Emily Beeson describes herself as shy but says she’s “Intrinsically motivated to push through that to navigate social situations,” adding, “Practice makes perfect. I’ve always liked to try new things.”
As a child, she attended school six days a week—an American school Monday through Friday and a Japanese school on Saturdays.
“When I was a kid, I would periodically max out the number of books I borrowed,” Beeson says.
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DOWNLOAD NOWShe excelled in American school, being admitted into a “gifted” program in the fifth grade and taking advanced placement (AP) courses in high school. The same wasn’t true for her Japanese school experience; she struggled and was disappointed with her grades. Her mom had emigrated from Japan and was a teacher at the school, so Beeson could turn to her for help.
“It was difficult emotionally to be really good and really bad at school simultaneously—both from intellectual and identity standpoints,” Beeson says. “This is probably why I had imposter syndrome for a long time. On the flip side, it helped me develop the skills of understanding a person's motivations, thinking, and decision-making styles and assessing what someone does or doesn’t know. I had to self-reflect a lot on these topics to keep going at both schools.”
Besides school, she loved arts and crafts, ice skating, and gymnastics. As a teenager, she held various jobs, including in retail and as a golf caddy. As an only child with teacher parents, they coached and gave her ideas about her future, and she began her meandering path.
“In high school, I wanted to be a journalist,” Beeson says. “I wrote for the school and local newspaper. But my job as a caddy piqued my interest in business. I interacted with a lot of businesspeople and learned how to manage stressful situations because some golf outings were casual, but others were higher stakes and high stress.”
She adds, “Writing for the school and local paper helped develop my confidence and knowledge. I had to do so much research, fact-checking, and interviewing. It brought me out of my comfort zone and provided a way to naturally connect with people of various backgrounds, jobs, and ages.”
Beeson attended Indiana University and majored in marketing with minors in Japanese and psychology. She stayed busy. To help finance her education, she became a resident assistant and worked for a nonprofit called Books & Beyond to provide educational content to schools in Rwanda, Africa.
“I had many different roles at the nonprofit,” Beeson says. “I wanted to apply my skills to something impactful, and education would stick with them for their entire lives.”
She graduated a semester early and, within three weeks of commencement, moved three times: from Indiana, home to Chicago, and then to Atlanta for a job at Delta Airlines. She worked in revenue management—specifically pricing, product strategy, and inventory—and became involved in the beginning of airline fare classification, including the launch of Delta’s Basic Economy. The experience taught her how to understand varying opinions even when she fundamentally disagreed and how to be resilient.
After four years in revenue management, Beeson decided to make a change. One of her college friends worked at one of the largest financial institutions in the U.S. and referred her for a role in business management. She was drawn to commercial banking because air travel was for a wealthier population, but banking was something everyone needed. She was offered a job in New York City, where she'd wanted to live since she was a child, but chose to start in the Chicago office for financial reasons.
“I got a great foundation in banking and learned more about finance and how banks worked in the U.S. and around the world," Beeson says. "I was really interested in the macroeconomics of it. After a few years in a small Chicago apartment, I got a new role in project management in New York City. I was ready to go to New York. It was a big deal for me—professionally and personally.”
She spent four years at the bank, honing her management and leadership skills. She taught others and pitched process improvement concepts to leadership. Eventually, she led a major change management initiative and was promoted to a senior product management role.
“It was my first experience with product management and financial technology, yet it wasn’t as big a leap as it sounds,” Beeson says. “I was able to come up with new solutions and to problem-solve. I liked learning about different concepts and how people and roles connect. But, after four years, I wanted a more technical role, so I started applying elsewhere.”
Beeson currently works at Mastercard as a faster payments strategy manager. She likes being in finance, banking, and technology, applying her learnings from her experience in the financial services world to generate impactful work for her clients.
While working full-time, Beeson managed to take courses at Harvard Business School Online. She earned a Certificate of Specialization in Leadership and Management by completing three courses within 18 months: Leadership Principles, Management Essentials, and Strategy Execution.
“A master’s degree didn’t make sense for me, but I wanted to take courses I could apply immediately to my job,” Beeson says. “I loved the HBS Online case studies, particularly adidas and NASA, and how the courses were broken into modules. It made the content easy to understand. Strategy Execution, in particular, helped me understand how to better bring a concept to life and navigate surprises because they always happen.”
In addition to continuing her education, Beeson loves history, traveling, and learning about other cultures. She’s visited 10 countries in the past 10 years. Her favorite was Greece, followed by Japan and England. She hopes to see more of the U.S. and visit India and Australia next.
Beeson is constantly upskilling and expects that will never stop. She’s earned finance certificates from two other Ivy League schools, has mentored others through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta, and currently mentors at Indiana University’s Center of Excellence for Women & Technology.
“Over time, with more experience, self-reflection, and education, I got over my self-doubt and imposter syndrome,” Beeson says. “I value continuous learning, which drives me to be an avid reader and take online courses, such as at HBS Online.”
If you’d like to acquire new skills to help bolster your self-confidence and broaden your business expertise, explore HBS Online’s course catalog, including our leadership and management courses. Not sure which program is right for you? Download our free flowchart.
