Tag Archives: McCombs School

Facebook’s Doug Wolfe Shares Journey with BHP Students

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Doug Wolfe, the head of Online Operations for Facebook in Austin spoke to the BHP sophomores last week during their lyceum course. He captured the students’ attention with riveting tales of his time in the military and sound career advice. His path is anything but typical, but he explained that there is a common thread, even if it may not be fully apparent at first glance.

Wolfe attended Officer Candidate School when he was an undergraduate and spent nine years as a U.S. Marine Corps Officer. His specialty was in logistics and he went on multiple deployments, including Operation Iraqi Freedom. He then earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, while simultaneously serving as a Naval ROTC instructor at the school. He then spent four years at Morgan Stanley & Co. in institutional services. When he realized he didn’t want to do investment banking anymore, he spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out what it was that he wanted to do. He finally focused on doing what he loved to in an industry he found compelling, finding an operations and organizational leadership role at Facebook in 2010. He recently assumed the position of head of online operations for Facebook’s Austin office.

So what is the common thread? Chaos said Wolfe. He talked about the chaos that exists in serving in the military, where you are consistently faced with new challenges; the chaos that exists in the financial markets; and the chaos that ensues from trying to meet the needs of billions of Facebook users. “I like working in chaos, with some amount of control. The environment keeps you agile. There is value in inefficiency and the space it creates to innovate and learn.”

Leadership and ethics are the two focus areas for the lyceum course and Wolfe said his philosophies on both were heavily shaped by the Marine Corp.

As a leader, he tries to find the best position for someone based on their skill sets, shape them in that role, and then give them the autonomy and practice they need to execute on their own. He stressed the importance of understanding people’s motivations, so you can emotionally connect them to what they are doing.

When talking about ethics, Wolfe recounted the old motto of, ‘You are what you do.’ “Integrity is a bridge between your words and actions,” he said. He explained that Facebook has five values, and one of those is to build trust. He takes that seriously and said that seeing the consistent reflection of Facebook’s five values in their actions is part of what attracted him to working for the company.

Several students asked questions alluding to criticism that Facebook has faced from their users over the years in response to changes made to the platform. “We are user-driven, not necessarily user-led,” said Wolfe. “We have a ship-evaluate-change-ship again philosophy. If you aren’t trying something new, someone else will, and you will lose your position as the market-leader.”

Internship Spotlight: Katie Saxman – Finance for Coastal Energy

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Katie Saxman, a BHP/Finance sophomore, was a finance intern at Coastal Energy this summer. Coastal Energy is an oil and gas exploration and production company with assets in Thailand and Southeast Asia.

How did you find out about your internship?

In the summer of 2011, I was a shadow at an investment bank.  This spring I sent my resume back to the bank and they shared my resume with some of their contacts. Coastal Energy then emailed me to set up an interview. 

What do you think set you apart from other candidates and led to you getting the position over other candidates?

Since there was not a formal recruiting process and I was the only new intern, I cannot speak for other candidates. However, I felt that I connected with all three Coastal employees I interviewed with. Furthermore, I think my involvement in McCombs and other UT activities mixed with my academics showed that I am hardworking and personable, not just focused on classes.  I believe my enthusiasm about the internship set me apart the most.

What were you doing for your internship?

My internship was in the Finance Department of Coastal Energy. A majority of my work was in the investor relations field.  This field always has new and exciting projects that kept me on my toes and made me feel that I was constantly learning and being challenged.  I was also given the opportunity to work with accountants and geoscientists, which fascinates me. Being from Houston, I understand how dependent our economy is on oil and natural gas, and I got the opportunity to learn so much about this field. It reaffirmed my choice to take the Energy Track for my Finance major. 

What did you enjoy most from the experience?

My favorite was projecting future costs based on analyzing data of the amount of money Coastal paid their contractors. This involved working with a variety of people and enabled Coastal to better predict their expenses.  As my first experience in the working world, I also liked experiencing what it was like working 40 hour work weeks. You can’t learn in a classroom some of the things you learn on the job. Commuting, relationships with coworkers, and time management at work were all new to me and added to the experience. 

What were the key takeaways for you?

My key takeaway was learning more about finance and energy. After completing my freshman year and choosing a second business major, I wanted to make sure I really loved the field. I got to experience my first job in the working world and actually apply what I had learned in school.

How do you think this internship will help you with your future career goals?

This internship helped me narrow down my choices in what I eventually want to do full time. It will help set me apart in the future because I will be able to talk about actual work experience and show my enthusiasm. I think showing a prospective employer that you are passionate about the job you are applying for can go a long way. I also appreciate my classes more and will try to take away as much as I can from my courses and professors.

Serial Entrepreneur Steve Papermaster Shares Views on Asia and Tips for Starting a Business

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Steve Papermaster kicked off the BHP sophomore lyceum course last week with a speech about the opportunities that exist within Asia and a bit about his evolution as an entrepreneur. With more than 25 years of entrepreneurial experience in industries ranging from Internet services to energy, healthcare and merchant banking, he is well-versed in evaluating opportunities and starting businesses from the ground up. Papermaster currently serves as Chairman & CEO of DaQiao Group, Chairman of Appconomy, and Executive Chairman of Moxie Software Corporation. Below are a few of the tips he shared with the BHP students.

1) This is the formula I use to when I am evaluating an opportunity to determine if it will lead to a successful business.

V=PxSxM

V is the value, and can be in terms of market share, size, revenues, etc.

P is the size of the problem

S is the solution to the problem

M is the management team

When starting a business, you want a big value opportunity, so if the P,S, or M are small, then the value opportunity is going to be small. You can have the best solution possible, but if the problem it solves doesn’t affect many people, or your management team is not very good, your business isn’t going to be very successful.

2) Having a world view is really critical. When you seek opportunities to start a business, look broadly. Don’t just look in your back yard. Open your mind to what you want to be a part of finding a solution for and look at global problems.

3) One of the key parts of successful entrepreneurship is strong teams and strategic partnerships. Entrepreneurs also need to be determined and need to persevere. People might tell you that you can’t do something or that you are crazy. If the solution you are proposing were easy to do or easy for others to see, someone would have done it, so just remember to persevere and follow your vision, even if others don’t understand or believe in you.

4) A lot of activity is happening in Asia, and a lot of that activity is happening specifically in China. China’s growth has led to some big problems for their citizens and big problems mean big opportunities. DaQiao Group is trying to bridge the innovation gaps with China, the U.S. and affiliated markets. When China’s GDP per capita reaches that of the U.S. right now, it will be four times bigger than ours due to the size of their population. They are going to make a huge impact on the global economy in the next few decades. China is the anchor tenant in the rapidly expanding mall that is Asia.

Internship Spotlight: Cybil Zhang – Chick-fil-A

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Cybil Zhang, a BHP/Finance senior, interned at Chick-fil-A this summer, an experience which she considers “one of the greatest experiences of my life.” Chick-fil-A is a fast-food restaurant chain which specializes in chicken sandwiches and has over 1,600 locations in the US, including one on the UT Austin campus.


How did you find out about your internship?

I found out about the internship through OCR. Chick-fil-A contacted me awhile after for an interview.

What do you think set you apart from other candidates and led to you getting the position over other candidates?

Chick-fil-A strongly believes in “getting the right people on the bus,” and their interviewing process reflects that. From the very beginning, they asked me for my story and genuinely wanted to see if I was a good fit for the internship and vice versa. By conveying my story well, Chick-fil-A was able to see the fit.

What were you doing at your internship?

I was tracking the food miles for Chick-fil-A’s produce to guide a definition for local foods. In addition, I was working on an intern group project for speakerless drive-thrus that was presented to the executive team. Through the internship program, I had the opportunity to learn more about the company through “Lunch & Learns” with key Chick-fil-A staff members, participate in a “Vision & Values” tour of company history, and have dinner at the company president’s house.

What did you enjoy most from the experience?

I enjoyed the relationships I built throughout the internship. Through some conversations, I learned how to better navigate the business world and gained clarity in my professional goals. Through others, I discovered how complex, convoluted, and challenging supply chain and the produce industry are. And through all of these personal conversations, I am becoming more cognizant of my strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in life.

What were the key takeaways for you?

You cannot build a great company unless you first build up people at every level. Make the personal and professional investment, celebrate together, and grieve together. Do what is right, always; the small decisions create habits that shape big decisions. Pursue excellence rather than success. Seek honest and wise friends who will reveal your blind spots with truth and grace. Approach everyone as if they have an interesting story; it keeps you humble, and you never know what you will learn. Look two-levels up. That person has already successfully maneuvered through the position you want and can offer advice with clarity.

How do you think this internship will help you with your future career goals?

This internship has helped me clarify what I look for in a company and career. I have an expansive network of bright and diverse individuals from this experience who I know will do everything in their power to help me in my career. Chick-fil-A also paid me to talk with a professional for almost two hours about how to leverage my strengths in the workforce.

Annual BHP Community BBQ Starts the Year Off Right

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On Thursday, September 6th, over 100 BHP students gathered at Scholz Garten for a night of good barbecue, good conversation, and good friends. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors mingled with each other and with representatives from several BHP sponsors, including Dell, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and KPMG. The event concluded with servings of apple and peach cobbler and a country band playing on the outdoor stage. The event was a nice welcome back to campus and gave BHP students a good start on recruiting for internships and full time offers. BHP Community BBQ has really become a valued tradition- there’s nothing like free food and BHP camaraderie on a warm Texas night. Thank you to all of the students and sponsors who came out, despite the sweltering temperatures!