Ohio State Grad Noah Wheeler Represents 3 Generations of MBAs from Fisher
When Noah Wheeler received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at The Ohio State University’s May 5 spring commencement, he was walking in his grandfather and father’s footsteps. Wheeler’s family represents three generations of MBAs earned at Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business.
For Wheeler’s graduation, his grandfather, Ken Coleman, and father, Chris Wheeler, returned to their alma mater to celebrate Noah’s accomplishments and reflect on their own.
After earning his bachelor’s in industrial management in 1965 and his MBA in 1972 from Ohio State, Coleman went on to become a pioneer in the technology industry. He has been instrumental in many successful startups and technology firms, having served as chief operating officer of Silicon Graphics and chairman of Saama Technologies.
Coleman is currently chairman of EIS Group, which provides automated claims processing solutions for the insurance industry. He is also an adviser to venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Coleman’s accomplishments are especially noteworthy, as he is one of the leading African Americans in the field. He said the business principles he learned while earning his MBA have been key to his success.
“When I give a talk or a speech or something … I talk about what, especially, the MBA did for me: It taught me how to problem-solve in a situation where you don’t have all the information,” he said. “And No. 2, it taught me how to better communicate and present your idea, your issue, so you’re a better communicator.”
Coleman has maintained ties to Ohio State, serving on Fisher’s Dean’s Advisory Council. He has also hosted Ohio State students in Silicon Valley for company visits and networking.
Noah Wheeler said his grandfather and father’s professional success partly influenced his decision to earn his MBA from Fisher. Noah, who was born in Columbus and raised in upstate New York, holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Capital University.
By observing his forebears’ careers, Noah learned “what an MBA allows you to do, especially as someone in the minority community, in terms of the doors it opens and your ability to have the qualifications,” he said. “You don’t want to be excluded in an interview process or even just being considered for something. You want to give people as many checkmarks as possible.”
Chris Wheeler earned his MBA in 1994. He is vice president of alliances and channel at Board, an international technology company that provides planning, reporting and analytics services to businesses.
Chris also said his parents, who are both Ohio State alumni, partly inspired his decision to earn his MBA from Fisher. Chris is a Columbus native who, like his son, completed his undergraduate degree at Capital University and holds a bachelor’s in accounting.
“Ohio State was always the big school that everyone thought about,” Chris said. “After undergrad, I went into public accounting and then when I decided to go back to graduate school to change the trajectory of my career because I no longer wanted to be in accounting, I fell in love with technology, which was because of my father. I then chose to go to Ohio State.”
Chris added that David E. Harrison, senior director of Fisher’s Diversity and Inclusion Services office, was also influential in choosing Ohio State.
Connecting with Harrison and his team “was the great one of the greatest experiences that I’d ever had in my life,” Wheeler said.
Like his father, Noah said he will draw on his experiences at Fisher as he embarks on his career. Noah plans to use his MBA in the customer success field, which helps clients get the most from a company’s products and services.
“Fisher’s decision to keep the MBA class small, I think, is a real strength. I know everybody in the class, everybody knows me, and I think it creates a sense of community that makes learning and growing very connected,” Noah said. “The class size was a really impactful experience overall, especially learning from other professionals and people with different backgrounds.”
Coleman said the advice he offers to young people like his grandson who are just starting their careers is to find a line of work that will spark their interest and make the best use of their skills.
“If you end up in a career and a job that’s something you’re passionate about, it doesn’t feel like work,” he said. “The only thing you can really control is how hard you work, so work hard. Make sure no matter what happens, nobody can out-work you because you’re so focused on effort.”
Coleman also advises not to underestimate the value of networking.
“Build your network, nurture that network, feed that network,” he said, “because you never know when a contact that you had years ago will matter in the future.”