Major(s): English
What is your current role? What was your journey in arriving there?
I am a private equity associate at ZMC. My journey was pretty non-traditional but I wouldn’t change anything about it. Additionally, I believe that I was able to travel this unique path due to the support and guidance of my fellow Wesleyan Alumni. I graduated from Wesleyan in 2013 and Fordham University School of Law in 2017. While at Fordham, I was an investment intern at NY Angels. This was my first exposure to investing as a career path. After which, I worked at Shearman & Sterling as a practicing M&A attorney. I got the opportunity to work on both public M&A and private equity deals. The combination of my time with NY Angels and Shearman gave me the confidence to attempt to pivot to PE from law. Next, I went to work at BMO capital markets in their TMT group as an analyst for a year and afterward, I was able to successfully pivot into my current role.
What do you enjoy about your work? What do you struggle with?
I enjoy working side-by-side with our portfolio companies in the pursuit of a common goal, which is unlocking value. I would also add that every day there is a new challenge and I love to problem-solve. I struggle with work-life balance because it’s an exciting industry and you can always be doing something extra to improve your chances of success.
Do you have any advice for students thinking about entering your industry?
Many professionals in PE have a finance/economics background. While I do think that major helps quite a bit, I also believe students should try to expand their qualitative skills as well. The ability to think both quantitatively and qualitatively is both helpful and a differentiator in this industry.
How did your time at Wesleyan influence your career choice/journey?
I was an English major at Wesleyan because I found out that English / Government majors did the best in law school. However, like many Wesleyan students, I took classes in psychology, econ, and other disciplines. I was also curious about other professions and what my classmates were learning about. One of my really good friends is in the PE industry as well and he was always talking about it. That is what makes the Wesleyan experience so unique. There is a lot of learning that happens over dinner at Usdan.
Updated as of September 29th, 2023
