Stephanie Loud

Brigham Young University, Marriott School of Business

Age: 56

“Excelling in a non-traditional career-field for women, disciplined, tenacious, mother of 5, grandmother of 11.”

Hometown: Eden, Utah

Family Members: Mike Loud (spouse) Josh Loud, Desiree Ferrin, Zachery Loud, Kirsten Clayton, Drake Loud – My adult children

Fun fact about yourself: I love to run marathons with my daughters, sisters, and nieces.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Weber State University – BS in Technical Sales 3.96 GPA

Where are you currently working? West Precast and Construction – Founder and President

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:

Board of Directors for the National Precast Concrete Association, 3 years

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) expert task group member on concrete pavement, 3  years

Washington D.C. High school PTA president, 2 times

Interviewed by The Wall Street Journal for an article on lending after the recession.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school?  I appreciate how my peers care for each other. We, as a class, have donated to multiple causes which directly affected class members, including a classmate who lost a nephew to cancer and a classmate whose sister’s house burned down leaving them homeless.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? It was earning Utah’s Woman Owned Business of the Year in 2014. I appreciated this because my career of industrial construction and precast concrete manufacturing is very unique as  a woman-owned business. It was an honor to be recognized for being a maverick.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Cassie Budd and Monte Swain team taught Managerial Accounting. This was the most useful courses in my program for me personally. It was instantly applicable to so many things as a business executive. Some of the concepts were difficult to wrap my head around, but they went above and beyond to help anyone who requested some extra attention.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? I choose BYU because, my parents met at BYU and they both have BYU degrees.  My  husband attended BYU while I stayed home with a young child and all five of my children attended BYU. It was simply my turn.

What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? Managerial Accounting helped me see my business financial statements differently. We were already doing reviewed or audited financials, but this made me see my internal accounting in a new way. It helped me make the decision to close one of the divisions in my company and reallocate those resources elsewhere. This ended up being an excellent decision.

Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? My sister passed away during my MBA. I would never have chosen this time to be in school if I had known she was ill. However, I juggled some late nights of homework during the progression of her illness. She passed just after Christmas during semester break and I was able to be there with her (I thanked her for that). This was the most stressful part of my MBA.

What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? You’re never too old to learn. I couldn’t go to school earlier because I had kids and a military husband. However, I didn’t let go of my dream, and finally decided it was the right  time for me.

What is the biggest myth about going back to school? For me, everything about my MBA was practical to my business life. Being in school was everything I had hoped for, and the experience was exactly what I expected.

What was your biggest regret in business school? I have no regrets about being in business school. This has been a phenomenal experience for me.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire my classmate Claudia Brown, who had to drop out at the start of her second year due to COVID. She is a microbiologist whose company was busy creating a commercial COVID test. She was vital to that program and needed to take the year off.  It was a great sacrifice to her personally.

What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? I chose the executive program for the schedule and because I previously had so much business experience. I wanted a program that would spring board off of what I already knew. This was the right choice.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I want to be a serial entrepreneur. I learned years ago that I don’t just own a business. I  employ people, which means I employ families. I take that responsibility very seriously and want to create more businesses, to help more families.

What made Stephanie such an invaluable addition to the class of 2021?

“Stephanie is regarded by the class as the exemplar Executive MBA student as she contributed to all areas of the program. While her individual classroom performance is outstanding, she has earned the respect and admiration of all of her classmates due to her efforts on behalf of others. Stephanie was always positive and encouraging to others. One particular classmate felt very inadequate giving a presentation before the class but was able to overcome her fears because of Stephanie’s help and encouragement. Stephanie never withheld her help or kindness from others, even when she was dealing with her own personal challenges in her family.  Stephanie also provided a meaningful contribution to the Strategy Capstone projects by helping to find two businesses to participate in the class. Her classmates describe her as “mature, positive, encouraging, wise, and organized.”

Michael Drake
Glenn D. Ardis Professor of Accounting at the BYU Marriott School of Business

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