Maung K. Min’s road to Penn State Lehigh Valley has been impressive and varied. Min, worked at engineering firms, spent time as a consultant traveling the world and served as a corporate director for a Fortune 500 company.
Now, he is the director of business programs at Penn State Lehigh Valley, which includes the newly added project and supply chain management bachelor’s degree.
“Very simply, supply chain management deals with the flow of goods and services. If you are interested in understanding the management and planning of turning raw materials into final product and the coordinating that is involved in this process then project and supply chain is for you,” said Min. “What makes this program so attractive is it provides a broad educational foundation that can lead to further specialization in the future, such as in logistics or in procurement.”
Both Min’s academic record and his applied record in wide-ranging topics from sustainability to supply chain management give him a unique understanding of what students need to be successful both in the classroom and upon graduation.
“We are happy to have Dr. Min join Penn State Lehigh Valley. He is a well-rounded person who has a great depth of knowledge about business and about the world in general due to his tremendous international experience. He wants our students to gain a broader understanding of the global impact of their work,” said Kenneth Thigpen, director of academic affairs at Penn State Lehigh Valley.
After spending 10 years in chemical engineering at various engineering companies, Min earned his master of science in chemical engineering at Manhattan College. Later, he completed his master of business administration in international business from Baruch College.
After completing his master of business administration (MBA), Min became a consultant with Gemini Consulting, where he advised senior level executives on cost-cutting measures, post-merger realities and major culture change. The constant travel was taxing on his young family so when Min was offered an associate director position by one of his clients, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), he accepted.
“BMS was technically ‘big pharma’, but it didn’t feel that way; culturally it felt like a smaller organization with intimate team work and collaboration. It was large enough to provide me with a variety of experience,” said Min. “Over 15 years, I held four different functional roles, but worked on or led dozens of corporate initiatives.”
Min was given the opportunity to work on a project in Italy and he jumped at this unique opportunity. And this time, his family came with him.
“I worked in Latina, Italy, which is less than an hour south of Rome, for seven months. It was important for me to immerse myself in the Italian culture. My 4-year-old son became almost fluent in Italian. And my family and I traveled extensively when we were there,” said Min. “It was an amazing experience. And to this day, we keep in touch with some colleagues I met there.”