Meet Wharton’s MBA Class Of 2018

Wynne Evans

The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Globe-trotting chocolate connoisseur, Francophile, and former college rower who loves learning what drives people.

Hometown: Greenwich, CT

Fun Fact About Yourself: I started my own company making beaded necklaces and eyeglass chains when I was 12. My career in entrepreneurship peaked in high school when my eyeglass chains were carried throughout the Northeast US in boutiques run by a certain clothing company known for its fondness for green and pink. Sadly, college classes, varsity rowing, and then a more traditional career have kept my business to a smaller scale ever since. 

Undergraduate School and Major:  Harvard University, French Language and Literature, with a minor in The Classics.

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:  Parker Global Strategies; Senior Analyst (Master Limited Partnerships and Foreign Exchange)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I am most proud of my being willing to take on, quickly learn, and master new responsibilities. I started my career with an informational interview at the boutique hedge fund that became my employer, asking “What is finance?”since I came from a series of summer marketing internships at a large French fashion house. By saying “yes” to small projects in different areas, I could keep learning. I was able to quickly take leadership on marketing materials and newsletters for distribution, trade execution, and analysis of companies for portfolio inclusion.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? Be yourself in your applications. It’s so easy to get caught up in the well-known profile of the schools you’re applying to and try to mold yourself to that, but the only way to differentiate yourself and get the most out of the program at which you end up is to be honest about what you’re looking for in the business school experience.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I decided that I want to build a more robust quantitative skill-set to balance my Liberal Arts background, so Wharton’s data-driven, analytical focus on every subject was a huge draw. What decided it once and for all was speaking with a number of current students and alumni about how much they love(d) their entire experience, from academics to student life.                                                                                                     

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? My dream job after Wharton is to consult on brand strategy. I’d have the opportunity to balance my analytical side, which I’ve exercised as an analyst at a hedge fund, with my more creative side, which I explored with my marketing internships and entrepreneurial endeavor. As a brand strategy consultant, I’d be able to learn something new every day and broaden my experience across industries before potentially working in-house for a brand further down the road.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program?   I’d like for my peers to say that I’m enthusiastic about learning from and contributing to my classes and clubs, that I’m a dependable colleague and leader with an insightful perspective, and that they’re excited to see what I can do with what I’ve learned at Wharton.