Jordan
Operations Research Analyst, New York Office
Education
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
B.S. in Economics, 2005
Activities at Penn: Editor of weekly undergraduate commentary
Memories of Penn: It's hard to articulate what made the Penn experience wonderful, but it was all the little things such as the campus blooming with life when the weather got warm, surviving cruddy on- and off-campus housing conditions, at times even hitting the books (yes, I am an un-closeted dork), running into people I knew unexpectedly and expecting to meeting new people up to the very day of graduation.
Hometown
Fort Washington, PA
ZS Career Path
Operations Research Analyst Intern (Princeton Office), 2004
Operations Research Analyst, 2005
On the work
"Our client wanted to re-evaluate the size and structure of its uncoordinated sales force teams to accelerate the growth and performance of its drugs, which are slated to receive new indications in the next couple of years. On the structure side, I analyzed the overlapping potential of the teams' customers at the individual and group level, which supported the benefits of coordination of the different teams. This also addressed the question of whether the teams should be organized around the product or around therapy type. I also looked at the geographic distribution of large accounts to determine if resources would be needed evenly across the U.S. or whether the structure would need to be more flexible and customized by region. On the sizing side, I looked at the disruption of sales relationships that would occur in several scenarios. I also analyzed data to determine inputs for a model that would estimate the optimal sales force size.
"Our client faced challenges to having its drug adopted in the hospital setting, where therapies are often initiated and then continued after discharge. The client wanted to find out what would motivate hospitals to include the drug on formularies and encourage physicians to choose the drug. Qualitative interviews were conducted with various decision makers across a range of hospital settings to look at the formulary process and decision-making around this category of drugs. I participated in analyzing the results of the interviews and structuring the data to look for trends and differences across segments, causes of the client's current situation, and areas of opportunity for the client."
On the ZS values
Treat People Right: "The ZS culture is truly collaborative. People are always helping one another. Sometimes, we just shout questions across our cubes and someone runs over to troubleshoot or impart a new little trick. In other instances, people lend more of their knowledge and time. On a recent project, for example, four different people who were not on my team, at different times, taught me how to use programs that were new to me, stayed late, called to see if I needed help on weekends, and drew on their experience to offer assistance and meet a tight deadline. Such collaboration is the rule at ZS and goes on constantly."
On life outside work
"I enjoy jogging (if memory serves me), wandering around New York and exploring all it has to offer, going out with my friends around the city, reading, eating, and watching too many movies."
On the New York office
"Of course, the New York office has 'location, location, location,' but the people are just as great! It is a friendly office small enough to know everyone well but large enough to find someone who shares an unconventional interest or who can help solve a tricky problem on the job."