In both her professional and personal life, Whitney Seamons, associate brand manager of the official pain reliever of NASCAR, keeps the pedal to the metal.
“Working in the consumer packaged goods industry is something I’m passionate about,” says the 2004 MBA class graduate. “And the more I learn about NASCAR racing and the strategy behind it, the more I love it too.”
Seamons discovered the world of brand management in the MBA program. After graduation she was also interested in sports marketing but proceeded down what she thought was a different path. Rubber met the road, however, when she took her second position within Johnson & Johnson and began managing the Tylenol brand and coordinating Tylenol’s marketing strategies in the NASCAR arena.
In addition, Seamons is laying the groundwork for Tylenol’s marketing blitz in the 2008 Olympic Games—another personal passion.
“I love my job,” she says. “I work with great people, and I get a chance to build great relationships with those people. These instances may be blips in my career radar, but I love them.”
Balancing the demands of her marketing career and family life means Seamons has to consistently fire on all cylinders. Seamons divides her time between her growing family, her profession, her church and community service, and teaching case studies at Pennsylvania’s Wharton School near her home.
“I don’t believe that life is ever completely balanced,” she comments. “You have to recognize where you are needed most and focus on that.”
Starting a family with her husband, Tyler, an airline pilot, has brought an entirely new element of life to balance—they had their first child in January 2006. “We constantly evaluate where we are,” she says. “I couldn’t do what I do if I didn’t have a great husband.”
Along with her family support, Seamons’ MBA experience was one of the best ways she could have prepared to face what she faces now.
“The BYU MBA helped me develop my business persona in a safe environment where I learned to be a leader and was a valued contributor within that organization,” she says. “It has made me a better mother, wife, and member of a community. It was truly one of my life’s defining moments.”
