Michelle Wieser, MBA, Ph.D. is the Business School Strategy Lead for QS Quacquarelli Symonds, where she shapes and executes the QS value proposition for business schools across the U.S. and Canada. In this role, she partners with institutional leaders to drive enrollment growth, enhance global reputation, and align academic offerings with market demand.

Previously, Michelle served as Dean of the School of Business and Technology at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, overseeing 38 academic programs and certificates across multiple campuses and online. She has also held leadership roles as Associate Dean, MBA Program Director, and Career Services Director at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Minnesota, and St. Catherine University. In addition to her administrative leadership, she has taught strategy, marketing, and business communication as an associate professor at Saint Mary’s and St. Catherine.

Before transitioning to higher education, Michelle built a corporate career in sales, marketing, and consulting with General Mills, EY, and Purina. With 20+ years of experience in business education, she brings a deep understanding of institutional challenges, employer expectations, and student success drivers.

Michelle is a former board member of the Forté Foundation and the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA). She has been recognized as a Notable Leader in Higher Education by Twin Cities Business and received a Women’s Leadership Award from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. She has served as the Forté Foundation’s Academic in Residence, guiding and presenting joint research on the academic and career outcomes of MBA students

Michelle holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of Minnesota, an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri. Michelle resides in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with her husband John, their 14-year-old daughter, Charlotte, and their dog, Poppy.