Chris Mixter (’00)
Gartner, Inc., Vice President Analyst
Arlington, VA
WFU Class of 2000
Major: Politics
DeacLink: Please walk me through your path from graduation day to your current job.
Chris Mixter: Management Development Program @ BB&T (2000-2001)->Research Associate @ Corporate Executive Board (2001-2002)->Research Manager @ Corporate Executive Board (2002-2004)->Associate Director @ CEB (2004-2006)->Director @ CEB (2006-2008) -> Senior Director @ CEB (2008-2017) -> Vice President @ CEB (2017-present)
DL: How much did your studies and general experience at Wake inform or drive your career path?
CM: I have been lucky in that most of my career experience has been almost identical to my WFU experience: “lots of writing and then lots of having to explain myself. 🙂 “. I can’t say that I’ve leveraged any of my research on Eastern European and Latin American politics or ancient Christian socioeconomics, but Wake’s focus on teaching you to go from knowing zero about a topic to being able to discuss it with experts in a short period of time has been an essential skill. I grew up wanting to be the second basement for the Houston Astros, and now I spend my days advising cybersecurity executives all around the world!
DL: How did you find and apply to the various positions you’ve held? Any tips or suggestions for the student audience on networking, interviewing and applying for jobs?
CM: My first job came via the WFU Career Services interview program. I found tremendous value in the entire process of working with Career Services. I hadn’t given a great deal of thought to a job or career post-WFU, and Career Services was exactly the kind of interviewing boot camp I needed, as well as giving me access to explore companies and jobs I likely wouldn’t have considered. My advice? Take the interview training seriously, and apply for anything that looks even remotely interesting. Every interview provides experience, and, you never know what might end up piquing your interest!
I turned out to be wrong about what first piqued my interest…when I realized after a year that banking (and, specifically, retail banking sales) wasn’t for me, I reached out to friends at Corporate Executive Board (Meg Harris ‘00, Keith Krut ‘97, and Brandon Rozelle ‘00), who helped me get an interview there. I’ve been there ever since (CEB was acquired by Gartner Inc. in 2017)! If your first gig out of school doesn’t suit you, and you haven’t stayed in close touch with classmates, go back to Career Services! They know where all the Deacs end up, and can hook you into networks and companies that can help you re-explore your options.
Last thought: if you don’t have to take a job right out of school…don’t! Travel, explore, or, just sit at the end of a fishing pier for a few months. WFU is amazing but it’s not easy! You did great…you finished…take some time to relax before you jump into the rest of your life. I wish I had done that. I’m not going to go to my grave saying “thank goodness I took that job at the bank.”
DL: What is your favorite part of living in the DC area?
CM: No matter what you are interested in, Washington DC has a dozen different ways you can explore that. That applies to food, theater, music, sports…you name it. I’m not as dialed into the arts as I once was (I sang with the Washington National Cathedral Chorus for a few years after I first moved here), but there are always new things to try. We saw a phenomenal “Sweeney Todd” at our local theater (Signature) earlier this year. The most interesting thing happening in our local arts scene right now is my daughter’s 7th grade play: “Young Sherlock!”
DL: What is your favorite part about where you work?
CM: I love two things about where I work: the global travel (I’ve been to Australia more than 10 times!) and the at-my-fingertips access to any kind of corporate expertise I could ever want to learn.
DL: What and where is next for you?
CM: Professionally, I’ve been tapped to lead the creation of the keynote sessions for our 2024 conferences and I’ll be traveling to Sydney, Dubai, London and a few other interesting places. My family is settling in for a winter of middle school hockey (my son) and gymnastics competitions (my daughter) and we’re taking a trip to Iceland in the spring.
DL: Any other kernel of advice you’d like to impart to the readers?
CM: Spread yourself around…don’t be a “one lane Deac.” In addition to my major, I took classes on things that interested me like religion and Latin. I also had choir, an a cappella group, my fraternity, and, at least for a little while, club swimming. The result of all of those things? An incredibly diverse set of experiences and friends that I continue to rely on today.