2016 MBAs To Watch: Daniel Schacter, Oxford (Saïd)

Daniel Schacter

 

Oxford University, Saïd Business School

Age: 28

Hometown: Montreal, Canada

Undergraduate School and Degree: McGill University, Bachelor of Commerce

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? Co-Founder & CEO Jintronix; business analyst McKinsey & Co.

Where will you be working after graduation? McKinsey & Co.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School VP, Oxford Consulting Network; Led Mount Toubkal/Morocco Trek

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Getting all 12 members of the trek I led to the summit of Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in Northern Africa.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Creating a company that has helped over 2,000 people recover from the debilitating effects of a stroke.

Who is your favorite professor? Who said accounting can’t be fun? Richard Barker deserves credit for making accounting one of the most relevant and enjoyable classes so far in the MBA.

Favorite MBA Courses? Finance Lab, Accounting, Entrepreneurship

Why did you choose this business school? After having started Jintronix, a social startup in the Healthcare space, I realized that I wanted to go to an MBA program that shared my values for social entrepreneurship and where I could meaningfully contribute to my peers learning through sharing of my own experiences in the space. Of all the universities I visited, Oxford’s Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Said Business School stands on its own with fantastic managers running a beautiful workspace; amazing speakers coming in weekly from across the globe to share their own experiences; and fellow classmates who look to improve tomorrow with their ideas today.

What did you enjoy most about business school? Getting the chance to meet a few hundred like-minded, hyper-talented students from across the globe looking to make a difference in their own communities when they return.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from business school? Leadership is as much about not knowing the right answer as it is about knowing the right answer. Being honest with your peers and teams and getting honest advice not only make me a stronger leader, but it also provides the opportunity for others to contribute, making them feel more vested in the process.

What was the most surprising thing about business school? You can be pulled into fields of study you never even considered just because of an amazing speaker or course. This happened to me in Oxford’s Finance Lab. While I had never considered going into finance, I found myself taking the Lab taught by the super passionate director of the program, Andreas Angelopoulos. Because of the amazing speakers from some of the world’s top firms, the quick pace of the classroom learning and the challenge of a case competitions, I now find myself fluent in building LBO models and valuing a company. While I may not be going into VC or PE myself, I am sure to work alongside one of these firms at some point in the future. By understanding how they see value, I have gained invaluable insight in how best to work with them.

What was the hardest part of business school? Working with peers who come from a completely different culture than my own, whose first language may not be English, and who see things in their own unique way. While I am quick to think that their ideas don’t make sense, learning to keep my mouth shut and actually listen to what they are trying to say has proven invaluable. I have never learned as much as I have from people I may otherwise have dismissed before.

What’s your best advice to an applicant to your school? Come and visit Oxford before applying. It is an amazing place unique from any university I have visited. You can easily tell which applicants have visited Oxford and which haven’t and it really makes a difference.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…I asked myself for the hundredth time what would someone else do in my shoes if they were running Jintronix.”

Which executive or entrepreneur do you most admire? Elon Musk. This guy has got so much passion, brilliance and execution all wrapped into one. How can you not respect him?

What are your long-term professional goals? Long-term, I would love to see myself creating and growing another startup. There is nothing as rewarding as creating meaningful jobs where people are excited to come in for work each morning and work on a task that they actually care about. Having done it once before on a small scale and with the tools and network of an MBA and McKinsey, I can only imagine what the second time will look like.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My parents and brothers. While they are always ready to give me honest feedback, I can always count on them to support whatever it is I am doing, giving me the confidence to go after tough and ambitious goals.

Fun fact about yourself: Super accident prone. My parents stopped asking how I got injured years ago.

Favorite book: (non-business) The Count of Monte Cristo, (business) The Goal

Favorite movie: The Shawshank Redemption

Favorite musical performer: Justin Bieber (definitely a guilty pleasure)

Favorite television show: House of Cards

Favorite vacation spot: Scuba diving off the coast of Sandakan, Borneo

Hobbies? Rowing in a men’s 8. While I am normally an avid triathlete, how can I not row at Oxford? Additionally, its a great way to learn how to take direction.

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

“Dan has been one of the most proactive students within the Finance LAB this year. The LAB has a strong technical modelling component, interacting with more than 40 banks and funds, and with participation required in challenges that demand a high commitment. Dan has applied his prior experience as a business analyst with his new understanding of financial concepts in an exceptional manner and has really excelled. I have no doubt that he’ll utilise the skills he’s learnt in his future career at McKinsey, and I’m sure he’ll represent Oxford Saïd with great success, as he did when competing in the Oxford Chicago Global Private Equity Challenge.”

Andreas Angelopoulos

Executive Director, Oxford Private Equity institute

Programme Director, Oxford Finance LAB

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