Mike
Consultant, Chicago Office
Education
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, Graduate School of Business
M.B.A., 2007
Activities at Chicago: LEAD Facilitator; Canadian Business Group Co-Chair
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
B.Math in Computer Science, 2002
Activities at Waterloo: Entrepreneurs' Association of the University of Waterloo Co-Founder
Hometown
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
ZS Career Path
Summer Associate, 2006
Consultant, 2007
On the work
"I worked with a large US airline on developing their UK/Pan-European sales strategy. I interviewed procurement managers of corporate customers as well as executives at travel management companies to determine how the airline was meeting their customers' needs. With this information, we identified multiple customer segments and developed sales packages targeted towards these customers."
On the internship
"The internship has the feel of an apprenticeship. It is a learn-by-doing experience, where you are given responsibilities similar to that of a full-time consultant. However, there are many people in the project that you can go to for guidance on aspects of the job that you may not be familiar with. For example, during my first few market research interviews, the project manager led the interviews and I was free to ask questions when there were areas I wanted to investigate further. After a couple of interviews, I became the lead questioner during the interviews, with my manager participating, and after a few more, was occasionally conducting the interviews alone. This process allows you to grow into the role as you feel comfortable."
On the Chicago office
"I lived in Manhattan before coming to Chicago and was concerned that the Midwest wouldn't be as exciting as New York. But having a year in Chicago (with school and the internship), I'm convinced that it has almost everything New York has to offer, but at a much more affordable price. The city has great restaurants, a full nightlife, sports, and an amazing waterfront with running/bike paths and beaches."