Brant Faulkner, second year MBA student at Gies College of Business, has no problem admitting that his career path has been “unique.” That experience, though, provides him with a distinctive perspective that he is building upon as he achieves new goals. For this reason, among many others, Poets & Quants selected Faulkner on Wednesday as one of its “100 MBAs To Watch In The Class of 2018.”

After nearly 10 years as a self-employed professional poker player, Faulkner held an internship at KPMG in Chicago last summer. He plans on returning there following graduation, where he will work on Strategic Growth Initiatives. Considering his past, it’s obvious why he selected the movie Rounders as his favorite business-related flick. A meaningful lesson he took from the poker movie includes surrounding himself “with people who play by the rules. Otherwise you will eventually be caught in the fallout from those cutting corners.”

Continuing that theme, Faulkner found ways to put in the extra effort as an MBA student. He took exceptional value from director Andrew Allen’s Action Learning experiences, where students learn and apply business principles by working with external clients in every semester of the two-year program. In return, Allen appreciates the perspective this student brought forth.

“Brant is a breath of fresh air,” Allen told Poets & Quants. “He has a positive, can-do attitude. He is analytically minded and super sharp, and willing to share his opinions.”  

Read Faulkner’s entire profile from Poets & Quants » Take a look at the entire list of “100 MBAs To Watch In The Class Of 2018” »