Meet the Rice Jones MBA Class of 2018

Trey Mattson

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Driven colleague, student; energy enthusiast; avid golfer; committed son, brother, husband, dog dad; evolving human

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Fun Fact About Yourself: During high school, I was absolutely committed to being a professional golfer. However, my game never quite developed to PGA Tour-caliber.  My best 18-hole score is 69, which I have shot a handful of times.

Undergraduate School and Major: The Pennsylvania State University, B.S. in Finance w/ Honors Distinction, Schreyer Honors College

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

• TPH Partners – Private Equity Associate
• Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. – Investment Banking Analyst

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:

Professional accomplishment: During my time at TPH Partners, I served as the sole associate and primary point-person on five portfolio company investments, which were focused in the domestic upstream, midstream and oilfield services space. TPHP employed a relatively lean team in order to execute its mandate, which necessitated my direct involvement in every aspect of the investment decision process and the monitoring of businesses post-investment, while also providing substantial interaction with both limited partners and portfolio company management teams.  This elevated level of responsibility, coupled with the longer-term focus on value creation across our portfolio companies, proved to be very rewarding work.

Personal accomplishment: Over the past few years, my wife and I have become intimately involved with The Center, a Houston-based non-profit agency that offers services to support adults with developmental disabilities.  In addition to being invited to join The Center’s Board, we were humbled to receive the “Young Professionals of the Year Award” after successfully chairing the large annual fundraising event during 2015.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? My number one piece of advice would be to allocate a significant amount of brain power towards quantifying your perceived goals and expectations of an MBA program. With these insights in mind, then take the time to thoroughly research the specific nuances (curriculum, class size, etc.) of your target programs. This methodical process can help to eliminate programs that don’t meet your personal criteria, and thus provides more time to focus on the select programs that offer the highest value based on your personal preferences and post-MBA aspirations.  One other note for those who have not yet completed the GMAT – start studying as early as possible (i.e. now!!!) and knock out a solid score well before you even begin thinking about the formal applications.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I was incredibly fortunate to receive the Jones Partners Leadership Scholarship, which obviously had a huge impact on my decision to attend Rice. Beyond that, given my interest in continuing a career focused on the oil & gas space, Rice’s location in the heart of Houston, the undisputed energy capital of the world, was a key factor in my decision. Additionally, I believe that Rice’s smaller class size cultivates a team-oriented culture and a collegial atmosphere that is immediately apparent when you step inside McNair Hall.  As one final note, Rice’s dedicated MBA facilities (including the aforementioned McNair Hall located in the heart of campus) are truly world class and facilitate an excellent learning environment for all Rice MBA students.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? Assuming my dream of becoming the next Tiger Woods doesn’t come to fruition, my goal is to return to the energy private equity space following my time at Rice. In an ideal world, I would love to end up at a relatively small, tight-knit firm that believes in partnering with quality management teams in order to transform start-up and early-stage oil and gas companies into formidable, market-leading organizations.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? I would like my peers to say that I was never afraid of good, old-fashioned hard work, and that I exhibited passion, enthusiasm and a steadfast commitment to the “team” in every single endeavor. Furthermore, transitioning beyond the walls of McNair Hall, I would also be thrilled if they are able to say something to this effect: “Do you remember that time Trey shot 68 at [insert name of an incredibly tough golf course] when we played in that intramural tournament a few months back?”