Insights on the Kilts Fellowship with Natalie Chun

About Natalie and her journey to Chicago Booth…

Prior to Booth, Natalie worked in marketing at Salesforce based in their San Francisco HQ. She loved tech marketing for its fast-paced environment, complemented by the ability to interface vertically and horizontally with countless stakeholders. Within her role, she was able to drive impact early on in her career, but after five years she realized that she lacked the quantitative skills and formal academic marketing frameworks needed to elevate her expertise to the next level. Booth presented Natalie with the perfect opportunity to develop and complement her skills, while also allowing her to explore how she could apply marketing to a realm she cares deeply about: women’s health and athletics. As a former Stanford athlete, she’s thrilled to be converging her professional and personal passions within her MBA internship at Nike over the summer. 

What does being a Kilts Fellow mean to you, and which specific resources offered by the Kilts Center have you found most valuable as a Booth student?

As a Kilts fellow, we have unrivaled access to incredible resources ranging from events, to professors, to a generous alumni network, and beyond. Before I had even begun the MBA program, fellows were provided with alumni contacts at a variety of desirable companies to begin our professional development and exploration for the next step in our careers. I felt very encouraged by the numerous coffee chats with warm alums who shared their wisdom from their professional and personal experiences. The community within Kilts has made me feel welcomed and supported, which has been invaluable to my Booth experience.

What quick piece of advice would you give to someone interested in marketing, tech, product management, or another marketing-related role who is considering Chicago Booth?

Booth challenges both conventional thinking and your own assumptions about marketing – namely in that marketing is far from being a “fluffy” field. Booth’s data-centric approach alongside team-oriented marketing classes have helped me understand the intersectionality of marketing, tech, and product management to be a better marketer and leader. It has hugely expanded my understanding of a field for which I had previously had over 5 years of professional experience and thought that I knew well. By taking a holistic approach to the aforementioned realms, I feel confident in developing and framing a strategy, applying it, and articulating my thought process to problem solving and innovation.

Fun Facts about Natalie:

• Natalie speaks Spanish fluently, she’s run two marathons, and since moving to Chicago last summer, it’s the longest she’s lived outside of California!
• Natalie is co-chair of the Booth Marketing Group, Chicago Women in Business, and Rugby student groups at Booth. This past April she was a member of the inaugural women’s rugby team at the M7 tournament in NYC and she also had the privilege of being one of two students who shared personal stories at the CWiB conference last fall.