On Friday, April 11, NIU College of Business’ Executive MBA program hosted another Executive in Residence seminar at our NIU Naperville campus. Alumnus John Amaya, who earned his B.S. in accountancy in 1988, discussed his decades-long career as a finance executive for several global companies, including CM Management, Walmart, Dole Food Company and Sara Lee Corporation, before retiring in 2025.
Management professor Mahesh Subramony led a discussion with Amaya, focusing on his best advice for those striving to reach new levels of management, the importance of ethics in business, and the ups and downs of his own career.
“I was the first college graduate in my family. I always say that, as I looked back at my career, the return on investment that I got from my education at NIU is overwhelming.”
A Colombian immigrant, Amaya came to the U.S. when he was 4 years old, and his family looked at their new country as an opportunity to better themselves through education. Looking back, he said he really was not ready for NIU when he enrolled after high school, but he was able to make his way toward a successful career through the support of mentors.
“Through the course of my life, it was always about people giving me an opportunity. They wanted to give this guy a shot,” Amaya said. “That started all the way back in grade school when I went to a parochial school. I had a monsignor and nuns who cared for me, and it continued on to Glenbard North in Carol Stream, Illinois, where people talked me into applying to Northern.”
Amaya noted that he was privileged to have professors that created opportunities for him, helping him to land two internships with Touche, which became Deloitte. He talked about the need to be flexible and open to unplanned possibilities.
“Our careers are not linear,” he said. “Very few people in today’s world stay with the company they start with. I started in public accounting and realized very quickly that I didn’t want to be a partner. I went a different route, and by the age of 24, I was managing teams of 20 to 30 people.”
Amaya’s most challenging career moment came when he found a significant fraud on the fourth day of his new job as a chief financial officer of a company in Mexico.
“I found out that, if you find fraud, you are never the good guy, and ultimately, I got fired,” he said, noting that he and his wife had one young son and another on the way at that time. “But it was the best thing that happened to me. At that time, I needed to get repatriation back to the U.S., and I found another job that needed me in Miami. That turned the darkest moment in my career to the greatest moment in my career, and I was rewarded for making ethical business decisions. And through managing globally, I have learned that wherever there is adversity, there is opportunity.”
“When you do things the right way and when you do things the wrong way, it stays with you for your career,” he said.
Amaya talked further about using his personal moral compass to guide his decisions and feeling a responsibility to do what he said he would do. And with all the decisions, he tried to better people’s lives.
“I worked hard to save people money at Walmart, for instance,” he said. “I was never the smartest, but so many people gave me opportunities to prove myself. I don’t know if I deserved them or not, but I believe now I owe people opportunities of exposure so they can grow.”
After retirement, Amaya has given back as a board member of the National 4H Board of Directors. While he originally joined because he was asked to represent Walmart on the board, he has become very passionate about the work the organization does, supporting agriculture and technology education for children in rural areas.
“The U.S. is the land of opportunity,” he said. “When I worked for Dole, I had 15,000 employees in Colombia and Ecuador. They do not have the loan programs that we take for granted in the U.S., and so those who earn degrees do it while working full time and paying their way. After seeing that, I feel obligated to give back in any way I can. I’ve found that, if you’re helping others, you’re helping yourself.”
Amaya finished his presentation, giving the audience his top five pieces of advice for success.
- “Business is about people. It’s so important to connect with people and lead by example. Learn to listen, and people will appreciate that so much.”
- “Change is difficult. The easy answer is always no, but it takes an open mind to say yes. People are wired to not want to change. Listen and work with them.”
- “Build your network.”
- “Your ethics are your reputation and your brand. Guard it carefully, and if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.”
- “Enjoy the stress. We have the opportunity to be future leaders and develop our leadership path.”
The evening ended with a lively Q&A session, as EMBA students asked questions on topics such as the best ways to terminate an employee with compassion and liberating employees to work creatively without fear of punishment. Amaya even fielded some questions from students in NIU’s EMBA cohort in Bogotá, Colombia, who were watching through a livestream of the event.
Our next Executive in Residence event will be held Sept. 26, 2025. For more information about our EMBA program, visit go.niu.edu/emba.
Our NIU EMBA program is now accepting applications for fall 2025. Prove your potential and apply for our EMBA program today.
