leah accepted a position as Product Manager at Intuit, where she interned the previous summer.
Leah’s time at UW-Madison and as a Fellowship student in the Weinert Center helped her achieve her career aspirations of becoming a Product Manager. When asked about what advice she has to give to current students, Leah said “Get comfortable being uncomfortable. The moment you find yourself comfortable in the role that you’re in, it might be a sign that you’ve stopped learning things and that you’re not being challenged.” On a lighter note, Leah also encourage students to “Eat all the cheese curds you can in the two years that you’re in the MBA program. They don’t exist everywhere and even if you do find them, they probably won’t be as good as the ones at The Old Fashioned.”
Throughout my conversation with Leah, it was clear that she is passionate about her career and is committed to embracing opportunities for continued learning and growth. Leah is extremely intelligent and I learned quite a few things from her, including where to find some of the best cheese curds in Madison.
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