David
Consultant, Chicago Office
Education
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
M.B.A., 2005
Activities at Chicago: Active in the entrepreneurship program and competed in several new business plan competitions across the country
Memories of Chicago: My favorite professor, Harry Davis, is a bit of a contrarian at the University of Chicago. He teaches a class called business policy that enables you to look critically at yourself and what you really want from your life and career. It was less data and more philosophy, which was a refreshing change from looking at financial statements and business cases. I also took a class outside the business school in Indian Philosophy. That was a humbling but exhilarating experience to explore an academic discipline that I was completely unfamiliar with.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
B.S. in Management & Economics, 1999
Activities at Penn State: PSU Snowboard team; Schreyer Honors program
Memories at Penn State: Without a doubt, the best part of my undergraduate time was living and learning in The Netherlands. It was fascinating to explore a different perspective on learning, culture, food and life. While studying in Holland, I fell in love with their preferred method of transportation: old city cruiser bicycles.
Hometown
Erie, PA
ZS Career Path
Consultant, 2005
On the work
“For the last few months, I have been working with a US transportation company on several sales and marketing related projects. One involved an incentive/loyalty program they had in place for a group of its business customers. As part of this program, our client paid millions of dollars annually to customers based on the amount of business they gave to our client. Our client asked us to analyze the program data and determine if the incentive program was financially justified and if not, what we thought the solution should be. We recommended a drastic change to the program, which is now being implemented. It is both an exciting privilege and an important responsibility to help chart the business strategy for our client. The impact is large and the implications are often wide-ranging, which make the work intellectually challenging and fun."
On ZS values
Do the Right Thing: “I have worked in consulting before, and I find it refreshing to work at a firm that really walks the talk of integrity. Despite the possible negative initial client impression, we are encouraged (from people at the highest levels) to be open and honest about our tenure at ZS and our previous experience. In some environments, if you are new to consulting, saying things like "I have less than a year's experience" is the norm. At ZS, we are encouraged to be very explicit and honest about what we are bringing to a client engagement."
On life outside work
“One of the best aspects about ZS is you can have a life outside of work! Given the fact that ZS tends to travel less than other consulting firms, it is easier to enjoy your time away from work. In the summer, Chicago is a beautiful city and I take advantage of the weather through sports. I play in weekly beach volleyball, softball, and soccer leagues, two of which are during the work week. It is usually easy to plan my work such that I can take advantage of the weeknights after work. In the winter, I like to take long weekends to go snowboarding or visit friends and family."
On the Chicago office
“The Chicago office is incredible. Our office is on the 42nd floor downtown and one side of our building faces Millennium Park, two face the city skyline, and one faces Lake Michigan. From our office, you can quickly walk to the beach, the downtown Loop area, Michigan Avenue shopping, and a great diversity of restaurants and bars. One of the nice unique perks about working in this office is the Millennium Park Bike Station that is adjacent to the building. This makes it easy for several of us to bike to work every day. The Chicago office also has a lot of informal social events, organized by the Chicago Culture Committee. It's a good way to hang out with your colleagues in a non-work setting."