2016 Best MBAs: Tim Bossidy, Northwestern Kellogg

Tim Bossidy

 

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

“There is always more to take out of a class, more places to go, and more people to see before calling it a night. And all of us want to have the fullest experience possible in the short amount of time we have here.”

Age: 27

Hometown: Ridgefield, CT

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Notre Dame, B.A. in Economics and English (graduated from the honors program)

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? The Travelers Companies, Senior Associate Analyst in Fixed Income Investments

Where did you intern during the summer of 2015? Goldman Sachs, Los Angeles, CA

Where will you be working after graduation? Goldman Sachs, Associate in the Investment Banking Division

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School Co-President Investment Banking & Capital Markets Club, Co-President Kellogg Boxing Club, Student Admissions Committee Reader, Officer Brew ‘n Q Club

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of co-leading the Investment Banking & Capital Markets Club this year. By going through the recruiting process last year, spending a summer at an investment bank and cultivating relationships with a number of bankers our leadership team was able to provide mentorship to 1st year students. Our team organizes and drives all of the preparation and most of the investment banking relationships, so we were extremely happy to see a year-over-year increase of about 20 summer opportunities in banking. We attributed this to engagement with more banks, our focus on helping international students adjust to recruiting in the US, and earlier training classes. I am also proud I was able to take some of what we learned about ESL teaching and cultural adjustment and apply them to the broader Chicago community in an entrepreneurship class.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Taking lead analyst responsibility for over a dozen high yield companies. While they represented the minority of the total credit exposure I was responsible for, I was proud of being trusted with high yield exposure within a highly conservative investment portfolio. It was a testament to the credibility I obtained in only a few years.

Who is your favorite professor? It is impossible for me to break a tie between my two favorite professors: Professor Mitchell Petersen and Professor Jose Liberti. They both have an unbelievable passion for ensuring their students learn and succeed well past graduation.

Favorite MBA Courses? Global Entrepreneurial Finance with Jose Liberti, Business Strategy with Craig Garthwaite, Global Initiatives in Management with Damien Ma, Decision Making and Modeling with Nabil Al-Najjar, Financial Strategy and Tax with Mitchell Petersen.

Why did you choose this business school? Kellogg stood out as the school for me when I found out how real the pay-it-forward mentality of the students was. I was told a majority of the job hunting, networking and recruiting prep is led by 2nd-year students, but this did not become real until visiting Kellogg. On my visit I heard several stories similar to how one former accountant spent hours each week with a former professional athlete, helping her prepare for the banking jobs she was also applying to. This happens every year and helps create what I felt and still feel is a uniquely cohesive and selfless culture. The small sample of the Kellogg social scene my visitation weekend helped cement the decision.

What did you enjoy most about business school? My favorite part of business school is access to hundreds of people with similar interests and curiosities. Every week I can hang out with a different group of students who want to help each other learn in class, push each other in group meetings, have a few beers, check out a new restaurant and travel as much as possible. At Kellogg I met friends who would both stay up late with me trying figure out the tax implications of a new security design and travel with me to the top of Kilimanjaro.

What was the hardest part of business school? Slowing it down. There are more things to do at Kellogg than I could have possibly imagined before coming here. While incredibly excited for my job and my life after Kellogg, I wish I could slow it down and take a few more classes, a few more trips, and have a few more nights out with my classmates.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…I realized I needed to broaden my skill-set. My last job was a fantastic learning experience. My mentors taught me the fundamentals of financial analysis, and I received support to take the first two levels of the CFA exams. I also watched two of my bosses with MBAs manage a diverse range of personalities and egos towards a coherent investment philosophy. But I did not understand how they maintained the culture and managed their political capital so well, only that they did. And while I learned a significant amount about finance, my time was spent passively evaluating deals; I had no idea as to the decisions which went into structuring and marketing them. An MBA would bring me a more comprehensive and holistic view of finance, and classes on management and organizations along with exposure to a diverse set of backgrounds would help me further develop my soft skills.”

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…an associate at another fixed income credit shop, most likely focusing on high yield oil and gas bonds. With the shale boom in the US and subsequent drop in oil prices I found it an incredibly interesting space. Without business school as a catalyst to jump to the sell-side, I likely would have pushed my experience on the buy-side further towards my interests in distressed debt.”

Which executive or entrepreneur do you most admire? The first and easiest answers are my father and grandfather, not only for their successes but because of how positively they are remembered by their peers for their integrity and loyalty. After them I would say Howard Marks for his ability and courage to take contrarian positions, his patience and long-term view, and for his acknowledgement of the tremendous amount of luck needed, in addition to hard work, to get him to where he is today.

What are your long-term professional goals? To take the amazing opportunity I have been given at Goldman and push as far ahead at the firm as I am able. The ultimate goal, despite the difficult and long road to obtaining it, would be to become a partner in IBD or GSAM.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My parents. The biggest reason is when I was in high school and lacked the perspective of whether school or sports was more important, they kept pushing school. Their support, encouragement and guidance at home led me to get into my dream school. Looking back, it is impossible to overstate the impact they have had each major milestone in my life from there.

Fun fact about yourself: I love coaching – I coached youth lacrosse and basketball before Kellogg and coach boxing here at school.

Favorite book: All the Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy

Favorite movie: The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Favorite musical performer: Kygo

Favorite television show: Game of Thrones

Favorite vacation spot: Nantucket

Hobbies? boxing, weight training, adventure travel, vintage watches, finding time for the top ten novels of the 20th century

What made Tim such an invaluable addition to the class of 2016?

“Tim distinguishes himself by taking intellectual risks. He enrolled in my Accelerated Corporate Finance Class (the first two quarters of finance in one quarter) and then in my Financial Strategy and Tax class (at night). Neither is for the faint of heart. It was clear from the first day that Tim was on a mission to learn as much as he could, and in the process was going to bring the rest of us along. He is clearly very bright, and had worked in finance. Knowledge, however, can be a hindrance to learning. We fear asking a “stupid question.” When the material got difficult, when the class was struggling, Tim was always there to ask a question, to suggest a different explanation, to challenge me in a respectful but intellectually aggressive way. His intellectual drive and example created a safe place for his fellow students to ask questions, helped crystalize complex ideas, and made me a better teacher. Tim leaves Kellogg both well educated in finance, and well directed. He is an example of what the business world needs. Leaders that intend to do well, but also to do good.” — Mitchell Petersen, Professor of Finance, Kellogg School of Management

DON’T MISS: CLASS OF 2016: THE BEST & BRIGHTEST GRADUATING MBAS