UVA Darden Exec MBA Alumna Learns to Lead from ‘Crucible Moments’

University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumna Lynnette Crowder (EMBA ’10) decided early in her career to follow her curiosity and run toward challenges.

Crowder recently shared her story on Darden’s Alumni Spotlight, detailing how her Executive MBA experience helped her successfully pivot her career when the Great Recession hit and her then-employer GM declared bankruptcy.

She was in sales and enrolled in Darden’s Executive MBA when, midway through the program, the global financial crisis hit and GM declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At Darden, she found a place to pause and assess her next step. After graduating, she joined the general manager development program at MeadWestvaco to gain a high-level view of the business before choosing a specific path.

At a mentor’s urging, she moved into HR. She was leading HR for a large division in late 2019 when US Silica recruited her to be senior vice president and chief human resources officer.

“Years ago, HR was the personnel department. They figured out benefits, answered questions. It was very transactional,” she says. “But in the last decade or so, that’s really transformed. For a lot of business leaders, there has been this realization that achieving a business strategy is so dependent on the talent and organizational capability that you have.”

Within six months of starting the job, Crowder was overseeing layoffs forced by a downturn in the oil and gas sector, and then the pandemic hit. The experience proved to be one of her biggest tests yet.

“I call it one of those crucible moments that can really crystallize a team. Being in a new role in the C-suite, facing the challenges of the time, was one of those,” Crowder says. “Though it’s been really tough, it’s also been really valuable.”

Read the full profile on Darden’s Alumni Spotlight.