Executive MBA Fuels Coporate Rise
(Executive MBA '02)
Vice President
Jeep/Truck and
Color, Fabric & Mastering Design
Chrysler Group
Ralph Gilles (pronounced Jeel), is a DaimlerChrysler designer who grew up in Montreal, Canada, after his parents immigrated via New York from Haiti.
In 2006, he was appointed vice president of Jeep/Truck and Color, Fabric & Mastering Design for the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler Corporation. Previously he was director of Truck Exterior/Interior Design Studio for the Chrysler Group where he gained fame for leading the styling of the 2005 Chrysler 300.
Gilles was the primary interior designer for the Dodge Viper GTS/R, Dodge ESX2 and Jeep® Jeepster concept vehicles as well as the production versions of the 2003 Dodge Viper and 2002 Jeep Liberty. He also served as director of the Dodge Magnum, Chrysler 300C and Dodge Charger. He was director of the M80 and Nitro concept vehicles. He joined Chrysler in 1992.
Gilles has been passionate about cars since the age of six and began drawing concept vehicles by the age of eight. When he was 14, an aunt recognized his talent at sketching cars and encouraged him to write to former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca to ask for advice about how to become an automobile designer.
A reply came from K. Neil Walling, Chrysler's design chief at the time, suggesting Ralph attend one of three design schools. He attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and graduated in 1992. In 2002, he received an Executive MBA from The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University.
He was a recipient of the Broad School's Young Alumni Achievement Award in 2005 in recognition of outstanding career progress since receiving his MBA degree.
It is an understatement to say that the automobile industry has become one of the most competitive businesses in the world. Five years ago, I decided I was going to improve my personal value as a leader within the DaimlerChrysler Corporation. To help my company better compete, I would have to dramatically broaden my personal scope with a formal business education. I felt that this would help me make more informed decisions and better balance the free-thinking nature of a designer with the pragmatic realities of a corporation.
I was in search of an MBA program that could help me understand the core business dynamics of a large corporation and ultimately help me interface more effectively with my marketing, purchasing and engineering counterparts. The Broad Executive MBA program was a perfect fit for my life. I wanted a program that would be containable within a very busy career, yet not be compromised in depth or quality. In addition to covering the basics of business, the Executive MBA Program dove into diverse modern business concepts which have been directly applicable in my career.
I was also looking for a program that had professors with deep practical knowledge and significant experience teaching professionals outside of the automotive industry as well. I was pleased to find expert professors with dynamic personalities that were refreshingly original.
My classmates also opened my eyes in ways that I never thought possible. We had a fantastic mix of students - ranging from corporate vice president to outstanding entrepreneurial business leaders. At orientation, we were assigned to teams that stayed together throughout the 21 months of the program. This team concept was one of the most important aspects of the Executive MBA program. The combination of diverse classmates and teammates was a constant source of inspiration and a great base of practical experience. The in-class debates and team workshops were always stimulating. The faculty called on the teams regularly to present our work and challenged us to present in dynamic ways. These exercises taught us how to present concepts to
large groups while establishing critical leadership roles. It was most interesting to measure ourselves against our classmates - it proved to be one of the greatest lessons in free market competition!
For me, the highlight of the program was the famed international trip. This privileged access to some of the world's most successful and well-run businesses offered invaluable insights that no textbook ever could. Our classroom lessons were sharpened in the real world context of being at those companies and gave the Executive MBA program students a chance to truly network, bond and establish lasting friendships.
All said, I walked away with much, much more than a business education - a true understanding of the big picture, a strong network of friends and advisors. I ultimately gained a better understanding of myself as a leader and an agent of the DaimlerChrysler Corporation.