Meet Ohio State’s MBA Class of 2018

Vakeeshan Periyathamby

 Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business

 Hometown: Akron, OH

Education: University of Akron, Corporate Financial Management

Employment:

MRI Software

Financial Analyst

Senior financial Analyst

Finance Manager

Finance Operations Manager

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Very competitive spirit yet outgoing and helpful.

Fun fact about yourself: I’m a big fan of basketball and still make time to play pick-up games at least once a week.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At MRI Software, I had to create a quarterly revenue forecast process for all of our product lines. This involved studying the different revenue recognition rules in the software industry and working with various departments including our sales team and professional services team to gather necessary data to compile the forecast. I was able to consistently forecast within 1% variance. The forecasts were used by senior management for decision-making, presentations to our private equity ownership, and valuations for potential sales. I was also able to expand the use of the forecast to include a reconciliation process with the accounting department for month-end close.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? The earlier you start preparing, the better off you will be. This is the case for both researching schools and taking the GMAT. There is a lot to consider when selecting a school. Make sure you start early and do a thorough review of each school that you consider, knowing everything about the programs as well as the application process. You’ll soon have to make a decision and it’ll be easier to make if you do the research ahead of time.

With the GMAT, you should begin studying before even scheduling the test. You should feel confident before registering for the test. Even then, schedule it out far enough to give you time to study some more. Things pop up all the time, whether it’s work, family, or other things in life. You want to feel prepared and that you have studied all that you can before taking the test. Also, take as many practice tests that you can.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? There are many aspects that I considered for an MBA program. Two important areas are academics and career opportunities. With academics, Ohio State provides not only a wide variety of majors, but also the ability to create my own major so that I can tailor the program towards my goals. They also provide a great curriculum and course selection so that I can take courses that will help me improve my skillset and address my weaknesses.

Ohio State also provides great career and recruiting opportunities. The program has an impressive recruiting network and is located in a great city and region for doing business. Many large firms are located in Columbus and, as the executive director in the career department stated to me, 50% of Fortune 500 companies are within a 500-mile radius of Columbus. With OSU’s large alumni network, I am confident in the opportunities that will be available to me after graduation.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? My dream job is to one day become a CFO. I handled most of the day-to-day operations within the finance team at MRI Software. I would like to expand my skillset to handle long-term strategy and planning. I was able to work closely with the CFOs at my previous employment, which gave me a glimpse into their roles. I found their roles to be exciting, especially their involvement in acquisitions. While I do not have a particular dream employer, I do have a lot of experience in the software industry and can see a future in the industry after completing my MBA.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? I hope that they would say that I impacted their experience by being a team leader in and out of the classroom and by sharing my finance and business knowledge with them, especially the students that are not coming from business backgrounds.