By Sarah Marquart
During nine years in the United States Marine Corps, Harold Reed was responsible for complex systems, high-stakes decisions, and the people behind them. Now, as a graduate from the 2026 class of the Johnson Cornell Tech MBA program, he is applying that experience to a new mission: building and leading within the technology sector.
Over the course of his service, Reed held leadership roles across deployments spanning Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Norway, Germany, and the United States. Early in his career with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit — focused on humanitarian and crisis missions across the Indo-Pacific — he supported operations that demanded adaptability, rapid decision-making, and clear communication under pressure.
Later, at Blount Island Command, Reed managed the readiness and accountability of more than $140 million in mission-critical equipment supporting Marines deployed to Norway. At his final command with Marine Aircraft Group 16 Headquarters Squadron, he held senior enlisted leadership roles and served as an Internal Product Manager for Readiness Systems. His work modernizing maintenance and readiness processes earned him a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
After nearly a decade in uniform, Reed made a decision that would shift the trajectory of his career. “I never imagined myself going to college,” he says. “But I reached a point where I wanted to test myself outside of the military environment and see how I would perform without structure built in.”
As a first-generation college student, he enrolled at Columbia University in 2022, where he studied cognitive and computer science. The transition to student life was challenging without the structure of the military.
“There were no ranks, no one checking on me, and no consequences except the ones I created for myself. That experience forced me to develop real self-discipline and accountability, which directly prepared me for the pace and expectations of the Cornell Tech MBA.”
Reed’s growing interest in human-computer interaction ultimately led him to the Johnson Cornell Tech MBA program. He chose the program because it is designed specifically for people who want to lead in technical environments, offering a clear path to combine leadership, technology, and execution — rather than treating them as separate tracks.
The collaborative culture of Cornell Tech also resonated with his military background. Reed says the community emphasizes contribution and accountability, encouraging students to bring their full experience into the room and apply it constructively.
“The community stood out right away,” he says. “Teamwork, initiative, and ownership are expected. That mirrors how leadership works in the military and made the transition feel natural rather than forced.” He notes that veterans’ discipline, accountability, and comfort with ambiguity translate well to the program’s fast-paced, team-based environment.
At Cornell Tech, Reed has already applied his operational experience to projects, helping teams test assumptions and validate real-world constraints before making decisions. He emphasizes that leadership isn’t about pushing harder — it’s about knowing when to slow down, assess reality, and leverage experience and relationships to guide teams toward better outcomes. That approach reflects the path that brought him to Cornell Tech: the Marine Corps taught him to lead under pressure and take responsibility for outcomes, while his experience at Columbia challenged him to question assumptions and adapt.
“Cornell Tech is where those experiences came together,” Reed says. “The program is teaching me how leadership and systems thinking translate into business and product impact — how ideas become execution and how technology shapes organizations at scale.”
Looking ahead, Reed is focused less on titles than on building teams, designing systems, and owning outcomes from start to finish. Following graduation, Reed is exploring opportunities at the intersection of technology, strategy, and operations, where he hopes to apply his experience in leadership, product strategy, and business transformation. “I’m drawn to technology-driven organizations where execution matters and where results speak louder than presentations,” he says.
For veterans considering an MBA, he advises giving oneself permission to be new again, building relationships across disciplines, and taking ownership of experience.
“If you’re a veteran who wants to keep building and not just trade one uniform for another title, this program makes sense,” Reed says. “Your experience is respected, but you’re also challenged to apply it in a completely new environment and see what you’re capable of next.”
Sarah Marquart is a freelance writer for Cornell Tech.