As a techie teen growing up in rural Licking County, Ricketts was enamored by rockets, video games and the early internet. He simply yearned to learn how things worked. Ohio State Newark’s entrepreneurial studies program, which pioneered the campus’s distance learning efforts, let him scratch that itch. “I helped test the technology,” he said. “Hearing someone else’s voice through the computer was mind-blowing. It showed me the art of what’s possible.”
The program also showed him how all of a business’ components work in concert, which was music to his ears. “That’s exactly how my brain works,” Ricketts revealed. “I’m very much a systems thinker.” That mindset stuck as he started his career. In 2003 — after four years at the Newark campus — he graduated with his bachelor’s degree and joined Chase’s home lending division. “The entrepreneurial studies program taught me to look at things from an end-to-end perspective,” he claimed. “I’ve taken that same approach to my work.”
He started by building loan extension applications, which eventually helped clients maneuver the mortgage collapse in 2008 and the disaster caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. “Those applications allowed us to do extensions in mass, becoming the backbone of a lot of borrower relief,” he said. “The tools I worked on helped keep tens of thousands of people in their homes.”
Ricketts rose through the company by venturing down roads nobody had explored before. His teams were early adopters of agile product delivery, a fast-paced software development method focused on frequent updates and constant customer feedback. He helped establish Chase’s change management group, which forecasts and responds to market shifts and communicates their impact company-wide. “We had never done those things,” he said, “but I’m not afraid to jump in and try something new.”
He has done it repeatedly as emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), have caught his attention. Ricketts realizes the potential of these emerging technologies. In his current role, as a program manager focused on supporting employee experiences, he’s helping teach ways to channel them properly. “When you provide the tools, great things can happen,” he said, “but we must find the right ways to use them.”
This proven prognosticator is drawing inspiration from Ohio State, which recently integrated AI fluency into its undergraduate curriculum. His alma mater has always inspired him. Moreover, it has given this rural kid a roadmap. “I grew up in the middle of nowhere. Now, I’m at the forefront of this huge and interesting company,” Ricketts said. “Ohio State Newark was the bridge for me. It helps shape the right futures for the right people.”