Meet NYU Stern’s MBA Class Of 2019

Conor Pieri 

New York University, Stern School of Business 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less:  A curious, positive, self-motivated communicator with a penchant for sports and traveling.

Hometown:  Needham, MA

Fun Fact about Yourself: My ice hockey travels took me all the way up to the Arctic Circle in Finland.

Undergraduate School and Major:  Tufts University, English

Employers and Job Titles since Graduation:

  • Treasury Analyst at Bain & Company, Inc.
  • Senior Analyst Corporate Finance at JetBlue Airways Corporation
  • Minor professional ice hockey career immediately after graduation with stops in Finland and Germany before entering the world of corporate finance and treasury

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Becoming a leader and go-to on the Treasury team at JetBlue. The most memorable part of my experience there was becoming a mentor to the analysts on the team and being relied on as a subject matter expert by exec crew (JetBlue lingo for the c-suite). I was even lucky enough to serve as an interim manager on the team before heading to business school. It was an invaluable experience that I am particularly proud of after breaking into finance and working for a Fortune 500 all while possessing an undergraduate degree in English.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Make sure that you meet the people. I cannot express enough how imperative it is to meet with everyone that you can who is affiliated with the schools that you apply to. Be sure to speak with professors, the admissions office, alumni, current students, prospective students…everyone. In my opinion, there is no better way to determine whether a school is right for you than by learning from those who have lived it or will be there. After all, this is the network of friends and colleagues that you will be joined with for life once you attend. Not to mention how much having genuine experiences and opinions on a school will help you when writing essays and interviewing.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? As I touched on before, the most important thing for me while selecting my full-time MBA was the people. The current students that I met throughout the process were incredible – knowing that they were going to soon be a part of the alumni network was tremendously important to me. Additionally, the alumni I encountered on an individual basis as well as the broader alumni network were immense factors in my decision-making.  Finally, the professors and speakers that Stern brings in are truly top notch.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? That I’ve built relationships that are on their way to becoming life-long, that I’ve developed a strong network of friends and colleagues and that I am on my way to beginning a career in consulting or corporate strategy and development through a new internship for the summer.

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.