Leigh Shultz | MBA Career Services Resource Hub

Leigh Shultz, MBA@UNC Class of 2023
Head of Business & Commercial Excellence at Merck Canada

How did your career evolve after graduating from the MBA Program at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School?

After completing my MBA, I was promoted to Associate Vice President in International Commercial Operations in Merck & Co.’s human health division, continuing to lead a center of excellence focused on commercial trade strategy. As of Oct 2025, I have accepted an international assignment with Merck (a long-time career goal!) and am leading the commercial operations team in Merck’s Canadian subsidiary (Merck Canada).

How did UNC, Kenan-Flagler Business School, the MBA program, or MBA Career Services help you reach where you are today?

MBA@UNC enabled me to expand my business knowledge and establish foundational skills in accounting, finance, and strategy – I’ve used many of those quantitative and qualitative skills on the job. Managerial accounting (IDIS and IPCS – huge shout out to Ashraf Jaffer) gave me the quant skills to enable me and my team to deliver increased revenue through identification of margin opportunities. Consulting Frameworks, Corporate Strategy, and Business Communications honed my skills in storytelling and business case creation. In addition, my DBI and immersion experiences helped ready me for my goal of at least one international assignment.

What advice would you give to current MBA students?

Knowing the right questions to ask and approaches to solve problems is way more important that knowing answers.

In what ways do you see our students standing out in the workplace or making an impact?

I see my classmates having impact across industries and continuing to grow in their careers

What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?

I’m a huge Swiftie – and she’s an amazing marketer and businesswoman.

Is there anyone (e.g., faculty, peers, mentors) you’d like to recognize for their support?

Ashraf Jaffer and Amanda Thompson are incredible professors and great humans – I learned so much from both of them.

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