Back Home Again: Alumnus David Thomas Returns for MBA

By Karen Doss Bowman

A seasoned sales professional with nearly 30 years of experience, David Thomas, formerly the class of 1988, understands that educational credentials matter. This past fall, he returned to JMU and began in the inaugural class of JMU’s Executive Leadership MBA (ELMBA) program. He hopes his return to the university will enhance his management skills and position him to be a more competitive candidate for C-Suite positions within his company.

“My successful professional sales career in a globally competitive marketplace has put me in touch with some of the best and brightest people who have a passion for learning,” says Thomas, a vice president and senior advisor consultant with Oppenheimer Funds Distributor Inc. “Their passion was infectious enough to solidify my decision to formally pursue my MBA. It just took me 27 years to figure it out, but better late than never.”

After earning a B.B.A. in finance and economics from JMU’s College of Business, Thomas began his career in Philadelphia as a financial advisor with Mutual of New York (MONY). A year later, he moved back to his hometown of Bethlehem, Penn., to work for Capital Analysts Inc., a small financial planning firm. He built up “a book of business” before transitioning to Meridian Bank in Allentown, where he worked out of five different branches as a financial planner.

Thomas joined OppenheimerFunds in 1994, starting as an associate manager based in New York City. In 1995, he was promoted to Vice President and Regional Sales based in Colorado to serve 13 Western states from Alaska to Arizona. In 1997, he returned to Virginia to manage the Mid-Atlantic territory. Through growth of his territory sales, Thomas has been able to limit his geography to Northern Virginia and the city of Richmond while still raising over $430 million in annual sales. In 2009 and 2010, Thomas was named Mid-Atlantic Wholesaler of the Year.

In addition to his stellar sales efforts, Thomas has also been recognized for his leadership skills outside of the cubicle as last year, he was selected to serve as a team leader for OppenheimerFund’s philanthropic efforts in Salvador, Brazil, working with local children in an orphanage and a Catholic school.

Thomas, who started at JMU as a math major, recalls that his most memorable class as an undergraduate was Investments 471—a course taught by local financial advisor, Bob Frakes. The class helped guide his career path in investment management.

“We simulated building a stock portfolio and trading shares,” Thomas recalls. “It really set me on my path towards exploring investments.”

Just two courses into the ELMBA program, Thomas says he already has gained practical knowledge and greater insight into his strengths as a manager. He also appreciates the collaborative spirit among his classmates in his ELMBA cohort.

“The MBA curriculum is not about studying research and theories that never see the light of day out in the real world—this is about academics being applied to real-world situations,” Thomas says. “By conducting research with my cohorts, we are able to test our skills with each other before we take them to our own workplaces. The teamwork and communications that are tested and grown within this learning construct have been priceless. I can envision myself welcoming the challenge of higher leadership positions now that I’m equipping myself with the skills necessary to be successful when I get there.”

For Thomas, the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree at his alma mater felt like coming home. As an undergraduate, he appreciated JMU’s unique culture that draws students who are “intellectual, inquisitive, loyal, interesting individuals.” Active in the Duke Club and a regular participant in JMU alumni events in Northern Virginia, Thomas is grateful for the lifelong friendships he made at the university the first time around. He anticipates developing long-lasting professional relationships through the ELMBA program.

While completing the ELMBA will certainly boost Thomas’ professional credentials, he also finds the courses personally rewarding. He and his wife, Amy, want their daughters—Morgan, 12, and Noelle, 9—to understand that the greatest purpose of education is to improve one’s quality of life.

“My daughters are tickled that Dad is going back to school,” says Thomas, who lives in Arlington. “They enjoy reminding me that I need to do my readings, just like they have to do their reading. They see me doing what I’m doing, and they realize that even Daddy has more to learn. I’m hopeful that my girls will see that learning is a journey that lasts throughout your life.”