What kinds of activities were you involved in while you were at Stanford? Did you join clubs or student organizations? What did you study? What were your favorite classes?
A great deal of my free-time was taken up by Air Force ROTC. I was also a Resident Assistant in Jenkins. For pure fun I spent a good deal of time playing intramurals- football, basketball, etc. I joined an un-housed fraternity (Sigma Phi Epsilon) my Sophomore year. I was also heavily involved in each of the dorms I lived in. Two immediately come to mind: Aircraft Design, taught by Ilan Kroo, and and intro to Shakespeare course, taught by Ron Rebholz. I also remember a great class involving designing a Manned Mission to Mars (actually two classes) taught by Bruce Lusignan that brought together industry, undergraduates and graduates to devise a manned mission to Mars. It even involved the use of Rovers. Timely today.
When you first started at Stanford, did you have any thoughts about your career plans? If so, what were those thoughts?
I already knew that I was going into the Air Force. At first, though, I'd thought I'd be an engineer working on specific projects, tech work or even computer coding. My father was a mathematician, so I thought I would be working on the more detailed, technical aspects of engineering. It didn't quite turn out that way.
Did those initial ideas change or evolve while you were at Stanford?
When I first came to Stanford, I had some interest in the humanities but was really focused on engineering. After taking a few humanities courses, I became so interested I eventually entered the Humanities Honors program. My senior thesis was on the "Witches and Witchcraft in Macbeth." The humanities program really gave me an opportunity, to not only to experience a different aspect of the curriculum, but also to take a different perspective on my life career goals. In engineering, you solve problems in a calculated, methodical way, but in the humanities, it is almost like putting together an intangible puzzle. It really helped me to explore my creative side.
What did you do with your summers? Did you work? Did you have any interesting experiences? How did you find those experiences?
I've done everything from selling laptop computers (when they were hot and new), working as a computer technician, working in the Engineering Library at Stanford, to teaching tennis. My most interesting summer job was an internship at Boeing, where I worked on wing design of the Boeing 777 aircraft.
What was your first job after graduation and what did you have to do to find it?
In the Air Force I was a program test manager for an air-to-air missile system, which we shot off fighter jets.
What did you do at your first job? Was it what you expected?
In my first job, I was responsible for cost, schedule and tech performance of the system. I worked with contractors to set requirements and execute testing. It was far more interesting and challenging than I had expected. How did your career evolve after that? How did your experiences lead to other opportunities?
First, I was involved in testing. Over time, I became involved with the broader program and did program management and development. After two years I switched to another program and worked on classified technology. But I remained more focused on the business aspects vs. just doing the technology, even though we were working on the cutting edge. I did that for two years, and during that time, I found that I had a knack for 'programatics'-managing the cost, schedule and performance vs. doing the detailed technology. I also enjoyed the organizational elements and found myself getting involved in challenging projects involving huge organizational change projects in the federal government. As I reflected on what I really enjoyed in my professional life I realized there was a very creative aspect of business that was complemented by my analytical skills. That realization led me to the field of strategy consulting and Bain & Company, where creative ideas backed by strong structure and analytical rigor are the keys to helping companies make decisions and drive results.
What skills/experiences from college were most important in your career development?
The analytic skills I acquired through science and engineering were important, but equally important was the creativity I learned to exercise through the humanities. With my honors thesis, I learned to manage longer term projects, while extracurricular activities, including my fraternity, helped build program management skills while setting up events, etc.
Any advice for students?
Start by sampling everything, and then pick an area in which to focus. Be flexible, knowing that your interests may change. Feel comfortable in making changes. Your Stanford education really prepares you for different roles and jobs. The great part is with that broad preparation you will be able to make choices in the future.
Can you provide a brief description of the work you do and examples of typical task/projects.
I'm a Partner at Bain. I work with senior client executives to solve the highest priority business issues for top corporations around the world. We help those executives delineate their top priorities and drive to decisions on the toughest issues they are facing. We help them understand the core challenges they are facing and design creative solutions to grow their businesses. We focus on strategy, new products and markets, operational improvements, mergers & acquisitions, and organizational changes that help the executives and their company to achieve real results.
As I mentioned, I entered the Air Force after graduating and worked there in various capacities for about five years. During that time, I realized that I didn't want to only work on technical issues. For a while, I thought I might go to law school. But over time I realized my passion was really around managing and running projects and businesses. My next job was at Bain where I worked for 3 years before attending business school at Harvard. After business school I returned to Bain where I continue to find that helping companies solve their most important business issues is an extremely interesting and challenging career.
I have always networked and sought out mentors. Throughout my years at Stanford, I looked for one or two people, whether they be professors or someone associated with the engineering industry, to bounce ideas off of. In the Air Force, I always consulted with co-workers and the civilian companies with whom I did business to understand their perspectives on everything from the projects I was working on to where they thought there might be additional opportunities. I think that desire to learn and receive feedback is critical to not only success, but also finding something you are happy doing.
Can you provide a brief chronology of your career - probably the major projects or turning points?
As I mentioned, I entered the Air Force after graduating and worked there in various capacities for about five years. During that time, I realized that I didn't want to only work on technical issues. For a while, I thought I might go to law school. But over time I realized my passion was really around managing and running projects and businesses.
My next job was at Bain where I worked for 3 years before attending business school at Harvard. After business school I returned to Bain where I continue to find that helping companies solve their most important business issues is an extremely interesting and challenging career.
If you have not already addressed this; how has networking or being mentored shaped/helped your career?
I have always networked and sought out mentors. Throughout my years at Stanford, I looked for one or two people, whether they be professors or someone associated with the engineering industry, to bounce ideas off of. In the Air Force, I always consulted with co-workers and the civilian companies with whom I did business to understand their perspectives on everything from the projects I was working on to where they thought there might be additional opportunities. I think that desire to learn and receive feedback is critical to not only success, but also finding something you are happy doing.
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