Amy Evans

Georgia Institute of Technology, Scheller College of Business, EMBA

“A passionate human resources executive who enjoys working with talented people and continuing to learn.”

Age: 45

Hometown: Roswell, Georgia

Family Members: Scott Evans – Husband, Colleen Evans (20), Junior at Miami University, Conner Evans (19), Freshman at University of Richmond

Fun fact about yourself: Hiked Machu Picchu (Inka Trail) in Peru.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Connecticut, BA Dual degree in English & Communications

Where are you currently working? NCR, Global University Relations Leader

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles: Hiking, Reading, High Tech Ministries Ambassador.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Our Capstone project; the collective insights and team work throughout. We quickly built a plan and aligned each team member within their strengths for great results.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? My part in the growth of Adjoined Consulting, now Cap Gemini, and lessons learned during the evolution of this company from a start-up to merging with larger firms. We were one of the few successes for Noro-Moseley during the 2007-2011 period.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Tim Halloran helped me find my passion in Marketing; the area I am now working in at NCR.

What was your favorite MBA course and what was the biggest insight you gained about business from it? Negotiations Class – this was an effective course, regardless of your profession. Also noteworthy was Alex Ottel’s Strategy and Innovation class. He kept us all accountable and led a compelling discussion on the cases we reviewed in class.

Why did you choose this executive MBA program? GTECH lives the brand. Georgia Tech’s intersection of global business and technology was the differentiator from other MBA programs in Atlanta, making it an easy decision. Having completed the degree, it has set me apart from my colleagues, to allow me to advance my career.

What did you enjoy most about business school in general? The diversity and intellect of both my classmates and the faculty who pushed me to achieve more throughout the program.

What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? A greater appreciation of the productivity and creativity of a diverse team; which has led to a stronger desire to embrace making NCR a more diverse company.

Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? The best story (which is only a testimony to my insanity) is the weekend that I had class and moved two kids into college, both 8 hours away in Ohio and Virginia. I drove 8 hours to Ohio on Thursday (truck and U-Haul trailer). My daughter and I unloaded everything and cleaned the home.  We finished early Friday morning allowing me to make the flight back to Atlanta in time for class Friday night. After classes on Saturday, I woke up at 4:30 am Sunday to drive the 8 hours to Richmond. After settling my son in to his new dorm room and attending a brief orientation, we drove back to Atlanta.

What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? I would encourage someone who wants to broaden their skills and who is willing to put in the additional work both in school and in their profession to get an MBA. I believe the degree puts you on a new path. However, the passion, dedication and results must to be there for career advancement.

What is the biggest myth about going back to school? I don’t know of a myth. I thought everyone would be a dedicated and determined student, most were, but the fact that not all chose to gain the most out of the classroom teaching was a surprise.  You get out of a program what you put into one…and that is an individual choice.

What was your biggest regret in business school? That I didn’t do it sooner.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Hans Delly comes to mind. He is balanced, professional and gives back to his Haitian community, in addition to the impressive consulting career he accomplished prior to the MBA. I know he is a strong advocate for his wife to get her MBA as well.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…I gained an appreciation for business after working at several start-ups and being part of various levels of the business maturity curve.”

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…in the same role I have been in for many years.  Instead of a new role that allows me to learn and be challenged.” 

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? PhD in Organizational Management or Organization Behavior to teach at the college level or consult to a broad set of technology oriented companies.

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? Someone who treats everyone fairly and engages with people at all levels.

Favorite book: To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

Favorite movie or television show: Criminal Minds

What are the top two items on your bucket list? Travel – visit all 7 continents and run a marathon… or maybe half a marathon.

What made Amy such an invaluable addition to the class of 2018?

“In addition to being a strong academic student in the Scheller College Executive MBA program, Amy Evans was extremely collaborative and supportive of her classmates and continues to be an active leader in EMBA Alumni and lifelong learning events at Scheller College. As a Talent Acquisition leader for NCR, Amy provided her classmates with insights about the recruiting process as well as career advancement opportunities in the rapidly evolving FinTech space that NCR occupies. Around the time of graduation with her increased business knowledge from our program, Amy leveraged her passion for working with academic institutions into an entirely new role for herself at NCR. In this newly-created leadership position, she not only works in a recruiting function with universities, but she has also taken on a much broader role as a liaison between NCR and the academic community.

Amy has been instrumental in setting up this year’s Executive MBA Global Strategy Project capstone with her company and our College, and has been actively involved in aligning a number of other NCR strategic initiatives to Georgia Tech project-based MBA courses. It is this commitment to learning and inspiring others that sets Amy apart. Amy always gives 110% and is never stops with new ideas and innovations in her work. I am pleased to nominate her as EMBA student of the year on behalf of Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business.”

Dean Maryam Alavi

Stephen P. Zelnek, Jr. Chair

Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business

“Amy is an emerging leader here at NCR. As a result of her executive MBA along with her personal drive and work ethic, she has made a tremendous positive impact on our culture via her growing the university relations function. She puts in countless hours both inside and outside of normal work hours, to foster deeper relationships with the University system here in Georgia. I have personally witnessed her extra efforts with nonprofits (YearUp & PowerMyLearning), and the many Georgia Tech faculty-to-NCR executive relationships. Her previous role as executive recruiter for NCR also yielded many top notch external hires in the Sr. Director to VP/SVP job classifications. She is a “winner” in all endeavors and has my strongest endorsement.”

Bill VanCuren

SVP & CI

NCR

“The things I valued about Amy as a student…

• Amy is the consummate “giver.” She was always looking for ways to bring things to people – whether it was a classmate, another student, staff, or even a professor.
• Amy was a great asset in my class as she leveraged all of professional and personal experience to lead and contextualize our class discussions on various topics.
• Amy has had an impact all over campus and has been a tremendous citizen of the Scheller College brand.
• She brought great energy and enthusiasm to the classroom around her.
• Amy is a leader – in her field of human resources, in the classroom and beyond. Specific to hr, Amy identified the leadership potential in the people around her, and helped them identify an upward trajectory in their careers.”

Karthik Ramachandran

Associate Professor of Operations Management

Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business

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