Rob Zmudka ’89 (MKT) is Vice President and Executive Director of Strategic Sales for GATX – the largest railcar leasing company in the world. He recently shared an update with us about his career and GATX’s commitment to service.
Q: How have you leveraged the key skills and understandings you acquired at Illinois State University as you’ve advanced your career?
A: My Illinois State University business degree provided the foundation for building my future career. My marketing classes taught me to not only consider how your company is being represented but to think also about how you are being represented and how you are representing your company, important considerations not only in my professional experience but in my life in general.
Beyond my career-specific classes, the academic experience at Illinois State taught me the value of teamwork, gave me confidence in public speaking and presentation (skills that I continually refine and enhance) and the importance of strategic planning — the ability to think beyond myself and today, and to also consider the longer-term and consequential effects of a particular action or strategy. And perhaps equally important, my Illinois State experience gave me life-long friendships that continue to this day.
Learn more about Rob Zmudka.
