Glenn
Business Associate, Chicago Office
Education
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
B.A. in Economics, 2007
Activities at Northwestern: Institute for Student Business Education, Co-Chair of Financial Services Group; Delta Upsilon Fraternity, Treasurer
Hometown
Owasso, OK
ZS Career Path
Business Associate Summer Intern (Evanston), 2006
Business Associate, 2007
On the work
"I worked with two separate clients one summer. A client in the medical products and services industry had just gone through a merger, increased the size of their sales force, then realigned their territories with ZS. It was then our responsibility to set the profit and sales goals each rep must achieve to receive their bonus compensation. I had significant responsibility from the beginning, but in the end, I built the Excel® model that generated growth goals based on base GP, national market share, a measure of potential, and a national growth target for each product. At the final meeting, I presented the tool and some methodology to the client and regional managers. After that meeting, they extended the scope of the project to integrate these goals with their internal tools.
"My second project was for one of America's largest companies. They are going through a more standard alignment, but the project is on hold until the company decides the scope of the project—whether or not to include other sales teams. I've already been on a conference call with the National Sales Director, and National Operations Manager to discuss the components of the MAPS® index that will best correlate with future sales."
On the internship
"The most exciting thing about ZS is the dynamic environment. One week when my manager was traveling, we only interacted via e-mail and phone, then another we spent three half days at the client site. Beyond that, the project work itself is constantly changing. There are times when your previous work moves in a new direction and you're forced to be more efficient with your spreadsheet or query design. Ultimately, the learning curve is extremely steep and as you feel comfortable with a task, the next level is complexity immediately becomes your new goal."
On the Evanston office
"Interning in the Evanston office was a unique experience after spending three years at Northwestern. I was worried that I would be sick of the city, but then quickly realized that an eight–minute commute to and from work means more sleep and more time after work. The other impressive thing about ZS is the casual, yet intellectual nature of the office. Aggressive goals and quality expectations come from the top down and are reinforced daily, which prompts employees at all levels to stretch themselves."