As an alumnus of Babson College’s undergraduate program, I was able to leverage my business education and knowledge upon graduation into a management consultant’s position. My experiences at Babson gave me a strong business foundation that was critical for me to be a successful manager and leader. For the first ten years of my career, I engaged in and led a variety of consulting projects in a broad range of fields such as: strategy development, market analyses, organization redesign, executive coaching and business development. We quickly grew from a seven member consulting firm with less than $1.0M in sales to over sixty consultants and $30M in sales in less than 8 years. I was lucky to be part of the startup process and was a key member of the firm’s growth. I believe that my education at Babson College gave me many of the tools necessary to learn effectively on the job and deliver consistent results. Client satisfaction always remained a priority and this allowed me to fast track to the executive leadership team as a Principal within five years. I made it a personal goal to spend each day learning from my teammates, clients and industry leaders. Within five years of joining the firm, I became the youngest member of the executive management team.
As a Principal of a fast paced strategy advisory firm, it was my responsibility to continue to develop myself and also to mentor and help others be successful.
In my current capacity as Vice President of Finance and Planning of a real estate management and development company, I am responsible for all aspects of daily operations including: accounting, budgeting, forecasting and strategic planning for the company. In addition, I am also responsible for making continual improvements to processes and plans while maintaining and safeguarding all internal financial controls. Leveraging from my past experiences and business foundation, I also conduct project-related activities in the areas of strategic planning, financial analysis, competitive analysis, operations analysis, capital investment planning, and special studies. Immediately after graduation from Babson’s MBA program, I plan to continue my role at the real estate management company and identify ways to grow and innovate the business. In recent times the real estate market has been turbulent. However, with proper management, and passion for the sector, I believe that one can be successful, provide an excellent product to customers, and grow existing companies, and generally aid in lifting this segment of the economy.
My current company began as a small family business and saw a 250% growth in revenue over the last six years. This fast growth process created many challenges as well as learning opportunities. I was lucky to be part of another growing company and I quickly realized that being part of a family-owned business has inherent challenges. As I was able to leverage my Babson undergraduate education to establish a firm business foundation that allowed me to quickly excel in the consulting world, I plan to gain new knowledge and entrepreneurial skills to contribute to the continuous growth of the business. An MBA with a focus in entrepreneurship will teach me the necessary skills to know when to change directions and to identify and implement new ventures. Such an education would enable me to direct operations and enlighten me to opportunities that I otherwise may have missed. The combination of the solid base gained by my education at Babson College, an MBA, and my passion for the industry will enable me to grow to new heights and to make a major impact in the field. The intellectual challenges presented by Babson College will equip me appropriately for whatever challenges lie ahead.
