As Bob Ycmat arrives early at his office every day, he finds himself reflecting on his career path, which began in marketing and will end in finance. As CFO of Revere Health, Ycmat is proud of the lessons he has learned and the impact he has had throughout his career, a journey he says was reenergized by his participation in the executive MBA (EMBA) program at the BYU Marriott School of Business.
Ycmat graduated with a marketing degree from the University of Utah in 1989 and spent more than 15 years in the field while working for data communications and storage technology companies. Eventually, however, he wanted more advancement opportunities, along with a career that would enable him to gain expertise in specialized areas. With those goals in mind, Ycmat enrolled at BYU Marriott and in 2012 completed an EMBA with an emphasis in finance.
Choosing BYU Marriott from a variety of graduate school options for his EMBA program was easy for Ycmat because he was drawn to the values the school represents. “In business, integrity is important,” he explains. “I knew my education at BYU Marriott would be values based, so having a BYU Marriott degree would become a statement of my character.”
After completing his EMBA, Ycmat finalized his transition into finance. Since he wanted to become an expert in a specialized area, he decided to pursue healthcare finance. “I knew that developing expertise in a challenging field would make me more valuable to employers. I chose to switch to finance because the field is more analytical. I specifically focused on healthcare because finance in that area is quite complex,” Ycmat says.
He also feels drawn to healthcare because of the industry’s mission of helping others. “My job makes a real difference in patients’ lives,” Ycmat adds. “My work takes the burden of worrying about finances away from our physicians and staff so they can focus on serving patients without distraction. I love the compassionate aspect of healthcare.”
Ycmat’s EMBA also helped him reach his other goal of obtaining advancement opportunities. He has held a variety of leadership roles in the past decade, culminating with his current CFO position at Revere Health, a physicians group based in Provo, where Ycmat now lives.
In becoming a leader, Ycmat drew upon the lessons he learned in his EMBA program. “One of the things I appreciated about BYU Marriott is I learned to understand the theory of business and how to apply that in a job,” he explains. Ycmat specifically remembers several lessons centered on leadership concepts, which he says were relevant and helpful for him personally.
As a leader, Ycmat finds further fulfillment in his career. “One of the deepest satisfactions I have as an executive is watching my staff members progress in their own careers,” he says. “I look for opportunities to help develop team members. My service-oriented leadership style brings me a lot of satisfaction.”
Ycmat is also pleased with where his position at Revere Health has taken him, along with where his future is going. “In my career, I’ve aspired to serve as a CFO, so I’m where I want to be,” he says. While he has only been with Revere Health for a little over a year, Ycmat is already enjoying being a part of the company and its future. “I’m excited to be with Revere Health as the company continues to grow and gain prominence,” he adds. “Guiding a business through that growth and change will be extremely satisfying for me.”
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Writer: Mike Miller
