Anthony Raymond Edwards

Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business

“I have a lot of different sides to me, and my personality and interests vary depending on the day.”

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve been playing chess since I was 6, and I’ve won a few tournaments over the years. It’s been a fun way to challenge my strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, plus it’s a great excuse to compete and connect with other people. Although, I might be a bit rusty now! I’ve only played on Chess.com the past few years.

Undergraduate School and Major: Morehouse College-Finance

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Microsoft Corp- Finance Rotation Program Analyst

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Carnegie Mellon’s MBA curriculum and programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The quantitative focus attracted me. I am really interested in Quantitative Finance because that is the direction I see business going in the future. Plus, I want to take some of the Computer Science courses as well, Carnegie Mellon is ranked number 1 in America for Computer Science, which is really cool.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Carnegie Mellon? The Alpha Club is the most exciting. I’m looking forward to being in stock pitch competitions, discussing the public markets and meeting people with the same interest. I’ve been investing since I was 15, but when I talk about the markets with my family they usually just zone out. I understand it’s pretty boring to most people. So I can’t wait to talk with people who find investing in public equities as interesting as I do.

The Tepper MBA is known for intensive one-on-one coaching and personal development. What area do you hope to strengthen during your two years in business school and why?  During my two years in business school at Tepper, I hope to strengthen my strategic decision-making and leadership skills. Given Tepper’s reputation for intensive one-on-one coaching and personal development, I see this as a unique opportunity to refine these skills. I know making hard decisions is a big part of any managerial role, and I want to learn the best tactics to do so.

The Tepper MBA is also known for being highly data-driven Why does the program’s focus on quantitative analysis and decision-making appeal to you? How have you been able to leverage this approach in your career so far? The Tepper MBA’s emphasis on quantitative analysis and decision-making really clicks with me because it fits well with my career path and interests in finance and investment analysis. I’ve spent a lot of time in equity research and private equity, where I’ve used numbers and data to assess investment opportunities and build financial models. This data-driven approach is key for making smart decisions and getting the best returns, especially in roles that need a lot of financial analysis and forecasting.

At Fortress Investment Group, I created valuation models and did due diligence, using quantitative methods to predict returns and evaluate potential investments. This focus on data not only helped us spot great investment opportunities, but also improved our decision-making overall. It’s one of the most important aspects of business and I think that it’s a valuable skill to have. Using complex data to make tough decisions is 50% of what companies do, and if you aren’t good at it your company will probably not be successful.

Looking at your recruitment, what was the moment when you realized Tepper was the right program for you? Why? I knew Tepper was the right fit for me when I got calls from second-year students before I even accepted my offer. They reached out to share their experiences and answer my questions, which really helped me make my decision. Their friendliness and openness highlighted the supportive and collaborative community at Tepper, which I really value. This experience made me realize that Tepper isn’t just about academics; it’s also a place where I can grow both personally and professionally, surrounded by a genuinely welcoming and engaged network. The tight knit community and small class sizes also really reminded me of my undergrad which I really liked.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment has been helping a company successfully launch a product into Walmart and Sam’s Club, where it continues to be sold to this day. The process involved developing a compelling market entry strategy, negotiating with major retailers, and ensuring that the product met the necessary quality and regulatory standards. Seeing the product thrive in these major retail outlets and knowing that my efforts contributed to its long-term success is a source of great pride for me. The process showed me how difficult it is for a company to get a product into a storefront. Since then, every time I see a product in a store I just think of all the steps it took to get to that point.

DON’T MISS: MEET CARNEGIE MELLON TEPPER’S MBA CLASS OF 2026