For Richard Fernandez, being at the intersection of strategy, customer behavior, and technology was where he wanted to be. He had already built a small business and earned a law degree, so earning an MBA was less about changing direction and more about refining it. In this Real Humans: Alumni, Fernandez shares how Notre Dame Mendoza pushed him outside his comfort zone and prepared him for roles that could impact millions of customers.
Richard Fernandez, Notre Dame Mendoza MBA ’19, Senior Product Manager at Amazon
Age: 38
Hometown: Houston, TX
Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Houston, Political Science & Global Business
Graduate Business School, Graduation Year and Concentration: Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Juris Doctor, Class of 2017; University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business, MBA, Class of 2019
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Founder and owner of a small business for approximately seven years, along with legal clerkships and associate roles during law school.
Post-MBA Work Experience: Approximately 3.5 years in corporate strategy and loyalty roles across Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Royal Caribbean Group, and approximately three years at Amazon focused on product strategy, customer loyalty, and engagement.
Why did you choose to attend business school?
I viewed business school as a way to formalize my understanding of corporate finance, strategy, and organizational decision making while gaining access to a network and recruiting ecosystem that would accelerate that transition. I had built a small business, earned a law degree, and developed strong communication and operating skills, but I wanted to translate that experience into leadership roles inside large, complex organizations.
In many ways, the MBA was less about changing direction and more about refining it. I wanted to move from being a scrappy operator to someone who could scale ideas inside global enterprises.
Why Notre Dame Mendoza? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
After attending large public universities for both undergrad and law school, I was intentionally looking for a more personal and values driven environment. Growing up as a competitive athlete and a Catholic, Notre Dame’s culture resonated deeply with me.
When I visited campus, what stood out was the warmth and accessibility of the community. Alumni were responsive, faculty were invested, and my peers were impressive but approachable and more collaborative than competitive. The culture emphasized both excellence and integrity.
I chose Notre Dame over higher ranked programs because I believed the environment would push me to grow professionally and personally while surrounding me with people who would invest in my long-term success. To this day, Notre Dame continues to be an important and valued part of my life. With hindsight, I would make the same decision again without hesitation.
What about your MBA experience prepared you for your current career at Amazon? How do you feel that your MBA has been an asset when it comes to navigating new challenges, such as AI?
Coming from law school, Mendoza immediately pushed me outside my comfort zone and strengthened my ability to operate under ambiguity and approach problems with structured thinking. My early exposure to rigorous finance, accounting, and data modeling coursework required me to quickly elevate my quantitative fluency. That adaptability became foundational to my career.
That experience of discomfort turned out to be one of the most valuable parts of the MBA. It taught me how to learn quickly, how to ask better questions, and how to stay steady when the answer is not obvious. At Amazon and other technology driven environments, the pace is fast and the problems are often not well defined. The MBA trained me to break complex issues into components, understand incentive structures, evaluate tradeoffs, and align cross functional stakeholders around data driven decisions.
With emerging technologies like AI, the most important and valuable skill a leader can have is good judgment. New technologies are exciting, but the real work is understanding where they create durable customer value. My MBA training helps me step back and ask: What problem are we solving? How does this improve the customer experience? What are the risks? How does it strengthen our business model? That grounding has been invaluable.
What was your internship during business school? How did that inform your post-MBA career choice of Amazon?
I interned at Johnson and Johnson in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was my first experience inside a truly global corporation, and I learned a tremendous amount about both what I wanted to do and what I didn’t. I gained clarity about the environments where I feel most energized. I realized I am at my best in high-frequency customer businesses where customer behavior is visible, measurable, and directly influenced by the work you do. I enjoy seeing how strategy translates into action and how customers respond in real time.
That realization led me into the travel industry after graduation, starting with Delta Air Lines, and eventually toward product and loyalty roles where I could sit at the intersection of strategy, customer behavior, and technology.
Why did you choose your current company? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to work?
I am energized by environments where the work matters at scale and where you are trusted to own meaningful problems. Companies like Amazon operate at a level where even small improvements can impact millions of customers.
What drew me most was the combination of ownership and learning. You are expected to think critically, move quickly, and take responsibility for outcomes. For someone who started as an entrepreneur, that level of ownership feels familiar and motivating. More broadly, I look for opportunities where I can solve real customer problems, collaborate across disciplines, and continue learning and growing as a leader.
Advice to current MBA students:
—One thing you would absolutely do again as part of the job search?
Start early. I secured my internship and full-time role early not because I had the strongest resume, but because I was willing to start interviewing before I felt completely ready. Those early interviews gave me real feedback and time to improve. You do not want Spring to arrive and still be on the hunt.
The earlier you engage, the more room you have to adjust your approach and evaluate opportunities on your terms. The earlier you start, the more control you will have over the outcome.
—One thing you would change or do differently as part of the job search?
I would have paused more to enjoy the process and focused more on building deeper relationships. Recruiting can feel intense, but if you’re at a school like Notre Dame and doing what you need to do, you’re going to be okay. Some of the most valuable relationships I built came from casual conversations, not formal interviews or events.
Enjoy the free food and take a long-term perspective. The person you connect with over a low-pressure coffee chat may not end up helping you land your first job, but they might help land your fifth.
—Were there any surprises regarding your current employer’s recruiting process?
The level and type of preparation required is unique relative to other industries. Amazon’s process is structured and demanding, but also thoughtful. You are competing against people who are smart and accomplished. Surface level preparation is table stakes. To stand out you must do more.
Go beyond rehearsing CAR stories or answers to product strategy questions. Watch the podcast your interviewer was on or read an old article they wrote, check to see if they went to your school or grew up in your hometown. Find and make a personal connection you can bring up in an interview. Understand how the company actually makes money and how technology is re-shaping our strategy. Reach out to a future peer on your target team for a 30-minute chat. When you demonstrate a deeper level of preparation, it shows and will improve your odds.
—What piece of advice do you wish you had been given during your MBA?
First, treat your career like a marathon, not a sprint. It is tempting to chase the highest starting salary, the most prestigious industry, or the most recognizable logo. However, long-term success usually comes from doing work you genuinely enjoy and can sustain at a high level. When you care about the work, you naturally go the extra mile. Those dividends compound over time.
Second, think of your job search like a funnel. Start broad by identifying the industry that genuinely interests you. Then narrow to the right company. Finally, refine into the right function and role. I began with travel and airlines as my industry focus and applied across multiple companies and functions. Loyalty was not originally the plan, but exposure within the industry helped me discover a space I loved and ultimately built a career around.
And finally, take full advantage of being at Notre Dame. Go to the football games. Spend time at the Grotto. Take the immersion trips. The relationships and shared experiences you build there are far harder to recreate than a recruiting cycle. Go Irish!
