With business schools facing criticisms for not doing enough to prepare graduates for the job market (Bennis & O'Toole, 2005), institutions are hiring practitioner faculty to breach the gap between workforce-ready graduates and business programs. Ensuring business executives transitioning into academe as adjunct practitioner faculty are prepared prior to teaching is crucial in setting them up for success and important as they infuse their expertise into the curriculum. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perception of preparedness among practitioner faculty in the first year of teaching graduate courses in a business school in the wake of COVID-19. Faculty preparedness consists of processes such as "mentoring, orientation, and professional development programs" (Chun et al., 2019, p. 25) that faculty go through prior to teaching, understanding adjunct practitioner faculty's perception of preparedness is vital to identifying areas of improvement. The study was conducted through individual semi-structured interviews. Three research questions were central to this study: a) What are the perceptions of preparedness among practitioner faculty to be adjunct business faculty? b) What are the challenges practitioner faculty face in their first year of teaching? c) What if any additional support do they feel will improve their teaching? Results of the study included the need for additional training on grading and providing feedback that advances the learner. Additional training on adapting to features in Zoom and Canvas may also be helpful. Findings of this study were compared to the literature to identify areas of confluence and differences with implications for practice and future research in leadership, learning, and service presented. The findings of this study seek to help to better hire, train, and equip adjunct practitioner faculty entering academe. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]