For some, breaking into the tech industry follows a straightforward path. For Elliot Sheffield, such a move required persistence, adaptability, and a willingness to take chances.
After earning his bachelor's in communication at the University of Colorado Boulder, Sheffield set his sights on Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business. He felt drawn to the school’s metropolitan campus, diverse student population, and strong reputation.
"I knew I wanted to work in marketing and international business,” he said. “Earning my MBA was the logical next step.”
At the time, Robinson required a GRE or GMAT score as part of the application process. Sheffield studied diligently for the GRE, but despite his best efforts and two attempts, his scores weren’t great.
Rather than accept defeat, he took a different approach; he wrote a letter to the admissions team, making the case for why he deserved a spot in the program. That letter changed everything and landed Sheffield a seat.
"Robinson saw something in me and gave me a chance,” he said. “I really made the most of it.”
While earning his degree, Sheffield studied abroad at the Toulouse Business School in Barcelona, Spain. The experience equipped him with a deeper understanding of global markets and allowed him to collaborate with students from across Europe.
But his MBA experience wasn’t just about academics—he developed lifelong skills such as collaboration and critical thinking. Professor Likoebe Maruping’s information technology and management course was particularly influential. He explored the concept of network effects: the idea that platforms like Facebook become more valuable as more people use them. And through case studies, he strengthened his capacity to dissect problems, identify cause-and-effect relationships, and derive innovative solutions.
Throughout the program, Sheffield refined his ability to “peel back the layers,” which remains central to his work. Whether working on large-scale product launches or fine-tuning marketing strategies, he approaches every challenge with the mindset that the first, most obvious answer is rarely the right one.
Sheffield completed his MBA in 2015 and has held research positions at MailChimp as well as product marketing roles at software companies. He has served as lead senior product marketing manager at telecommunications company Lumen Technologies for just over a year, and applies the analytical skills he built at Robinson to drive innovation. Now, he is helping bring Lumen’s private connectivity fabric—a critical AI infrastructure for enterprises—to market.
“Seeing leading tech companies rely on our network to keep up with AI demands is a reminder of how vital this work is,” he said.