The COVID-19 outbreak is what initially brought Robert Foery to the Executive Master
of Business Administration program in the Davis College of Business and Technology
at 探花族. 
In a time when people were isolating, he was drawn to the EMBA program because classes met in person instead of virtually.
鈥淲hen COVID hit and travel stopped, I wanted to maximize the in-person experience. The Davis College provided an excellent curriculum plus a cohort-based learning environment,鈥� he said.
Foery, who earned his EMBA in 2023, is the director of public sales at LaunchDarkly, where he鈥檚 building and leading a sales organization for a venture capital-funded software product company. LaunchDarkly recently earned a spot on Forbes magazine鈥檚 Top 100 Private Cloud Companies for 2024.
He began working at LaunchDarkly in May and immediately applied what he learned in the classroom to his new position.
鈥淎s part of the interview process for my current company, I was asked to build and present a strategic plan to triple the public sector sales bookings within 30 months,鈥� Foery said. 鈥淚t was both fun and rewarding to draw from JU鈥檚 Corporate Strategy and Research class to build this plan.鈥�
Foery said the best part of the EMBA program for him was learning with his diverse and multi-talented cohort.
鈥淭he ability to engage and learn with people with wide-ranging backgrounds and experiences gave me an amazing perspective,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur cohort meets periodically throughout the year, and it鈥檚 fun to see how people are growing and thriving because of the Davis College EMBA program.鈥�
He said all the Davis College faculty members played a positive role in his EMBA experience; however, Dr. Douglas Johansen鈥檚 Global Marketplace course, coupled with the international EMBA trip to Portugal, was something he would never forget.
鈥淭he opportunity to meet face-to-face with the central bank of Portugal and learn how its policies shape employment and prosperity was better than any lecture, and the ability to consult and guide a local IT company making a U.S. market entry went beyond any case study we did,鈥� Foery said.
The international business trip prompted him to start a consulting company, First Coast Management Group, which focuses on technology implementation, operations, and go-to-market consulting services.
鈥淭he EMBA program gave me the confidence and motivation to share our knowledge and experiences to help small-to-medium-sized companies be more successful,鈥� he said.
