Michele Lillard
University of Georgia, Terry College of Business
Age: 38
“Direct, thoughtful, and all-in. I bring clarity to complexity and help teams move forward together.”
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia
Family Members: My husband Clay and our three young children, Zoey, Lucy, and Luke. Life is full, fast, and never boring.
Fun fact about yourself: I’ve always been fascinated by the Titanic and its lore, from the ship and history itself to the “could they both fit on the door” debate.
Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Georgia, B.B.A. in Management, 2010. Savannah College of Art and Design, M.A. in Design, 2015.
Where are you currently working? I lead system digital acceleration for North America at The Coca-Cola Company.
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles: Staying connected to the UGA alumni community, sharing perspective and building relationships with students, professors and fellow alumni. I also started a cross-functional digital leadership community at Coke to bring people together to solve problems and share perspectives, while mentoring peers and emerging leaders.
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? It was having a baby while completing the program and stepping into a new role at work required a level of focus and intentionality I had not needed before. I am most proud of how I showed up across each area, being present and delivering where it mattered most.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I am most proud of the role I play in defining and driving how we design our digital future for customers and across our North America system. It is hard, complex work with no clear playbook. We are figuring it out in real time, bringing the system together to rethink how we sell, serve, and operate in a more connected way. I have worked end-to-end, from setting direction to driving how it comes to life, creating alignment and forward momentum across the system. I am proud of what we are delivering. Our work will help set the foundation for the next phase of growth.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? I chose the program because of my prior connection to Terry and the caliber of the experience. As a graduate, I already had a deep respect for the school, and my work with the Executive Education program reinforced it through the quality of the faculty and content. It drew me back to the classroom and made the decision to return for my Executive MBA a natural one. Becoming a Double Dawg is something I was genuinely proud to pursue.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? Jerry Kane, IT Strategy. He had a unique ability to spark curiosity and engage the class in exploring ambiguous topics like AI in a way that meets each person where they are. Instead of giving answers, he pushed us to experiment, form our own perspectives, and report back, often turning questions into opportunities to go deeper. His approach reinforced that many of the most important questions do not have clear answers. What matters is building the muscle to navigate uncertainty with confidence. That mindset has stayed with me beyond the classroom. He brought both expertise and levity to the experience, making it practical, thought-provoking, and genuinely impactful.
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? I came into the program expecting to build deeper domain expertise across each subject. While I did that, the bigger lesson was that leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about quickly understanding a space, asking meaningful questions, and gaining clarity so that the next steps become clear. I apply this every day in my work. In complex, system-level environments, the value is not in being the expert in every domain, but in bringing people together, asking sharper questions, and helping teams move forward with speed and confidence.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? During the program, I had a baby in month four and was promoted three months later. I structured my time around what mattered most: early mornings, reading on the go, and Saturday coffee shop sessions during ballet. I also learned to let go of over-preparing and trust I could get up to speed quickly. I could not have done it without my village. My husband took on more at home; my family stepped in on class weekends; and my teammates at work and in the program carried me through with both support and a lot of levity.
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? If the idea is pulling at you, trust it and go all in. There will always be reasons why the timing does not feel perfect or why it seems hard. What I found is that life has a way of making space for what matters. You gain far more than you expect in how you think and lead, along with the relationships that stay with you long after the program.
What was your biggest regret in business school? I wish I had spent more time outside of the classroom getting to know my classmates on a more personal level. Early in the program, I was quick to move from class to everything else in life. Looking back, I wish I had stayed after a little longer and got to know the people in the program beyond the classroom. I made up for it in the second half, but it made me appreciate how meaningful and rare that time together really was.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? AI was encouraged across many classes and required in some as part of how we approached learning. The program pushed us to engage with it directly rather than treat it as optional. I used AI as a thought partner throughout the program. It helped me refine my thinking, challenge assumptions, and translate complex ideas into clear, sharp communication. I would use it to pressure test ideas, iterate on how I framed problems, and strengthen how I articulated recommendations. The biggest insight was that AI does not replace thinking, it elevates it. The quality of the output is directly tied to the clarity of your questions and the rigor of your thinking.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? I chose an executive MBA for the level of commitment and the caliber of the cohort. The structure required full engagement, and learning alongside experienced professionals made the content immediately relevant and applicable.
How did you finance your EMBA and what did you do to make tuition and associated costs more affordable? I financed my EMBA through a combination of personal savings and my company’s tuition reimbursement program, which made the investment more manageable and accessible.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? As the world changes, so do expectations and the problems to solve. I want to be at the front of that, making sense of what it means, simplifying complexity, and helping people navigate what comes next. That is the kind of work I want to continue leading at scale over the long term.
Recommendation:
“I am delighted to nominate Michele Lillard, a member of the University of Georgia’s EMBA Class of 2026. Throughout her MBA journey, she has consistently distinguished herself as both an exceptional leader and a deeply collaborative teammate. She embodies the true spirit of the MBA experience — balancing the demands of a rigorous academic program alongside a growing family and a successful, evolving career, all while remaining fully engaged and impactful within the cohort.
From the outset, this Double Dawg earned the respect and admiration of her classmates, who recognized her as the MVP on any team. Whether navigating complex case discussions or leading group deliverables, she consistently brings structure, insight, and a calm, solutions-oriented mindset that strengthens every team she is a part.
One of her most notable contributions to the program was her initiative to design and lead a unique experiential learning opportunity for her class: a business visit to The Coca-Cola Company. This was far more than a business visit — it was a carefully curated leadership experience. She coordinated a series of high-impact conversations, including sessions on ‘Setting the Stage with MBA Leadership,’ ‘Standing Out with an MBA,’ and an ‘Executive Career Panel’ that featured candid, insightful discussions with senior leaders.
Her forward-looking mindset, intellectual rigor, and commitment to both personal and professional growth make her an outstanding representative of the caliber of students in our MBA community. It is both a pleasure and an honor to nominate Michele for this prestigious recognition.”
Susan Brown
Director of the University of Georgia Terry College of Business Executive, Professional, and Online MBA Programs
DON’T MISS: BEST & BRIGHTEST EXECUTIVE MBAS: CLASS OF 2026
© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.
