Sydney Peoples

Columbia Business School

“Strategic problem-solver and connection-maker with a global perspective and passion for film, food, and French.”

Hometown: Princeton, New Jersey

Fun Fact About Yourself: Growing up, I moved from Baltimore to Toronto to Milwaukee to Princeton in just five years because of my father’s job – to me, home is wherever I have a bed to sleep in!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce; double-major in Commerce (Marketing Concentration, Advertising & Digital Media Track) and French language

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Director, Corporate Strategy & Development at Publicis Groupe

What makes New York City such a great place to earn an MBA? Not to be cliché, but there’s no place like New York. Whatever industry, firm, culture, or niche you want to tap into, it truly all exists and advances here. And, candidly, New York is also a great city to exercise your student discount privileges!

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Columbia Business School’s MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? It was the ability to pursue consulting while also taking advantage of in-semester internship opportunities in Film & Entertainment. This was particularly true with the added guidance and perspective of industry leaders from Columbia’s Executives in Residence program. I simply couldn’t get that anywhere else.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Columbia Business School? The Media Management Association (MMA) was another major factor in my decision to join CBS! I hope to serve as one of the MMA’s Co-Presidents in my second year, building on my Advertising experience and passion for Film & Entertainment to develop new programming and recruitment opportunities for future CBS classes.

What is your unique quality that will enable you to make a big contribution to the Class of 2027? Why? My people skills! My dad always joked that with the last name ‘Peoples,’ being a people-person is simply in my blood. I think moving so frequently has given me the space to fine tune those ‘skills’ from an early age. Thanks to my fellowships with the Consortium, MLT, and Forté, I was also fortunate to meet many of my classmates prior to school, and I hope to leverage those connections to make a meaningful impact through peer advising, admissions outreach, and leadership roles in various clubs.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far. It was the three years I worked as the strategic lead for Publicis Groupe’s North American video practice. In that time, I helped the team launch five new products and streamline its operational processes to go from managing less than $200M to nearly $1B in annual billings, making it the Groupe’s fastest growing practice! I learned/gained so much confidence in that role and forged some of my most meaningful working relationships there, which I’ll always cherish.

What do you hope to do after graduation? After graduation, I hope to have received a return offer to work full-time at BCG’s Hudson Yards office, specifically consulting within their Tech, Media, and Telecom (TMT) practice area. From there, I hope to continue to grow and stretch myself to make a real impact within the Media & Entertainment industry, whether that means continuing in Management Consulting for several years or returning to an internal Corporate Strategy role within the Film & Content space.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Columbia Business School’s MBA program? Be really clear about why you want to go to business school, and why Columbia is the best place for you to do your MBA. Then, believe in your story, block out the noise (because there will be a lot of people giving solicited and unsolicited advice), and don’t try to sound like what you perceive to be the “perfect” CBS candidate. Everyone has something unique to add to the program, so lean into what makes you special and the value only you can (and will) bring to the class.

DON’T MISS: MEET COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2027

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