Benjamin (Ben) Ferris

University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

“Proud Vermonter, value investor, business owner, bibliophile, passionate learner, loving husband, and avid golfer.”

Hometown: Essex Junction, Vermont

Fun fact about yourself: World-ranked online Settlers of Catan player

Undergraduate School and Degree: Tufts University – B.S. Quantitative Economics

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Co-Founder and President of Adenium Holdings

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Bain & Company, Boston

Where will you be working after graduation? Bain & Company, Consultant

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: I am one of five students in my class who was awarded a full merit-based scholarship under The Distinguished Fellows Program. At Booth, I am a family-lead mentor for first year students recruiting for consulting, a co-chair of the basketball club, and was a member of the Business Solutions Group during my first year.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? As a washed-up former college basketball player, I am most proud of winning UCLA Anderson’s MBA basketball tournament by beating Kellogg by one point in overtime last year!

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I am most proud of founding my real estate investment and development business, Adenium Holdings. As co-founder and President, I managed daily operations while growing the business to employ about a dozen people and controlling nearly $20 million in real estate.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose to go to Chicago Booth for two reasons. First, I was attracted to the school’s flexible academics and esteemed faculty members. Having come from a finance and business background, I was interested in expanding my worldview by taking classes at the interface of business and humanities. Secondly, I have never lived outside of the Northeast. Going to Booth was a wonderful way for me to physically get outside of my comfort zone and explore a wonderful new city!

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Brian Barry was my favorite professor at Booth. I took both Literature and Leadership as well as Business, Politics, and Ethics with him. Professor Barry’s unique experience as a journalist covering the business world enables him to offer students valuable leadership lessons for making challenging business decisions.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite class at Booth was Business, Politics, and Ethics. Many MBA courses focus on finding the optimal solution to business problems. On the other hand, Professor Barry encourages students to understand the underlying reason for why people make decisions. For example, we learned that some people have Kantian ways of thinking, which emphasize universal moral principles, while others hold utilitarian mindsets which focus on the consequences of actions.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite MBA event at Booth was Running with the Bulls, where the basketball team plays against Kellogg at the United Center before a Chicago Bulls game every year. I really enjoy this event because we routinely have hundreds of MBA students come cheer on their fellow classmates in a really unique setting within the Chicago community.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back, I would have been more involved in the Entrepreneurship through Acquisition track at Booth. This is something I am potentially interested in doing longer term and I wish I had taken more advantage of the resources available to me.

What is the biggest myth about your school? I think the biggest myth about Booth is that our students don’t like to have fun. This was not my experience at all! I went on two Random Walks (student-led trips to different countries) – Cyprus and Spain – and can say for sure that Booth students know how to have a good time!

What did you love most about your business school’s town? I definitely liked the juxtaposition of living in downtown Chicago and going to school in quaint Hyde Park, but what I loved most about the city was going to Cira with my wife to get the brown butter hummus at The Hoxton Hotel in West Loop and then playing arcade games at Emporium for hours afterward.

What surprised you the most about business school? I was most surprised about how strong the community is in business school. It is easy to connect with people at Booth on both a professional and intellectual level. That has made my experience enriching and I now have a better understanding of why the alumni network becomes so strong after graduating.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I most admire Pratique Kain. He is super bright, has a really cool background in public policy, and is incredibly humble. He also has an uncanny ability to hold a conversation with anyone.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? I want to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and later, to acquire a small business to run with my family.

What made Ben such an invaluable member of the Class of 2024?

“I first became acquainted with Ben as an applicant for a spot in The University of Chicago Booth full-time MBA class of 2024. After reading dozens of applicants, it was clear that we should consider Ben for Booth’s most prestigious scholarship program (the Distinguished Fellows Program.) What made Ben an attractive Distinguished Fellow (DF) was the remarkable combination of leadership, entrepreneurial activities, and academic excellence that jumped off the pages of his application.

As a Distinguished Fellow and as a student in our MBA program, Ben brings his many skills to develop and deliver programming and initiatives that benefit others. Two illustrations I will discuss are the design and delivery of a multi-day reunion for ten current DFs and an alumni population of about 100, and the coaching of Booth’s Basketball Club to victory against crosstown rival, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management. In each case, Ben’s incredible organization and planning skills put the pieces in place to energize and engage others in a shared goal. What made Ben’s work on the Distinguished Fellows reunion so remarkable was that it occurred just one week after his wedding, which meant that he needed to mobilize others early to ensure he could be present for his bride and their planned celebration. Regarding our narrow victory over Kellogg on the United Center basketball court, rarely has Booth mustered the talent and the discipline to practice and excel in this annual matchup: Ben’s positivity, excitement, and drive made this happen with his work both on and off the court.

In my twenty years as a deputy dean (2004-2020) and a faculty member, I have worked with thousands of students. Ben’s ability to juggle multiple high-stakes activities while exuding a sense of calm and joy in his work is truly exceptional. His ability to prioritize and execute is something I would expect to see in someone far older than Ben. From what I see, I believe Ben will be an outstanding consultant at Bain in Boston (his post-MBA plan,) a terrific alum, and an all-around fabulous human.”

Stacey Kole
Clinical Professor of Economics

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2024