On Thursday Penn State Behrend welcomed Mark Nachmen, region president of Sprint. This was his second time addressing the student body in a speech entitled “Moving Forward”. Students packed into the Burke auditorium to hear what Nachmen had to say, leaving many students standing in the back. Nachmen transitioned to Sprint from Verizon and has been working with Sprint for two years. Nachmen has been involved in the wireless industry for over 20 years and was recently appointed as one of Penn State Behrend’s Executives in Residence for the 2017-2018 academic year. He is in charge of approximately 130 stores and expects that to expand to 150 stores by the end of the year, putting him in charge of nearly 15,000 employees.

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In the first part of his lecture, Nachmen explained that part of his success has been in how he leads. Nachman believes employees should come first because an employee who feels indispensable works harder and is more loyal to the company. He also partakes in Moby Dick Management, which is a management style in which as the region president he visits stores all over without warning in order to keep them on their toes 24/7. Due to his strong links with Moby Dick Management he has chosen a whale to represent his region, he went into exciting detail on how he chose this animal and how it has carried through his work with his employees.  

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Nachmen started working with Mary Beth Pinto, P.h.D, professor of marketing, and her buyer behavior class last year to create projects that were presented to Sprint’s executive team. Nachmen has returned to Behrend and is eager to see what students will do this year now that a base for the course had been set up.  With his expectations high for the coming semester, Nachmen was ready to give advice to the students of Penn State Behrend to help them succeed in their future endeavors.

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He started out by asking the auditorium, “Who is the CEO of Sprint?” The auditorium was silent. He told students the first thing to do when going for a job is research, explaining that during an interview someone who couldn’t answer a simple question like that would be done right there and then. He expressed how knowing the basics of money and accounts can make any worker more effective.

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Another tip he gave students was to be extra careful not to burn any bridges. In his words, “this is a great small world we live in.” Find an internship, “Until you actually get out there and start doing it there is a disconnect...I think the content is applicable and valuable but until you get out there it's tough to generate that actual experience.”

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Nachmen didn’t only give out helpful tips to land jobs, but explained what to keep in mind when looking. He suggested finding a job that allows growth. He suggested finding a job that is enjoyable because people who enjoy what they do work harder. Don’t be afraid to put yourself in stressful situations be a risk taker, “creating a diamond, means you need a lot of pressure”. Once you get comfortable in your position keep in mind the best workers are collaborative, cooperative and competent. Above all never let yourself lie, cheat or steal.

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Nachmen commended Behrend on their, “world class education” stating he was “ really impressed with all the teachers here at penn state behrend”. He explained that he has returned to behrend for a second year because he had the direct connection with Dr. Pinto and he also stated, “I really get off on giving back. especially to people at this age where they are in their final years, where they’re about to take flight on their own. It’s really rewarding to get to speak to them and steer them a little bit before they take off.” He encourages students who have questions or are seeking advice to contact him on his Penn State email at mdn67@psu.edu.