In the bustling corporate world of Houston, Texas, Marie Myers, MBA ’96, has carved an extraordinary career path. Born in Babinda in far north Queensland, Australia, Myers joined Hewlett Packard Enterprise as executive vice president and chief financial officer earlier this year. She had served as CFO of HP Inc. since 2021. How a woman raised in the Australian bush defied the odds, climbing to the top of the corporate heap is quite a story…and relies on the transformative MBA she received at UST-Houston.
Born Fearless
“I had been working as a graduate economist in Australia for about five years, and I was ready for a change,” she explained. “I saved up my money, sold my car and decided to explore the world a bit.”
In the 1990s, at the end of her exploring, the economist with degrees in Liberal Arts and Economics from the University of Queensland was in Houston, “a vibrant, fast-paced city” where she knew there would be “tons of opportunity,” especially once she had her MBA.
Choosing UST’s Game-changing MBA Program
Selecting an MBA program was easy. She went with Houston’s only Catholic university. Myers was raised in an Italian Catholic family, so the four pillars of the University of St. Thomas-Houston resonated with her: knowledge, goodness, discipline and community.
Today, she says, “My MBA experience at UST was great, and the professor was fantastic. My ethics course was the best class I ever had in my education. It was that class that equipped me for all the things I had to deal with in my career. Even today, making hard decisions—that class I'll never forget. It was the one that prepared me for the toughest decisions I would have to make.”
Without hesitation, Myers calls her MBA from UST-Houston a game-changer.
“It was a game-changer. I had been a bit bored in my career in government, and my MBA opened up opportunities I never would’ve had. I got a job at Compaq in the technology storage business because of it. It’s the reason I'm in my role today in technology.”
A Grateful Celt, Myers Believes in Education & Gives Back
A strong believer in the importance of education, “especially for women,” Myers is an active alumna. She is a UST sponsor, donor, big supporter of STEM education, and serves on the UST Advisory Board and the board for the University of Queensland in America. Putting further action behind her beliefs, this alumna has created a scholarship at her Australian alma mater to help rural girls pursue higher education.
Myers has three children. Her two teenage girls call her the “boss babe” in a proud nod to all she has accomplished.
“Being a girl boss is a big deal in the house, and I try to encourage them to really think about life and how important education is—especially as a woman.”
Back to Work
Myers intends to use all of her knowledge and experience in her new professional role. She explains that we are at one of those once-in-a-lifetime inflection points in the technology space right now, with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence enabling businesses to make more informed, data-driven decisions, improve efficiency, reduce errors, and ultimately lead to better outcomes.
“I’m very focused on helping to put Hewlett Packard Enterprise on the map as the key player in AI and in networking infrastructure,” she added.
What We Learned from Myers
Marie Myers’ story reminds us of the transformative power of education and the importance of giving back. Myers champions the next generation of leaders and invites other Celt alumni to join her in supporting the University of St. Thomas-Houston, a life-changing university.