Meet The Class Of 2018 At Kellogg

Alexander Przewozniak

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Describe yourself in 15 words or less:  In my head, I’m Warren Buffett-meets-Bruce Springsteen. In reality, I’m probably Woody from Toy Story.

Hometown: London, UK

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m a quarter English, quarter Polish, quarter Italian and quarter South African!

Undergraduate School and Major: 

University of Cambridge – Geography

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Lazard – Vice President, Equity Capital Markets (2016)

Lazard – Associate, Equity Capital Markets (2012-2015)

Lazard – Analyst, Mergers & Acquisitions (2009-2012)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I helped design a new competitive tender process to enable the UK Government to appoint investment banks to sell shares in state-owned companies on the public equity markets.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants?

One of my mentors said to me early on, “To get through the MBA application process, you need to really want it” – and he was absolutely right! Aside from the obvious workload, it was tough in ways I had not expected. I would advise applicants to take the time to dig deep and self-reflect: challenge yourself to be honest about your strengths and weaknesses, your past and where you want to be going. It took me a lot longer than I thought to formulate succinct, powerful answers to such “simple” questions such as “why do I need an MBA,” “why is now the right time,” and “what are my long-term goals.”

I would recommend applicants be intentional about their study and preparations as well as actively map out the process from start to finish while blocking out time to specifically dedicate to GMAT, applications essays, video essay practice, etc. It was only when I made a more formalized plan that I really started to make progress.

Here are some additional suggestions that I would make:

Background Research – I spent a lot of time reaching out to contacts that I knew had recently completed an MBA as well as current students, club leaders and admissions officers. I wanted to develop my understanding of the application process, the key areas on which to focus, and to gain a much deeper understanding of the differing nuances of the various schools. I would really recommend taking the time to do this and resist the urge to rush into the application process.

GMAT – Advice specifically for international applicants: learning how the GMAT/ multiple choice testing system works is almost as important as knowing the materials themselves. There are lots of resources available online to help you learn how to use multiple choice to your advantage (something I was not used to). I would also recommend having a go at the test as early as possible once you feel you are fairly ready. There is nothing quite like being in the actual test center environment with their specific rules, processes, computers, etc. Knowing exactly what to expect and being comfortable in the surroundings and with the process greatly helped me the second time around.

Recommenders – When choosing your recommenders, the advice I consistently received from others is that it is much more important to choose people who genuinely know you well and have had high levels of exposure to you, rather than choose “big names” or more senior people who perhaps do not know the real you.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? Having grown up, studied and worked in the UK my whole life, I personally wanted to go to the US to get an MBA, as I thought exposure to a new culture as well as a different way of thinking critically, learning and approaching problems would be really exciting and help me to grow. I also wanted to soak up some of that American “can-do” attitude!

There are a lot of top business schools in the US that offer excellent educations. What really stood out for me at Kellogg were:

Experiential learning – Kellogg’s focus on learning through hands-on experience and application of classroom learning in the real-world particularly appealed to me; more specifically, the Asset Management Practicum (a year-long course where students manage a sizeable portfolio of money) and the Venture Lab (a quarter-long internship that students can take at venture capital funds and incubators).

Rigorous courses and flexibility – I was really attracted to the Pathway system that Kellogg offers, which allows students to follow an integrated set of cross-functional courses that delve deeply into such key topical areas as Social Impact, Data Analytics, Entrepreneurship or Growth and Scaling. Students can choose numerous Pathways and can go as deep as they want into each. Importantly, these do not replace, but rather complement, a student’s choice of major (e.g. Finance, Operations, Strategy etc.). Coming from a finance background, I also appreciated Kellogg allowing me to waive certain basic finance courses so that I can more quickly dive into either more advanced finance courses (e.g. Real Estate Finance or International Finance) or other Pathways/courses more broadly.

The people who went there and the culture of the school – It was instantly clear from everyone I interacted with, whether alumni, students or the admissions team, that they were all really passionate about the school, its focus on collaboration and its student-led ethos. The welcome weekend for admits (“Day at Kellogg”) definitely confirmed this for me.

Involvement of significant others – The opportunities for significant others (“JVs”) at Kellogg are amazing. My wife will be able to participate (often in leadership roles) in most clubs, can attend numerous classes and even gets access to many of the excellent advisors at the school (e.g. the careers center). This was a huge draw as we’ll be relocating from London together!

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? I would love to find a job which combines my interests in finance and investing with a strong social impact angle. There are increasing examples of individuals and companies who can make a positive difference in the world while also generating returns on investment for their shareholders. It would be amazing to one day be a part of this.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? I hope my peers would say that I had helped some of them head down the path towards their dreams, that I stood by my principles and beliefs and that I was a good friend who they could always rely on for support through thick and thin. Of course, I would also like them to say that we had a lot of fun together!