AT a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how people work, learn and compete, Jamaican MBA candidate Tennessee Watt is positioning herself at the centre of a fast-growing field: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce development and technology talent strategy.

Watt is a student at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and part of the first cohort able to declare Wharton’s new MBA major in AI for business. She previously worked at Google on developer-focused marketing initiatives and recently completed a senior product manager Master of Business Administration (MBA) internship at Amazon within Global Customer Fulfilment.

“I want Jamaicans to feel like AI is not something happening somewhere else,” Watt said. “It’s already shaping careers, and the people who learn to use it well will have a real advantage.”

Watt describes herself as Jamaican by heritage, with grandparents from Kingston and Mandeville, Manchester. She notes that her grandparents came to the United Kingdom as part of the Windrush generation, and she sees that story of migration and ambition as central to how she thinks about opportunity.

“I am proud to represent Jamaican heritage in global tech spaces,” she said. “I carry that with me in every room I enter.”

A focus on workforce readiness, not just technology

Watt’s work sits at the intersection of technology and opportunity. She describes her focus as designing and scaling employer-aligned training and access pathways that translate into measurable hiring, advancement and retention outcomes.

“AI is not only a technical shift, it’s a workforce shift,” Watt said. “If people do not have access to the right training and pathways, the gap widens. I’m interested in building systems that make readiness and upward mobility more achievable.”

At Google, Watt helped lead marketing and operations for the Tech Equity Collective (TEC) Impact Fund, a $1 million initiative designed to expand career access and training. The programme delivered career training and support to more than 1,300 professionals within six months, and gathered over 100 attendees for the flagship career conference TEC Innovate.

“When you treat workforce programmes with the same rigour as product work, you get better outcomes,” she said. “We tracked engagement, improved communications, and scaled participation across teams. It was measurable execution.”

From communications to product thinking

Watt’s path has moved across functions, but the common thread has been translating complex ideas into outcomes. At Google, she learned the realities of modern platforms: teams move quickly, collaboration is constant, and results matter.

“At Google, I learned how to communicate with precision, how to work across global teams, and how to build credibility through execution,” she said.

Her Amazon internship offered a different kind of training: intense pace, strong metrics, and a focus on operations at scale. Watt says that experience sharpened her instincts around systems and measurement, including how workforce solutions can be managed like business problems.

“Amazon taught me how to think in systems and how to measure impact,” Watt said. “That mindset is essential in workforce development too, because training is not the outcome. Outcomes are hiring, advancement, retention, and economic mobility.”

Credibility across selective and prestigious environments

Watt is an alumna of Google’s Associate Product Marketing Manager programme, a globally selective pathway known for developing leading talent in marketing and product. Well-known alumni include Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram.

“I’ve learned that credibility often comes from two things,” she said. “Selective environments where you are tested, and visible proof of outcomes when you’re responsible for execution.”

She has also advised prestigious institutions, including her alma mater Imperial College London, a top-ranked global university, on communications and inclusion initiatives.

Why Wharton’s AI major matters now

Wharton’s new AI major reflects a wider shift in business education: leaders are being pushed to understand AI not as a buzzword, but as a practical lever across productivity, decision-making, customer experience, risk, and competitive advantage. Watt says the programme is deliberately wide, combining technical training with the societal, regulatory, and economic implications of AI.

“The most important lesson is not just the tools,” Watt explained. “It’s learning how to ask better questions, understand limits, and use AI responsibly. That judgment is what will separate people in the market.”

Her coursework spans machine learning and big data ethics, alongside neuroscience with Professor Michael Platt, where she studied concepts like prediction error and how surprise shapes attention and choice. “It’s helped me connect the technical side of AI with how people actually behave, and how leaders measure impact,” she said.

“The future belongs to people who can bridge worlds,” Watt added. “You do not have to be an engineer to be valuable in AI. But you do need to be fluent enough to use it well, to communicate it clearly, and to understand where it fails.”

Role models, culture, and taking global ambition seriously

Watt says she draws inspiration from women in business and marketing with Jamaican roots who built global empires by competing at the highest level internationally.

“I look at people like Emma Grede and Pat McGrath and I think they took global markets seriously,” Watt said. “They did not shrink their ambition. They built in the places where scale is possible, and they made culture part of the value.”

“What inspires me is the combination of taste, execution and scale,” she added. “My goals are about creating more opportunities through community and, eventually, building culture-focused brands. I want to help people build confidence and access, not just consume content.”

A global community built around workforce readiness and visibility

Alongside her MBA, Watt runs a WhatsApp community of about 300 global women focused on AI, career growth, and building a public voice online. She describes it as a community initiative for peer learning, opportunity-sharing, and momentum.

“Ambition is easier when you’re not doing it alone,” she said. “The community is about sharing resources, opportunities and encouragement, especially for women who are navigating competitive spaces.”

Watt also writes publicly about AI and careers, and she encourages young professionals to treat visibility as part of career-building.

“Credibility is built in public,” she said. “Your LinkedIn can and should be a portfolio of your thinking, your impact and your proof of execution.”

Five lessons Watt would share with young Jamaicans aiming global

Watt says competitive environments can feel intimidating from the outside, but progress often comes from consistency, not perfection. Her advice is practical:

Build a stack of skills, not a single identity. “Combine communication with data, creativity with systems, and strategy with execution.”

Learn to speak in outcomes. “People take you seriously when you can clearly explain what changed, what improved, and what you learned.”

Use AI to learn faster. ‘You do not need to be technical to benefit, but you should know how to use AI responsibly to research, write, and experiment.“

Build visibility with intention. ”Share what you’re learning. Show your work. Make it easier for opportunities to find you.“

Find community. ”Strong networks create momentum. They also protect your confidence when things feel uncertain.“

Watt sees AI as another arena where Jamaicans can compete globally, as long as they prepare with intention and build pathways that translate into real outcomes.

“Jamaicans have always been world-class,” she said. “AI is a new frontier, and workforce readiness is the bridge. The question is whether we position ourselves early, and whether we build systems that bring more people along.”

Jamaican MBA candidate Tennessee Watt.