Meet Rochester Simon’s MBA Class Of 2020

Mark Matthews

University of Rochester, Simon Business School

Passionate, driven, charismatic individual fueled by success, overcoming obstacles, and helping others.”

Hometown: Detroit, Michigan

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m an avid meal prepper, a foodie, and a self-proclaimed wine connoisseur

Undergraduate School and Major: UG – Benedict College, Economics (Concentration in Finance)

GR – Creighton University, Master’s in Security Analysis and Portfolio Management

Most Recent Employer and Job Title:  Employer – CLS Investments, LLC

Job Title – Investment Research Analyst

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment professionally to-date would have to be career-switching from accounting over to Investment Management (the buy-side). Not only did it take me moving across country to obtain a master’s from a top 20 Master’s in Finance Program (Creighton University), but also required me to first intern at TD Ameritrade to gain some financial markets experience and compete in a national trading competition to showcase my ability to navigate financial markets and implement a specific investment philosophy.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Goal-oriented. Getting into Simon is no small feat, but the common theme amongst most of my classmates is that this is just the beginning. You’ll find everyone from entrepreneurs to venture capitalists to founders of non-profit organizations. You name it and I’ve connected with someone in my cohort who has aspirations of accomplishing it. It’s refreshing to be around so many like-minded individuals who have clear goals in mind and are intensely focused on achieving them.

Aside from your classmates, 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?

The school’s investment in my future. From connecting me to alumni to introducing me to programs like the Consortium and Jumpstart (of which both I am a fellow of), the school took an active and assertive approach toward ensuring that I would have the resources, access, and exposure needed to transition into my career of choice.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? Being an analyst on the school’s Venture Capital Fund. Really interested in having ground floor access to the next wave of innovation.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Research proved it was the best path at this point in my career to make the leap I was looking for.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment?

The first and most important factor in this decision was identifying what it is that I wanted to do. After that, it took research, networking with others in the field, and calculating the ROI of forfeiting current income for my dream career.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Columbia University

How did you determine your fit at various schools? Primary factors in deciding what schools to attend were:

  • Location – Desperately wanted to be in New York
  • Culture – Wanted to be in an intimate, collaborative, welcoming environment where it was evident that my future was being invested in
  • Strong Alumni base in my chosen field

To get an idea of culture, I spent time with admissions, along with talking to alumni and holding conversations with current students to gauge my fit. Ultimately, what it came down to was Simon having a recurring theme across all that I’d spoken with or met that closely aligned with what I was looking for and what I valued most.

The next test was identifying whether attending the school would result in landing my dream career. During this process it was evident that the Simon culture becomes so ingrained in you that you carry it on even after having graduated some time ago: that culture of helpfulness and investing in fellow Simon colleagues. My career of choice is investment banking. I spent time having multiple conversations with current bankers in some of the field’s top firms. It was at this point that I knew I was making the right decision.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? Tearing my ACL for the second time. It was at this point I knew my hopes for a football career were pretty much over. For lifetime athletes going through an injury of that magnitude for the second time can be devastating, and quite frankly it was. Instead of allowing it to take a toll on other facets of my life, I used it as motivation. I eventually got back on the field, but that wasn’t the best part. I was able to prove to myself the ability to overcome adversity, adapt to difficult situations, and change course effortlessly in the event it’s called for. I channeled the competitive drive I’d developed from playing sports into excelling scholastically – graduating magna cum laude from my undergrad, and finding a fulfilling career in the field of finance.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? A lengthy and successful career in investment banking in New York City.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I would like to see myself at a senior level within an investment banking firm, contributing to the generation of deal flow.

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