The Office of Career Services is proud to feature Caroline Yao (MBA ’27) as our first Future Leader Showcase spotlight from the Class of 2027, highlighting Year 1 talent as they build momentum for internship recruiting.
With 11+ years of experience leading strategy execution, business process improvement, and digital transformation across global retail and consumer organizations, Caroline brings the structured leadership and cross-functional influence that drives real change.
Program: MBA ’27 (Year 1) | Focus: Strategy, Sustainability & Digital Transformation
Strengths: Corporate Project Management | Business Process Improvement | Business Planning | Cross-Functional Leadership | Digital Innovation & Transformation
Target Roles: Consulting Project Manager | Senior Associate | Transformation Lead
In a recent transformation initiative, Caroline led a complex, enterprise-scale effort to improve inventory circulation by overhauling sell-in and sell-out processes. She influenced cross-functional teams of 1,000+ employees across senior leadership levels, navigated multi-layered resistance, redefined scope, optimized resourcing, and secured alignment across stakeholders in 11 departments. The results were measurable in strengthening inventory liquidity, business model agility, and corporate sustainable operations.
Before Smith, Jingye served in senior transformation and innovation roles at SEPHORA and adidas, where she drove omni-channel and digital initiatives, led high-impact project portfolios, and was awarded for strategic thinking and leadership. She also contributed to sustainability innovation as an Asia Pacific finalist in the LVMH DARE Intrapreneurship Program, developing a circular luxury gift packaging concept to benefit the group retailers’ gifting business.
OCS is excited to spotlight leaders like Caroline who combine analytical discipline, stakeholder management, and execution excellence to deliver outcomes at scale.
If you’re interested in connecting with Jingye, please contact smithocs_grad@umd.edu.
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