Major Brandon Mazander, an inaugural fellow of the Service to Service initiative and a student in the Clinton School Online program, has transitioned into a new corporate operations role as a Business Operations Analyst at Apple.
Mazander, who recently transitioned from the Arkansas National Guard to the California National Guard, relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area for this new opportunity. He assists with complex budgeting, purchase orders, and headcount allocations to support the company’s engineering teams.
“It’s similar to what I was doing in the military, just in the corporate world right now,” Mazander said. “Being around incredibly talented people all day, every day is sometimes mind-boggling, but it’s nice to enjoy it and get to see how people are creatively collaborating on new projects.”
Mazander’s appointment follows nearly two decades of distinguished military service, moving from an infantry rifleman in the U.S. Marine Corps to the Executive Officer for the 777th Aviation Support Battalion in Arkansas. His extensive background in leading large-scale administrative, logistical, and operational directives prepared him well for the scale of one of the world’s largest tech companies.
At Apple, Mazander has also plugged into Veterans@Apple, a group dedicated to providing networking and community-building opportunities for the veterans who work at Apple. During a recent Memorial Day event, Mazander had the opportunity to meet and connect with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
As he navigates this corporate pivot, Mazander credits his coursework in the Master of Public Service (MPS) program with sharpening the critical soft skills required to manage high-performing, cross-functional teams.
“The communication skills and leadership skills are big ones, especially when leading diverse groups,” Mazander said. “A lot of those skills are translatable everywhere. The soft skills always transfer well and can be used directly in my current job.”
Mazander’s academic journey at the Clinton School has been deeply connected to his military identity. He is a member of the first cohort of the Service to Service initiative—a national partnership alongside We the Veterans and the Volcker Alliance designed to systematically transition the strategic disciplines of military veterans into lasting public leadership assets.
Prior to his move to California, Mazander balanced his online graduate coursework with his military command, his role as a husband and father, and local civic service, which included serving as a commissioner for the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.
Looking ahead, Mazander plans to focus on his new corporate responsibilities while simultaneously completing his virtual Intermediate Level Education through the Army’s Command and General Staff College.