Meet the Michigan Ross MBA Class of 2019

Douwe Yntema 

University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Dual American/Salvadoran citizen, social butterfly, and aspiring leader committed to learning and giving back through finance.

Hometown:  Albuquerque, NM

Fun Fact About Yourself:  I love swimming.  Over the years, I have made many friends and visited interesting places through swimming (as well as getting great exercise).  I’ve enjoyed competing for the Salvadoran National Team, Harvard University, and most recently, the Olympic Club of San Francisco.  I’ve been fortunate enough to swim in the 2007 Pan American Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), serve as captain of the Harvard Varsity Swimming and Diving team, and race across Lake Tahoe for the Olympic Club (out of San Francisco).

Undergraduate School and Major:  Harvard University, Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science and Public Policy

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

GCA Advisors, LLC – Associate Intern, Private Funds Advisory

Ikaso Consulting, LLC – Senior Associate, Associate, Analyst

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: While at Ikaso Consulting, a boutique, public-sector strategy consulting firm, I had the privilege of working with several state government clients to improve services and outcomes for taxpayers. In my favorite project, my team and I partnered with a state government and dozens of public universities to establish a new credit card program with the aim of increasing state revenue through rebates and improving data and spending transparency and service levels.  Through months of research, analysis, and intensive negotiations with a top five commercial bank, we accomplished our goals, and saved several million public dollars in the process.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? While going through the self-discovery process that defines MBA applications, I recommend reviewing (and hopefully reading) the things that inspire you most.  If you’re looking for a few added jolts of inspiration, I recommend the following:

  1. If– Rudyard Kipling
  2. To His Coy Mistress– Andrew Marvell
  3. The Picture of Dorian Gray– Oscar Wilde
  4. Collected Fictions – Jorge Luis Borges

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? Michigan has great people. Michigan (and especially Michigan Ross) students, alumni, and staff go out for their way to improve, educate, and help each other. Michigan has the largest organized alumni network in the world, and the alumni network appears to be very positive, active and supportive. Michigan culture is built by friendly, down-to-earth people who are thrilled to collaborate. That said, you shouldn’t take my word for it. If you are considering applying, reach out to alumni, current students, and staff and hear what they have to say. Similarly, come visit Ann Arbor and see for yourself!

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Success for me after the first year will be to have developed a broad set of analytical skills and financial acumen through several stellar courses offered at Michigan in areas like financial analysis and modeling, valuation, and economics. I plan to be employing these skills successfully at a summer internship following my first year.

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