2015 Best MBAs: David Hanley

David Hanley

University of Wisconsin School of Business

In business school, students help each other. And few did as much to help their fellow MBAs as David Hanley. David created and led the MBA Consulting Club, helping to connect his peers with alumni and prospective employers alike. As a direct result of his efforts, three classmates received internship or full-time employment offers from prominent consulting firms. And his volunteering has extended to helping local and national entrepreneurs as well. Over his time, David has done everything from having lunch with Warren Buffet to organizing a hockey game between Wisconsin and Northwestern MBAs. In his spare time, David is a triathlete who recently competed in the Collegiate Triathlon National Championship.

Age: 33

Hometown: West Bloomfield, MI

Undergraduate School: Michigan State University

Undergraduate Degree: Computer Science and Economics

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? Accenture: Manager (5 years); Consultant (2 years0; Analyst (2 years)

Where did you intern during the summer of 2014? Kurt Salmon-Minneapolis, MN

Where will you be working after graduation? FTI Consulting, New York, NY – Director in the office of the CFO

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…I decided I wanted to be a partner at a major consulting firm.”

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…working in systems integration.”

What are your long-term professional goals? To own or manage a company, market offering, or geographical unit within a consulting firm

Favorite Courses: Strategy, Restructuring, Negotiations

Which academic or professional achievements are you most proud of? Professionally, I received the Accenture’s Accent on Performance award, a designation for being rated in the top quartile of his peer group for at least two consecutive years, and being rated in the top 5% of his peer group for one adjacent year. Academically, it would be for being accepted into the Honors College at Michigan State University, and being nominated for the University of Wisconsin MBA leadership award for top leaders in the program.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? Albrecht Powell, my mentor from Accenture. Albrecht has been an amazing inspiration for me; he provides great feedback, and has been a terrific sounding board for my ideas and questions. We have stayed in contact through business school, and I imagine we will be life-long friends.

Why did you choose this business school? UW-Madison is highly rated with an excellent return on investment. UW is also small enough where I would be able to get outside of the core academic curriculum and apply the lessons I learned in the classroom. Madison is also an excellent town for entrepreneurs, and helped me to get connected with local businesses.

What did you enjoy most about business school? Learning. It has been fantastic to get exposed to new material and push my thought process

What is your most memorable moment from business school? The 20 students in Corporate Finance have become very close friends of mine. All 20 students attended our first year end of the year social, and it was a great moment to connect with my classmates and end the first year. It helped remind me of one of the reasons I came back to school: the people.

Fun fact about yourself: I had never swam in a competitive race before my first triathlon.

Favorite book: Enders Game – Orson Scott Card

Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings – Return of the King

Favorite musical performer: Aerosmith

Favorite television show: Big Bang Theory

Favorite vacation spot: Northern Michigan

What are your hobbies? Roller hockey, Triathlons, Running, Reading, Napping

Twitter Handle: @DavidHanley14

What made David such an invaluable addition to the class of 2015?

“The spirit of collaboration and the desire for continuous improvement has driven David Hanley to impact the Wisconsin MBA in ways that will benefit the program for years to come. Most notably, as president, David has raised the awareness and the impact of the Wisconsin MBA Consulting Club. His efforts have made him an invaluable addition to the Class of 2015.

Individually, David has worked with numerous students one-on-one over the course of his time in the program to help with case interview preparation and to provide recruiting advice. By one of his classmates’ accounts, “David has volunteered over 100 hours of personal time in order to help his classmates and the Wisconsin MBA.” David also recruited a team of other Wisconsin MBAs with consulting experience and encouraged them to join him in setting “office hours” to contribute to student success. Additionally, he has provided a strategic vision for how the Consulting Club and MBA Career Management can collaborate more closely and effectively in the future. The results of his efforts include a sustainable approach to preparation for case interviewing and for consulting preparation. Further, his work brought two additional on campus recruiting organizations seeking consultants to campus and his personal efforts resulted in three candidates receiving consulting offers.

In addition, to being an exceptional student, David was active in co-curricular activities such as the UW Triathlon Club, the ice hockey club and numerous case competitions. He was and an active participant in several student organizations including Graduate Financial Organization, the Graduate Marketing Network, and Transcend, a business and engineering club. David’s contributions have been critical to our school and I will miss him.”

– Blair Sanford, assistant dean, Full-Time MBA