Category Archives: Alumni Spotlights

Alumni Spotlight: Phil Canfield – Managing Director at GTCR

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Alumni Spotlight: Phil Canfield – Managing Director at GTCR

Phil Canfield graduated with degrees in Business Honors and Finance in 1989. He is currently a Managing Director and co-head of the Information Services & Technology Group at GTCR, a private equity firm based in Chicago. Since 1980, GTCR has invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies, and Phil has been a part of many of those deals.

 

 

Take me through your career to this point.

When I graduated, I joined Kidder, Peabody and Company. I was there from 1990-1992. I joined GTCR in 1992 and am now into my 22nd year. I started out as an analyst and soon went on to earn an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School. I then started our technology investing practice around 1996 and have continued to run that with my partner, Craig Bondy, who is a BHP alum as well. In 2007, I became GTCR’s managing partner.

What were the most important things you learned at Kidder and how did that role set you on the path to private equity?

I would start the story all the way back to BHP when I graduated from Texas and started doing the financial analysis work at Kidder. Building models, looking at comps, margin profiles, return on capital and all the financial metrics – I came into the role with a huge head start. Coming out of the McCombs undergrad program, I understood business finance, accounting and how to build financial models. When I joined Kidder, other young post-undergrad analysts didn’t have that same background. It gave me a tremendous capacity for work, and I participated in a lot of interesting deals. That led to tangible experience, and I was able to leverage that into getting my job at GTCR.

What deals are you working on now, or what are you focused on in your group?

Within our IS&T group, we focus mainly on software, telecommunication infrastructure, media and information services. We develop an investment thesis about an area, aim to recruit an exceptional leadership team and use extensive research to validate our thesis. We use our capital to create businesses under the leadership of those teams. Typically, our thesis focuses on the operational and strategic transformation of businesses in a particular industry. We do a lot of accounting and M&A work. Within the IS&T group, we have a couple dozen companies on our list that we are researching at any point in time. When we are trying to push to completion, we only have a couple at a time.

For students who might not know much about private equity, how would you best describe your role and what you do?

At its base, private equity provides a better form of governance through the use of financial leverage.  No one wants to be the average guy in a money management business. Our process and leader-driven strategy is our differentiated approach. We find great CEOs and use our capital to put them in charge of undermanaged businesses and grow those businesses. We expand their domain, providing more resources, products and services. That’s how we seek to generate alpha.

Why do you enjoy about working in private equity and what do you think is most challenging about the field?

For me, being in private equity is both fun and intellectually challenging. It is both analytical and people-oriented. You are meeting with bright and engaging CEOs. I love hearing their stories, learning about how they built their business, and how they think about leadership. I spend most of my time talking to really successful leaders about how to build and grow businesses. We become their partners and are involved in all the major decisions across a lot of different companies. Most of the time, our CEOs know more about their businesses than we do, but it is nice for them to have us as a sounding board. We can have a candid conversation about their people.  Many don’t understand the people part is important in private equity, and I think that is key to being successful in this space.

What advice do you have for current students in the program who might be interested in pursuing a career in private equity?

Learn accounting and finance. I can’t stress accounting enough. People often think finance is more interesting, but accounting is the language of business. When I look at a company’s financial statements, they talk to me and tell me what is going on. A cash-flow sheet is worth a thousand words. It is fundamental to understand that. I think about accounting every day. Focus on that.

There aren’t very many jobs in private equity right out of undergrad. We mostly hire from consulting and investment banking. If you go into consulting, be ready to convince us that you can do modeling and financial analysis. Private equity firms are small and don’t have the capacity to train people, so make sure you learn how to do models and can demonstrate your knowledge from the get-go.

Education is a passion of yours. How are you making an impact in that area?

I think about philanthropy from an ROI perspective. For me, if you can invest in someone’s education, which helps him/her work hard and contribute to the economy, you are going to get more bang for your buck than any other investment. I was a beneficiary of a great public school system. I didn’t have to worry about paying much for my education, especially for the value of the education. Not everyone lives where access to high quality education is readily available. My wife and I have done a lot of scholarship work at the Latin School in Chicago and the University of Chicago Booth School. We hope to do more of that.

Any parting thoughts?

BHP prepared me incredibly well. The cohort structure was really cool. I got to know my classmates very well and we still stay in touch. People talk about UT being such a big place, but BHP was a great way to make it feel smaller and make friends. The camaraderie and shared experience of BHP is a great thing.

Alumni Spotlight: Amy Bell – ED and Head of Principal Investments for J.P. Morgan Social Finance

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Amy Bell, BHP ’03, MPA ’03, is an Executive Director and Head of Principal Investments for J.P. Morgan’s Social Finance business unit in New York City. The portfolio Amy manages seeks to achieve positive impact on low-income and excluded populations around the world, in addition to generating financial returns. She is also co-president of the Board of Directors for the Microfinance Club of New York and is actively engaged with Net Impact, Student Sponsor Partners and the New York Road Runners.

Tell me about your career progression leading up to your current position.

When I graduated, I went to Deloitte in Dallas and spent time as a fraud investigator. I was interested in consulting and international work, and there was opportunity there to do both. After a couple of years, I felt like I needed to expand my skill set and began exploring my alternatives. I interviewed for a position in investment banking with the J.P. Morgan team in Dallas and really clicked with them. In 2005 I joined as an Analyst in the Consumer Retail coverage group. I really enjoyed the work and thought I would be best served to spend some time at the firm’s headquarters in New York for a bit. I moved in 2007 to join our Mergers and Acquisitions group as an Associate, working with clients on their strategic goals, and never ended up moving back. I had always been interested in doing something in economic development and shortly after I moved here, the firm formed a Social Finance division. I did some volunteer work for that division while in my role in M&A. The volunteer work turned into a full-time opportunity, and I joined the Social Finance group in 2010 to manage an investment portfolio for the team. It was the perfect fit.

What kind of impact has your portfolio made?

We have $100 million that we are investing in best-in-class emerging fund managers who are able to identify financially sustainable businesses that work to improve the lives of low-income and underserved populations around the world. We refer to investments with this kind of dual objective as “impact investments”. We have committed just over half of the $100 million now. And as of the end of 2012, we had improved livelihoods for 14 million people through these investments. Those improvements include access to healthcare, education and a number of things that contribute to a more secure and healthy livelihood for an individual and his family. We don’t judge our success on the type of improvement but rather on how these companies are using their capital in an efficient way to generate impact.

In addition to success of the portfolio, we also want to demonstrate that  commercial organizations like JPMorgan Chase can engage in impact investing. Our group contributes research and thought leadership to deepen awareness and understanding of effective impact investing strategies. It is all part of a larger strategic effort to support this type of innovative finance worldwide and to create a positive impact in the communities in which JPMorgan Chase operates.

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?

Day-to-day, the bulk of what I do is focused on managing the portfolio – identifying and structuring deals and then managing our investments to achieve our financial and impact objectives. We have a high expectation for the portfolios. We are managed as a business and should be a financially viable activity, so I have a large responsibility for ensuring that occurs. We are essentially starting a new business from scratch inside of a large firm, so that is a challenge.

What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?

Because of the nature of the work that we do, we come into contact with incredibly smart people who passionately care about making an impact with the tools that the private sector offers. It’s hard work for anyone participating in this space, so to be able to find like-minded souls in this quest is fantastic. I also love visiting with our fund managers to see where our dollars are having an impact. That is very rewarding. Last October, I went to Kenya to visit with Wilmar Flowers, a company getting investment support from the African Agricultural Capital Fund, one of our investees. Wilmar is an exporter of smallholder-supplied flowers. Their flowers are sold in European markets. This company provides smaller farms with the opportunity to sell in markets where only large farms sold before, thereby increasing and diversifying their source of income. Today they purchase from 3,000 farmers across Kenya. Our fund’s investment will enable them to engage an additional 5,000 to 8,000 farmers in the coming years.

What does the Microfinance Club of New York do and why did you get involved in it?

It is an information platform for people who want to learn more about that sector. Microfinance refers broadly to the provision of financial services to low-income or underserved populations. Microfinance is what got me excited about leveraging a for-profit business model to create social or environmental change. I became a member of the Board of MFCNY in 2009, serving in various capacities and now act as co-president. It is very relevant to what I do now.

Philanthropy is a keen interest of yours. Why do you choose to give and what causes are you most passionate about?

It is important to me because I am only where I am today because of good fortune and the many good acts of people who supported me along the way. I didn’t set out to pursue a career to do well financially, but I have found one that allows me to do so. I want to use that money to provide support to others and communities that I feel a connection to. I want others to have the experience I had at UT, so I give to the university. I support breast cancer research and am very passionate about education, so I also give to that. I want to be active in giving to these causes now while I have the means.

What does corporate social responsibility mean to you?

It has a bit of a mixed reputation. There are a lot of companies that do it well, and I think what good companies do is find a way to make it relevant to the business and integrate it into the overall strategy, not just do it for Public Relations. There is a lot of talk right now about whether it actually generates shareholder value, and I think it does. When done well, it will generate real, long-term value for the company and its stakeholders.

What advice do you have for current BHP Students?

When I look back at my career to date, one element that has been consistent throughout is that I have been fortunate to have good relationships with people who have been willing to mentor me. I have worked hard to maintain those relationships, and they, in turn, helped me with big decisions and to grow in my career. Seek those relationships out and make sure you tend to them, even if you move to another job or another state. I hope I can do that for someone else during the course of my career. Good relationships are critical in every facet of your life, both personal and professional, so don’t take them for granted.

Alumni Spotlight: Jeff Wilser – Class of ’98

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Jeff Wilser, BHP ’98, isn’t a typical BHP grad. He may have started on the path of a typical business grad, but that path veered into something quite different. Jeff is a writer, and has just published his third book. Most of his writing is on the topic of guys’ perspectives on relationships and culture. His website touts that he is, “likely the only person alive to have written for both GQ and The Knot.” He has made a number of TV appearances and frequently contributes to various magazines and newspapers. We sat down with Jeff, who currently lives in New York City, to find out more about his career path and what is on the horizon for him.

You have quite a variety of experience. Take me through your career trajectory.

I started in corporate finance at Intel and I realized early on that it wasn’t what motivated and challenged me. I actually had a spreadsheet with pros and cons of different career options, including being a history professor or a writer. I decided to try one more business before totally switching, so I went to Gap, Inc. in San Francisco as a senior analyst in marketing strategy. I stayed there for about a year and then moved to New York to get my Masters in Fine Arts (MFA), with a concentration in Fiction.

I didn’t really do any writing prior to that. The first short story I wrote was for my MFA application.  There was only one tiny problem with Fiction writing: I wasn’t very creative. But I found that I really enjoyed non-fiction. My first paid job was writing about bars. It paid $12 a review. I lost money every review because my tab was more than my pay. It snowballed into nightlife writing. I got more editorial experience and was doing a lot of freelancing for other publications. I was mainly writing about pop culture, relationships and men’s interests. I was approach by a publishing company about writing a humor book about “man rules.” Also around that time, I was approached about starting a website that would be a resource for men getting married called ThePlunge.com. The publisher liked my voice and wanted me to write it. Then I started writing about that subject for various magazines. I just released my third book and am also doing some marketing strategy and analysis work for a company on the side.

At this point in your life, what do you enjoy doing the most?

Writing-wise, I tend to gravitate towards guys’ thoughts on relationships, but have enjoyed going outside of that this year, like talking about the world’s next super powers, or military history, or how California is exporting more wine to China. Writing gives you constant intellectual nourishment. I am enjoying more exploration of niche topics. I wrote an article about ancient monks this year.

You have made some bold career changes. Did you view those as risks? How did you overcome the fear of learning and doing something new?

I definitely viewed them as risks and it was actually part of the appeal. I am a bit of a risk seeker. I joined the Marine Corps when I was at UT. I liked the idea of testing myself. This was another way of testing myself. Sticking with the chosen path of finance would have been the safe and optimized path as far as money, but I knew it didn’t really jive in my gut with what I wanted to do. I knew at that gut level that the writing path squared with my deeper motivations, so I was able to ignore the risk and move forward. My business background also provided a safety net. I knew I would always be able to find another job in finance or marketing if I wanted to.

Tell me about the books you have written.

The first book I was approached about writing was The Maxims of Manhood: 100 Rules Every Real Man Must Live By. I don’t claim to be an expert. I just try to be entertaining. After I published that book, I was framed as a “man expert.” My second book was The Man Cave. Clearly that’s my Pulitizer-bait. Andrea Syrtash and I wrote a new book about how dating rules are all dumb, titled It’s Okay to Sleep with Him on the First Date: And Every Other Rule of Dating, Debunked.

I wasn’t prepared for people I knew actually reading my books. When my first book came out, people I hadn’t talked to in years were contacting me about it. That book was very personal. I included more than I would have if I had thought through who would be reading it. It was both cool and horrifying that people I knew – and my parents—were reading it and asking me about parts of it. It is very hard to write about relationships while you are in a relationship and I have made mistakes in the past, revealing maybe more than I should. I don’t do that anymore, but it is still awkward to write about my private life in detail. It is a major career hazard.

As someone who has never been married, what prompted you to start ThePlunge.com, a website for grooms, and why do you think people connect with your advice?

It was important to us to have a mission of brutal candor and be really honest. We felt like the other websites out there for grooms weren’t true to how guys think. The publisher actually really liked the fact that I wasn’t married. I wasn’t biased by my own experience and I wasn’t accountable to a wife and could be really honest. I do a lot of research and do a lot of interviews to try to instill grooms’ perspectives and voices into my articles.

I think people connect with the irreverence. A spoon full of sarcasm helps the wedding planning go down. The tone is different. I think guys can really relate to my voice.

How do you think BHP prepared you for all you have done?

It pushed me to ask questions, challenge myself, and do new things. I love that I have BHP as my background. My favorite class was advanced stats with Dr. Jay Koehler. He talked about how so much of the world is explained by statistics. It has influenced my writing. That business background—I hope—gives my writing more texture. It has been useful to have a business foundation.  Having done business at the beginning of my career, it gave me more confidence to do something very different and really do what I wanted to do.

What is the most valuable thing you have learned in your career so far?

Say yes. It was especially important at the beginning of my writing career. I had a lot of wacky writing offers that didn’t make sense at first. I tended to say yes and that has opened surprising doors. Now I can look back at my career and see a through-line. The hub is guy’s perspectives on relationships and culture. While I was doing it though, it felt really random. I was open to rolling the dice on new projects, and there were a lot of positive ripple effects.

What is next for you?

I am working on a new book of personal essays about the awkwardness of dating as an adult, defined as being of a certain age when most of your friends are married. There is pressure when the rest of your friends are all married and have children. Also, more freelance writing for magazines.

Any words of wisdom for current BHP students?

I don’t know how wise this is, but I don’t think there is a chosen path that anyone has to follow. No matter what you are studying now or what your interests are now, that might change. Don’t be afraid to explore other interests. Even though it might not be the logical next step, it might pay off in the long run.

Alumni Spotlight – Marialena Rivera, Class of 2007

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Alumni Spotlight – Marialena Rivera, Class of 2007

Marialena Rivera graduated in 2007 with a BBA in BHP and marketing and a BA in government. She then went on to earn master’s degrees in teaching from Pace University and public policy from UC Berkeley. She is currently working towards a PhD in policy organization, measurement and evaluation at UC Berkeley. She has served as a policy analyst, taught middle school in the Bronx, and started a non-profit called B.R.I.D.G.E. with her BHP classmates Pegah Javidpour, Sarina Hickey, and Melissa Pons. Most recently, Marialena delivered the keynote address at Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders, a program sponsored by UT Austin, where she inspired high school seniors to get involved in public policy and become leaders of positive change.

You have 3 bachelor’s degrees, 2 master’s degrees, and are working on a PhD. What has motivated you to keep going?

I have always loved school and have always been a very curious person. I am lucky that I have been able to keep going. When I finished my undergrad, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Opportunities presented themselves to me at different times, like Teach for America (TFA). When you are doing TFA, you are doing a master’s at the same time, so that is how that degree came about. I met a professor when I was doing my public policy master’s, who talked to me about my growing interest in research and doing a PhD.

You were a teacher for two years in the Bronx as part of the Teach for America program. Why did you apply for Teach for America and what insight did you gain from your teaching experience?

When I was a senior, I felt I wanted to do something meaningful with my life. My parents sacrificed a lot so my siblings and I could go to college. I wanted to do something my parents would be proud of and something to give back, since they gave me so much. My roommate in college was working for TFA recruiting college students and the more I learned about it, the more interested I became in the program. After five weeks of training, I was placed in a high needs classroom in the Bronx. I found that there was a wide variance of skill levels among the students, and I didn’t really have enough training for how to address the variety of academic and emotional needs. We had some successes and I was doing the best I could, but I really saw a need to fix some of the deeper issues I had seen in my classroom at a policy level. I decided to go to public policy school to study some of the root causes of the problems I was seeing.

Public policy is a passion of yours. How do you define public policy and how do you encourage people to get involved?

I define public policy as people recognizing problems in society and figuring out how to use laws, regulations, etc. to fix those problems. I think people have to come to public policy out of a personal motivation. The people working in public policy that I know are very passionate about something, which usually came from a personal experience or something they saw that really bothered them. For me, it was my experience in the classroom that prompted my work on education. Everyone has gone through something difficult or knows someone who has. No matter what your issue is, know that you can do something about issues that bother you. There are so many problems right now and we need as many people as possible working on these issues.

What research are you currently conducting?

I am working on a couple different projects with faculty members at Berkeley. I am working on a study of Teach for America, exploring how TFA has affected participants’ career trajectories. I recently worked with a team looking at the Oakland School District and the community schools model that they are implementing. I am also working on my own research. I was recently awarded a fellowship through the Social Science Research Council to help me develop my research for my dissertation, which will be on public financing for school districts. I am looking at the impact of tax policy on equity for students and am looking at bond election data and debt instrument usage. Data collection includes interviews with private organizations, state officials, and school district employees. I hope to make recommendations on how tax policies at the state level can be improved to make them more equitable, and improve the student experience.

You have received multiple awards and fellowships over the years. What are you most proud of having accomplished?

Of all of the things I have done, I am most proud of teaching. I don’t think I have ever poured my heart and soul as much into something. When I was a finalist for the Sue Lehman Excellence in Teaching Award at the end of my time with Teach for America, it was just a small token of appreciation for my work and the work of my students, but I was proud of that accomplishment. Still, I felt like I wasn’t as good as I should have been, and I believed the kids needed more. All of the work I have been doing the last few years has been motivated by my desire to help kids like the ones I taught in New York have a better classroom experience.

Tell me more about the non-profit you started with fellow classmates and what it was like getting that off the ground.

It was an amazing experience. I worked with three other BHP students and we started with just an idea based on a problem we saw. We knew there were migrant farmers’ children who weren’t graduating high school at the same rate as others. We entered the LBJ School’s Social Innovation Competition and won $10,000, which got us started. We applied for non-profit status, set up a board, started meeting with community leaders and other non-profits. A lot of other organizations were willing to help us. We were chosen to go the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference. We met Bill Clinton and his staff and got a lot of great ideas from them. We also participated in two other competitions, for which we were runners up. We developed a summer program, where we organized service projects related to the migrant farmer population in South Texas. We have done that for 4 years now and have partnered with other organizations for that. I have stepped away for a bit so I can focus on my PhD. My partners are still working very hard on it and are setting up a mentorship program and a college fund.

What do you see yourself doing after you complete your PhD?

I want to continue to work in education policy. I see myself either going the academia route and becoming a professor, or working at the state level for the department of education or for state legislators.

What advice do you have for current BHP students?

Be open to options inside and outside of business. So many of the people I graduated from BHP with are using business skills in ways that we might not have thought of. Business skills can be applicable in non-traditional career paths. I would also encourage students to get involved and make a change in their community, even if they are starting small, they can still accomplish great things.

Alumni Spotlight: Arthur Li – Head of Business Finance and Administration for Altamarea Group

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Alumni Spotlight: Arthur Li – Head of Business Finance and Administration for Altamarea Group

Arthur Li, BHP class of 2006, is Head of Business Finance and Administration for Altamarea Group, a highly respected and industry recognized restaurant group in New York City comprised of Marea, Ai Fiori, Costata, Osteria Morini, Nicoletta, and The Butterflyin New York City; Osteria Morini and Due Mari in New Jersey, and Al Molo in Hong Kong. Arthur graduated with degrees in BHP and Plan II, and earned his MPA the following year. We recently spoke to him to find out more about Altamarea Group and his role there.

 

Tell me about your career path leading up to what you are doing now.

During my 5th year I was working for J.P. Morgan in Austin in the investment banking group with restaurant industry focus. After graduation I stayed on with the same group. I was fascinated by the restaurant industry and loved food, but knew I wanted to work in finance, so this opportunity combined both perfectly, and I got to stay in Austin. After a year, I transferred to J.P. Morgan’s consumer retail investment banking coverage group in New York. In November 2008, I moved on to Wasserstein & Co., a middle-market private equity firm. I spent two years there, and got some really great experience and got to learn more about other industries. But I was working 80-100 hours a week and starting to feel a little burnt out.

In 2010, I decided to do something new and different and started to explore something in the restaurant industry. I started looking at smaller restaurant groups in New York and other ways to get into the industry. I had always been reading the food blogs and keeping track of the hot restaurants in the city. One day, I came across a New York Times article on Altamarea Group. It was the first time I heard about the group, but after reading the article, I knew this could be my dream job. One of the owners, Ahmass Fakahany, who was previously the CFO of Merrill Lynch, had made the jump into the restaurant industry like I wanted to do. I figured if the group was growing that rapidly, maybe they could use an extra finance person. With nothing to lose, I emailed the generic jobs email address letting them know my interest in joining the group, and within days, Ahmass reached out to me. We had a few meetings, then the day before Thanksgiving, he offered me a position as Head of Finance for Osteria Morini. A year after joining Altamarea Group, I was promoted to serve as Head of Business Finance for all of the restaurants in the group. I currently manage a team of seven who perform day-to-day book-keeping, accounting, operational finance and administrative activities. I also work closely with senior management in growing the company, both organically at each of our current locations and through new restaurant expansion.

What appealed to you about Altamarea Group?

The group is entrepreneurial. We are building the business from the ground up. It is a very different scene, which I love. I traded Park Avenue for Soho. I have a lot of room to mold and shape the strategy of the group. I get to work with the best of the best in the industry and interact with GMs and chefs. I work with so many kinds of different people, which I love. I enjoy getting to see all aspects of the business – HR, operations, business development, construction. Plus, I get to call Chef Michael White, a multiple Michelin-starred, James Beard award-winning, and Relais & Chateaux chef, my boss.

What are the challenges and rewards of working in the restaurant industry?

In banking and private equity, we were able to move so quickly, because that is the nature of finance. It is not the same pace in the restaurant industry. The vendors we work with don’t move at that pace, so there are always road blocks and delays. It is definitely a challenge to move at a slower pace, especially when we are trying to execute such an aggressive growth strategy. There are also a lot of different personalities to manage, which can be exciting but also admittedly challenging at times. On the flip side, when our restaurants are successful as they are, that is the most rewarding feeling. When our clients are happy, we are happy. I work with all our chefs and GMs to figure out how we can maximize not just the top-line but our profitability as well. I literally go down every line item of the P&L to figure out how we can spend less to make more. It is also very rewarding when we open a new restaurant. I treat all our restaurants as if they are my children. Every new restaurant we open is like having another baby for me.

What is the growth plan for Altamarea and what role will you play in that?

We currently operate seven restaurants now, and we are excited to be opening six more this year – two in New York, one in New Jersey, and one in Washington DC. We are also opening a new concept in London next month, which is truly exciting. No two of these restaurants are the same concept, which makes it challenging but fun at the same time. Beyond 2013, we are actively looking at other markets for expansion, including Los Angeles and Asia. We feel like we have a lot of growth in front of us.

I work very closely with Ahmass and Michael, as well as our media relations, business development and legal teams, and play a role throughout the entire opening process, from lease negotiations, capital budget planning, design and construction, to opening. When we are opening so many restaurants so quickly, it is extremely important that we are managing our cash flow optimally. This falls squarely on the finance team’s shoulders.

How did you learn all of the elements of your job that you didn’t already know?

I am a relentlessly hard worker and will do as much as I can as best as I can to figure something out. A lot of it is just problem-solving, which I learned a lot of from BHP. I started with a good knowledge base and have been able to learn throughout my career the other aspects of managing a business and managing people. If you are smart, a hard worker and know how to work well with people, you will do well. Attention to detail and organization are also very important. I juggled a lot in college, so I feel like I learned a lot of these soft skills during that time. Problems, emergencies, dilemmas are so common in the restaurant business, it is important as a leader to remain calm and rational so we can figure out how to put out the fires.

In what other ways do you feel BHP prepared you for your career?

I was really into BHP when I was a student. BHP classes were my favorite. I was a recruiter, peer advisor, and a TA for BA 101H. I have realized over the course of my career that group projects and cases were very valuable experiences. I have been able to problem-solve and manage people better because I had a head start on this in college due to the interactive nature of BHP classes. Also, my focus on networking and getting involved put me ahead and helped set me apart in my job search.

What advice do you have for current students?

Regardless of whether they plan to go into finance, something finance-related, or even a non-finance career, accounting is a really important skill to have. I oversee the finance team, and when we are hiring junior people, a candidate with accounting background automatically stands out. Take your accounting classes seriously even if you don’t pursue this as a major or career because that knowledge will set you apart and will prove to be useful down the line in life. Also, take advantage of being part of a small cohort within the BHP community and get to know as many people as you can. Coming to New York, I knew a lot of people in New York who were BHP, and our worlds frequently collide. It is great to have that BHP connection, especially when we are so far away from Texas.