Thalia
Associate Consultant, San Francisco Office
Education
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
A.B. in Politics, 2005
Activities at Princeton: Manager of the Princeton Water Agency, a student-run business; catcher and co-captain on the varsity softball team, member of the Cap and Gown Club
Memories of Princeton: The surroundings at Princeton painted a beautiful backdrop for my four years there. Classes were amazing and professors were brilliant. Outside of the classroom, my teammates and coaches made every day an adventure. My favorite nights on campus involved relaxing with my friends and roommates, heading out to watch an a capella group perform an arch sing, and then going out to 'the street.' Spring lawn parties were always a lot of fun, too, when all of the clubs hosted outdoor concerts on a Sunday afternoon.
Hometown
Madison Lake, MN
ZS Career Path
Business Associate Intern (Princeton office), 2004
Business Associate, 2005
Associate Consultant, 2007
On the work
"My first project at ZS was for a client preparing to launch an existing product for a new indication in a new market. My project team’s objective was to create an alignment to deploy the sales force. As an associate, I worked with my project team and the client to develop and execute business rules to create an optimal alignment. On a day-to-day basis, I performed analyses to evaluate the potential options and communicated results to our team. The project culminated in a final rollout meeting with all of our client’s newly-hired managers. The energy and excitement in that single room was invigorating because the managers were so excited to be there and excited to get into the field. It was great to be a part of their team.
"In another project, my project team worked with a small biotech firm whose product was beginning Phase III clinical trials. The product was years from launch, but the client needed to understand the competitive landscape and potential market for its product. In order to create a demand forecast, we conducted interviews with physicians from all over the nation to better understand the treatment process. We used the results from these interviews to create a survey that tested different hypotheses about the market. After these two marketing research modules of the project were finished (the qualitative interviews and quantitative survey), the results informed a demand forecast that helped to give our client a more accurate picture of the competitive landscape and guide their decisions moving forward."
On ZS values
Treat People Right: "When you start at ZS, you learn very quickly about the emphasis ZS places on a collaborative working environment. It’s comforting to know that at any time or any situation, you always have colleagues that you can turn to for help. The night before an important client meeting, my teammate and I were working to put the finishing touches on some analysis. We reached a point when we did not know what steps to take next. Everyone had already left the office at this point. After spending some time working with the data to no avail, we finally called another ZSer on his cell phone to see if he could help us. Even though he wasn’t a member of our project team, he stopped whatever he was doing on his own time that night to talk us through the problem over the phone. This isn't by any means a unique story—your colleagues at ZS are always willing to help."
On life outside work
"On the weekends, it’s easy to find a local festival or concert in San Francisco. There’s almost always something exciting and entertaining going on, and the people-watching in the city is second to none. I also love to go biking in the hills on a sunny weekend day—which luckily happens a lot."
On the San Francisco office
"The office has a lot of great attributes, but its number one attribute is the amazing people who work here. They work hard and are very good at what they do, but also take some time to have fun and enjoy the Bay Area. The office itself has a beautiful view. From the 15th floor, we have views of the San Francisco Bay, its many bridges, and even downtown San Francisco on most days. San Mateo is a nice town with good accessibility to much of the Bay Area and great restaurants to grab a quick lunch. The park across the street makes for a good picnic on a warm, sunny day."