BHP Students Seeing Success in Case Competitions

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BHP Students Seeing Success in Case Competitions
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Jack Chang, Mustafa Neemuchwala, Rahul Gupta and Mickey Li

Teams of BHP students have been competing in case competitions and stock pitch competitions near and far. Mickey Li and Rahul Gupta won first place at the MIT Fall Intercollegiate Trading Competition in the Foreign Exchange Competition, beating teams from Harvard, Stanford, MIT and other top universities. Mickey and Rahul used skills they learned from trading internships and the Undergraduate Computational Finance student organization to beat their competition during the multiple sessions of electronic trading and floor trading.

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Srija, Karna, Austin and Megan

An all-BHP team comprised of sophomores Megan Tran-Olmsted, Srija Nalla and Karna Venkatraj, and junior Austin Partridge, participated in the Michigan Undergraduate Investment Conference at the University of Michigan through the University Securities Investment Team. The team competed in a trading simulation game and a comprehensive stock pitch, taking third place.

BHP juniors Eric Saldanha and Abhishek Ramchandani traveled to the University of Arizona for the Eller Ethics Case Competition in October. The case covered the dispute between Apple and the FBI surrounding the San Bernadino case. Competitors were asked to consider ethical, legal and financial considerations of Apple’s response and make a recommendation for future disputes with the FBI. Eric and Abhishek created an ethical framework for Apple drawing from the company’s core values as well as fundamental concepts in ethics and business law. They also proposed the creation of a Privacy Oversight Committee within Apple that would review government requests and make recommendations.

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Abhishek and Eric

The team did not advance to the finals, but they were happy to have competed and valued the learning opportunity. “We had never competed in an ethics case competition and it presented questions that we had never thought of before,” said Eric. “Not only did we have to think about whether Apple’s actions harmed national security, we had to evaluate whether Apple even has an obligation to protect national security in the first place. We also had to evaluate which was more egregious from and ethical perspective: harming national security interests, or harming consumer privacy rights.”

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Eric, Diane, Abhishek and Travis

After returning from Arizona, Abhishek and Eric once again competed in another event, the McCombs Fall Case Competition hosted by the Undergraduate Business Council. Their team also included BHP junior Diane Sun and BBA senior Travis Monteleone. Their team, Pacific Solutions, took first place in that competition and will be going on to represent McCombs at the University of Southern California’s national case competition.

BHP is grateful to the alumni who support our program. Your generous contributions help us sponsor students to attend case competitions across the United States and even abroad.

Major Representatives Help Students Choose Additional Business Major

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For the past two years, BHP has sought out upperclassmen representing each business major to serve as Major Representatives. Major Representatives are available to help underclassmen trying to determine which business major would be the best fit for them. Although BHP students do not need to take on another business major, most choose to do so and the choice of which one to pursue can be a difficult one.

Senior Kruti Mehta is serving as a major representative for Management Information Systems (MIS). Kruti came into UT planning to do pre-med, but realized freshman year she didn’t want to pursue that path anymore.

“One day I woke up and decided I didn’t want to be a pre-med student anymore. So I  did the only thing I could think of and ran straight to the BHP office, having no idea what I wanted or how to even ask for help,” said Kruti. “I must have looked so terrified when I got there, because the upperclassman working the desk immediately left his chair and came and sat on the couches with me. And an hour later, I was still sitting there, except five to six additional upperclassmen had joined the discussion.  A few hours and many conversations later, I finally left the office, relieved. I’ll never forget the immense gratitude I felt towards these students that willingly came to the rescue of a lost freshman that they didn’t even know. I still think back on this day as one of my favorite memories from being a part of this program.”

Kruti encourages students to visit with a major representative or another upperclassman if they need help figuring out what they would enjoy doing or are just looking for a dependable friend to help guide them.

BHP has devoted a page of our current student site to our major representatives. On this page, students can read about why these students chose their major, what specific skills they associate with the major and why they would recommend the major to other students. Their contact information is also provided for students who are interested in contacting them to learn more about their experience in the major.

Additionally, BHP will host a Major Representatives Coffee Chat on Monday, October 17 from 5-6 pm in the GSB Event Room. This event will give students the opportunity to visit with all of the reps and ask them questions about the specific path they are considering. Please RSVP for this event in advance.

Senior Nadia Senter is living her dream working for Universal Music Group

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Senior Nadia Senter is living her dream working for Universal Music Group

nadia-senterBHP senior Nadia Senter has wanted to work in the music industry since high school. She got her wish when she landed a coveted internship with the Grammys, which then led to an even more coveted internship with Universal Music Group (UMG), eventually leading to a full-time job with UMG which she will start this summer. It has been a long journey full of hard work and persistence, but that persistence has paid off.

As a senior in high school at Westlake High School in Austin, Nadia called nearly 100 places in Austin trying to land her first internship in the music industry. Finally one person, Freddie Krc, said yes, and took her on. Freddie owns his own record label, has a lot of music industry connections and he was a governor on the board of The Recording Academy, which administers the Grammys. He encouraged her to get involved in GrammyU in college.

Each year GrammyU hires two interns from each of their chapters who are juniors. Nadia landed the internship her junior year. It isn’t your typical internship, as it is a year-round commitment and requires 20 hours a week. It was through a connection she made at GrammyU that Nadia made an introduction to UMG.

The UMG interview process was rigorous, with multiple rounds of interviews and reference checks for all of her previous jobs. Nadia was one of only 60 students nation-wide to land the internship. Again, she was expected to work year-round, part-time during the year and full-time during the summer. Nadia doesn’t mind the work load, because she loves what she is doing. She is a College and Lifestyle Marketing Representative, serving as UMG’s boots on the ground in Austin. When one of their artist’s comes through, she goes to the show, then reports on the venue, how the show went, the demographics of the audience, and builds relationships with the venues and record stores in Austin. She is also working on new artist development, coming up with ideas to gain exposure with college students in the area.

Once a semester Nadia and the entire intern team are flow to the UMG headquarters in Santa Monica for a type of case competition. Each team is given a new artist and tasked with determining plans for how to market their artist. The teams then pitch their plans to the executives. The interns are also introduced to employees in all departments. If interns in their program do well, they will be hired full-time and will have the opportunity to pick which department they are most interested in working in, so it is important that they understand all the functions at the company. Nadia is still figuring out what function she prefers, but knows she has an interest in entertainment law, and is considering pursuing a law degree in the future.

Reflecting back upon her success in landing these coveted internships, Nadia says networking was the key to her success. “I went to every possible event in the music industry that I could,” she says. “Getting a good mentor, which I had with Freddie, was also important.”

BHP Alum Leads Students in Unique Career Design Workshop

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By Kate Shanks, BHP Junior

A couple weeks ago, I attended a workshop put on by BHP for the first time, called Design Your Career. The workshop was led by BHP alumnae Haley Robison, CEO of KAMMOK, an Austin-based startup. As a junior who still isn’t quite sure what I want to do after graduation, I thought the workshop could be really useful to me. I also knew a bit about Haley and knew she was really dynamic, so I was really looking forward to learning more from her.

The workshop was designed to give students tools based on design thinking that could be applied to plan their careers. One of the best activities of the day was a 100 jobs exercise. We each identified 12 jobs that were most appealing to us, then broke into groups to discuss themes emerging from the list. The exercise helped me better understand myself, my passions, my interests, and career options that I hadn’t previously considered.

We then used the prototyping element of design thinking to each plan out three completely different career paths for ourselves. We ended the workshop by bringing those prototype dreams to reality by creating achievable stepping stones for ourselves so we can better understand what we want for our future.

The workshop created a structured but creative space for students to explore different future possibilities. Haley’s experience in design thinking, from her time working at IDEO and working for the Stanford Design School, really helped her to guide us through this unique style of thinking. For me, I found it interesting how I was able to combine elements of what I dream of doing with what I am preparing myself in college to do, in order to propel myself forward. I left the workshop with more tools to design my own career path and excited about all of the directions that I could go in after graduation.

Alumni Spotlight: Bhargav Srinivasan – Class of 2012

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Alumni Spotlight: Bhargav Srinivasan – Class of 2012

bhargavBhargav Srinivasan, BHP ’12, is in his second year of a four-year JD/MBA joint degree program at Harvard. This past summer, he worked at the White House as an intern in the National Economic Council (NEC), working on finance policy for the Obama Administration.

What did you work on in your internship?

I spent my time at the NEC working on policy across financial technology, financial regulation, and housing finance. We worked to inform the Administration’s perspective and also to “hardwire” our learnings so that the next administration can use what we’ve done to date.

I found particularly interesting the idea of fostering responsible innovation in financial technology. For example, blockchain applications, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, have the potential to change the way we store and transfer data and money. There is a lot of innovation in finance right now, so I think it’s more important now than ever before to develop smart regulation that simultaneously protects financial stability and shepherds consumers while fostering innovation.

How was the experience?

It was truly unforgettable. I gained amazing perspective on how government works which I had never had, but the real highlight of my summer were the people I met. First, the NEC staff shared with me their interesting perspectives from government, law, business, academia, and other industries. Next, I was blessed to have a group of interns who made my summer more enjoyable than I could have imagined. We came from all across the country to serve President Obama, and, in the process, became close friends. Finally, we met White House personnel through a speaker series. The speakers ranged the gamut from POTUS and VPOTUS to the directors of the NEC, DPC, and other White House offices. Meeting and having a personal conversation with FLOTUS is a memory I will never forget.

What were your main takeaways from the internship?

I learned about the White House’s power and its limits. The two sources of power are the bully pulpit and the staff’s ability to quarterback key issues. Though the bully pulpit is diminishing in a world of constant communication, the President still gets to shine a light on the issues he believes are most important.

On the other hand, the power to quarterback is executed by the staff who work with and on behalf of the President to get the right folks in the same room. Making policy requires coordination and stakeholder engagement. The Administration uses agencies to implement its vision, so it’s important to hear feedback and develop buy-in from the agencies and other key parties when forming policy. When key parties come together and feel invested, executing as a team behind a single policy vision becomes easier. To that end, the White House plays a crucial role.

Would you say Washington is more “West Wing” or “House of Cards” in your experience?

I actually love both shows! The fortunate reality is that Washington is more West Wing than House of Cards. Most people working in government are trying to do the right thing for the American people. It’s easy to be skeptical of centralized power and special interests, but I felt the White House staff were truly working as honest brokers. When it comes to technology, the staff stay abreast of activity in the market, weigh different regulatory approaches, and make an informed decision to proceed. I’m more optimistic about the future of government after having been in DC than before.

Any revelations from the experience?

I learned that driving big changes requires Congress, but the Executive branch can take smaller, wonkier actions to make people’s lives better. For example, agencies can make programs and policy enforcement more effective through rule-making and administrative discretion. I hope that more students interested in public policy consider a career in administration because it’s a good way to drive tangible change in discrete ways.

How is your joint degree program going at Harvard?

Great! I just finished year one of law school and started year one of business school at Harvard Business School. The volume of work in during the first year of law school was pretty grueling, so my law school friends joke that I’m on vacation, but business school has been just as busy in a more balanced way.

Our JD/MBA program has roughly 10 students per year, who form a strong community of 40 overall. It’s a diverse group with varied aspirations, so the best part of being in the program is learning from my peers. There are also quite a few BHP alums at both schools, especially HBS. I still ask for perspective from one of my first BHP mentors, Eric Sung (BHP ‘10, HBS ‘16).

How will the JD/MBA benefit you in the future?

The program offers a lot of value. First, I’m simultaneously developing skills as a GM and a lawyer that will make me a strong decision-maker in an organizational setting. Next, the joint degree allows me to keep open diverse long-term career options. Finally, my peers are amazing and form the basis for a strong network to start my career. I recommend the program to anyone who genuinely finds both fields interesting.