As the CFO at Exxon Mobil, Kathryn Mikells, ’94, believes in the power of bringing her most authentic self to the boardroom. For Mikells, that means being open and outspoken about her years of functional expertise, the diversity of her experience across industries, and her ability to encourage those around her to do their best work.
Before moving to Exxon Mobil in 2021, the longtime C-suite executive served in CFO roles at Diageo, Xerox, ADT Security Services, Nalco Water, and United Airlines. Mikells spent 16 years at United—joining as a financial analyst while completing her MBA and getting promoted through a wide range of posts.
How did your time at Booth influence your career trajectory?
I decided to go back to school because I was interested in switching out of financial services, where I had spent about five years after undergrad. I wanted to move away from selling to corporations and get more into the decision-maker mode. I used my Booth MBA as a catalyst to support that career change. When I went back to work, I was able to relate the academic theory to how it would be used in practice.
Was there a course that stood out?
The most impactful single class I took at Booth was a course on strategic leverage. It was a capstone strategy class that pulled together corporate finance theory with how to think strategically across industries. It gave me a foundation for thinking about the structure of an industry, barriers to entry, differentiated competitive advantages, and macro-industry trends— and how to use that information to shape a successful strategy.
How do you stay connected to the Booth community?
I still benefit from the broader Booth network. I am engaged with Booth’s annual CFO Forum. It’s a great convergence of some of Booth’s recent academic work with people’s practical, on-the-job experience. It connects a broad network of CFOs across industries. The forum provides insights into recent research as well as the challenges and opportunities CFOs are seeing.