A Look Back at 2012-13: MBA 11s at Work

This week, Haas Achieves takes a look back at the year. First up, how 2011 grads put their MBAs to work–in consulting, gaming, finance, and cleantech entrepreneurship.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

• Hrishika Vuppala, MBA 11, works as an associate at McKinsey & Company. “Fellow students were instrumental in helping me build confidence to do well in interviews.”
• Nan Duan, MBA 11, is international publishing manager for Riot Games. “Gaming is rising, so…I feel I’m helping Haas establish a footprint in this industry.”
• Hallie Marshall, MBA 11 joined Dodge & Cox as a portfolio manager. “I am proud to be part of an investment team that remains committed to integrity and client focus.”
• Brooks Kincaid, MBA 11, co-founded Imprint Energy. “I’m already doing business with a fellow alum–never underestimate the value of strategic connections!”
• Kitty Sullivan, MBA 11, has joined Bain & Company Amsterdam as a consultant. On rotation in private equity, she likes “seeing deals I’ve worked on in the headlines.” 

MBA 11s at Work: Riot Games

Welcome to MBA 11s at Work, a periodic series on the career launches—in consulting, finance, tech, entrepreneurship, and more—of the Berkeley MBA class of 2011.

Nan Duan (front and center) From MBA glee to Riot Games gig

Grad: Nan Duan, MBA 11

Working as: International Publishing Manager at Riot Games, a Santa Monica-based video game developer. Riot is known for  League of Legends, which has over 32 million registered users worldwide.  “My main responsibility is working with Asian publishers who operate our game in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.”

Riot because: “It’s one of the most dynamic companies in the video games industry right now.” In his second year, Duan narrowed an interest in consumer tech down to gaming. “Riot emerged as attractive due to its combination of a free-to-play business model with a ‘hardcore’ video game, as well as its aggressive expansion in Asia, which fit well with my international student background.”

Inside Riot: “We have adopted many of the techniques used in social games and applied them to a really competitive, hardcore title,” says Duan. The company organizes development around a highly rapid and iterative cycle. “This is not common at all for traditional core gaming, where studios spend two years and multi-million dollar budgets before the game is launched.”

Networked: “Haas has great presence in some of the leading areas in gaming—during my job search I interacted with alumni at Zynga and EA.” Duan observes that gaming has not been a typical sector for MBAs (He thinks he is the first fresh MBA grad hired at Riot), but says this is rapidly changing with recent social/mobile gaming trends. “Gaming is rising as a heavyweight component within the broad entertainment sector so, in this sense, I feel I’m helping Haas establish a footprint in this industry.”

Best career search strategies: Taking advantage of every event to socialize and know more people in the industry. “The opportunity at Riot came up after two Rioters were invited to speak at Haas.”

Classroom lessons in action: Duan is a big fan of Reza Mozzami’s strategy courses on IT, Media, and Wireless. “They have really shaped how I think about the technology industry and are a must for anyone interested in the sector.”

Living the So-Cal life: It’s Santa Monica—beaches and the weather to enjoy them are a top draw, along with “an amazing selection of Asian food.” 

MBA 11s at Work: McKinsey & Company

Welcome to MBA 11s at Work, a periodic series on the career launches—in consulting, finance, tech, entrepreneurship, and more—of the Berkeley MBA class of 2011.

Grad: Hrishika Vuppala, MBA 11

 Working as: Associate with McKinsey & Company, so far working with clients in healthcare, and consumer packaged goods.

Thrilled to be with McKinsey because:  She has the opportunity to work across a broad sector of industries and functions and to work alongside very senior clients, influencing and driving change.  “McKinsey has a stellar reputation in this regard, and hence this was a job that I really wanted.”

Most excited to be working on: Actively recruiting for McKinsey. “I am excited to come back to Berkeley-Haas to speak to students about a career in consulting.” On the work front, Vuppala says she is “keen to work on engagements involving regulation in the telecom sector – a niche area that is bound to have a far reaching impact globally.”

Inside McKinsey: “McKinsey is a great place for someone looking for diversity in work,” says Vuppala. “One of the most interesting features is that the company allows you to do one-year international rotations in any of the McKinsey offices across the globe.” She says several colleagues have worked in Asia and in Europe and have greatly benefited from their experiences in a different geography.

Networked: Vuppala interacts with Haas alums at McKinsey for events related to recruiting at Haas and connects with fellow alums at McKinsey offices worldwide as she travels for business. “I’ve often connected with my classmates in different cities to catch up over dinner and reminiscence about our time at Haas.”

Best career search strategies: Vuppala practiced “tons of case interviews” and ensured that she addressed the feedback she got. She also found fellow students to be instrumental in helping her prepare and build confidence to do well in interviews.

Defining Principles in action: Vuppala identifies strongly with the principle of Students Always. As a consultant, I don’t necessarily always have the most relevant industrial or functional expertise,” she says. “However, with the mindset and the willingness to learn, it is easy to overcome the lack of experience and win the confidence of your clients.”

Living the Atlanta life: “Living in the South gives you access to the best comfort food in the US. I try to explore as many restaurants as I can and, if anyone is down in Atlanta, I’d highly recommend the South City Kitchen for its awesome food. “

MBA 11s at Work: Dodge & Cox

Welcome to MBA 11s at Work, a periodic series on the career launches—in consulting, finance, tech, entrepreneurship, and more—of the Berkeley MBA class of 2011. First up: Hallie Marshall of Dodge & Cox.

Grad: Hallie Marshall, MBA 11

Working as: Portfolio Manager with Dodge & Cox, where she researches and analyzes large public companies looking for new investment ideas for the firm’s mutual funds and separately-managed accounts.

Thrilled to be with Dodge & Cox because: “The foundation of our investment approach has always been deep, fundamental analysis on companies and securities, combined with a strict valuation discipline,” says Marshall. “In the current climate of market uncertainty, I am proud to be part of an investment team that remains committed to its original values of integrity, client focus, continuous learning, persistence, accountability and independence.”

Most excited to be working on: Analyzing  international companies means Marshall gets to study the political economy of countries worldwide. “I’ve always been interested in the intersection of politics and economics, particularly in the developing world, and my work allows me to study these topics on a daily basis.”

Inside Dodge & Cox: The firm brings professors in to instruct equity analysts on topics from accounting to technology strategy analysis. “Haas professors and instructors will be teaching a series at Dodge & Cox in 2012!”

Networked: “There is a healthy Cal vs. Stanford rivalry at my office as there are many alumni from both schools here,” says Marshall (who does admit that this past football season was a tough one.)

Best career search strategies: “Working as an equity research analyst intern was the single most important factor that allowed me to confirm my career choice,” says Marshall. She also met with the Career Management Group to hone her resume and interview strategy. “My adviser went the extra mile to make sure I was prepared.”

From the classroom to reality: “The analyses I learned from Professor Richard Sloan in his “Financial Information Analysis” class are techniques I use regularly to assess earnings quality of the companies I study.”

Living the Bay Area life: “In my free time, I hike on Mt. Tamalpais with my 2 year old son in a backpack.  (My son is known by classmates as ‘Baby Oski’ because he was born during our first year at Haas.) I’m expecting another baby in May, so it’s getting harder to make it up the mountain!”