Tyler Ingebrigtsen

Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management

“Competitive by nature, collaborative by choice, and motivated by building something bigger than myself.”

Hometown: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Fun fact about yourself: PwC has an international basketball team, and in my final year, I was selected to represent the firm in Prague, where we ran the table and took home the gold medal.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Carroll University, Waukesha WI. BS in Finance

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? PwC, Financial Risk Consultant

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Wells Fargo Securities – Investment Banking Summer Associate (M&A), Charlotte

Where will you be working after graduation? Wells Fargo Securities – Investment Banking (M&A), Charlotte

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Co-President, Owen Finance Club

Graduate Assistant, Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Working with the Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball program and contributing to the team’s success over two seasons has been the centerpiece of my MBA experience. Behind the scenes, I supported scouting, operations, and game preparation to help create an environment where players and coaches could perform at their highest level.

What made the experience especially meaningful was leveraging my role and connection to Owen to create broader impact across campus. I organized two events tied to home games: hosting Closing Bell in the concourse of Memorial Gym, where Owen students attended the game with exclusive, fully-sponsored concessions, and launching the inaugural Professional School Networking Night, which brought together Owen, Law, and Peabody students and alumni for a pre-game reception at the practice facility before attending the game. These initiatives strengthened community across programs and demonstrated how access and relationships can be used to create meaningful, shared experiences.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Being selected to PwC’s Professional Development Committee, where I helped design and lead training sessions for over 500 employees. In that role, I focused on driving the adoption of best practices across teams to enhance both internal capabilities and client outcomes. I’m most proud of this achievement because it extended my impact beyond my immediate work, allowing me to contribute to the development of others while improving the overall quality and consistency of the firm’s client experience.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose Owen for its combination of location, academics, and access. Being in Nashville, one of the fastest-growing and most vibrant cities in the country, created a dynamic environment with strong connectivity to firms across the South. Owen’s rigorous academics and established recruiting pipeline into investment banking made it an ideal platform to achieve my professional goals. Equally important was the opportunity to work with the Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball program, which provided a unique, high-performance team environment that complemented my classroom experience and reinforced how I approach leadership and execution.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite professor was Peter Haslag. His M&A course stood out for how engaging and practical it was. Every assignment was grounded in real-world deal scenarios, forcing us to think and operate like practitioners rather than students. Beyond the classroom, he served as the Finance Club liaison, where he was consistently accessible and supportive, helping strengthen programming and elevate the club’s impact. What set him apart was his ability to combine deep technical knowledge with genuine investment in students’ development, both academically and professionally.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course was Business of Sports, taught by Mario Avila. The class provided a behind-the-scenes look at the economics of college athletics, focusing on the operational and strategic decisions that often go unnoticed. What set it apart was the access to industry leaders: guest speakers like Mike Vrabel, the CEO of the PLL, and Nan Wang, CEO of Sleeper, brought real-world perspectives on leadership, league economics, and emerging sports business models. The course stood out because it combined practical insight with direct exposure to decision-makers, making the learning both relevant and immediately applicable.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite tradition was Boats, which takes place the weekend after the first week of classes. The class rents pontoon boats on a nearby lake, and it becomes one of the first real opportunities to connect outside the classroom. What makes it stand out is how it sets the tone early, Owen is a place where people take their work seriously, but not themselves. That balance creates a collaborative, down-to-earth culture where strong relationships form quickly and carry throughout the MBA experience.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would have explored more coursework outside of finance. While my focus was intentional, broader exposure to other disciplines would have further strengthened my perspective as an investor and operator.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? It was a leveraged buyout case that emphasized capital structure and downside protection. The key lesson was that strong investing is not just about identifying upside—it’s about structuring deals to perform across a range of outcomes.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Nashville’s growth and energy. It offers a unique combination of professional opportunity, strong community, and quality of life, making it an ideal place to spend two years building relationships.

What business leader do you admire most? The business leader I admire most is David L. Gitlin, Chairman and CEO of Carrier Global. While he likely doesn’t remember, I once caddied for him at Kiawah Island, and over 18 holes, he was remarkably open about his leadership philosophy and career. What stayed with me wasn’t just what he said, but how he carried himself. He was grounded, intentional, and willing to invest in someone he didn’t need to. I’ve followed his career since and carry those lessons with me daily. That experience shaped my view that the best leaders aren’t defined by their titles, but by how they treat people when no one is watching.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? AI was integrated into coursework and independent projects as a tool to enhance analysis and efficiency, with many professors explicitly including AI disclosures in their syllabi. This signaled that usage was not only accepted, but encouraged, provided students remained the drivers of the underlying reasoning. Through that approach, I learned that AI’s true value lies in augmenting judgment, not replacing it, accelerating workflows while still requiring critical thinking to ensure accuracy and sound decision-making.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? If I can go slightly outside the box, I would highlight AK Okereke, an MSF student. AK graduated from Cornell University in three years after earning a spot on the men’s basketball team through a tryout, before transferring to Vanderbilt University for his final year of eligibility. While excelling academically and starting on a top-25 team in the country is impressive on its own, he and his brother also co-founded Mainstreet Media, an athlete-focused investment platform and social brand gaining real traction. What I admire most is his ability to operate at a high level across academics, athletics, and entrepreneurship simultaneously. He sets a standard for discipline, ambition, and execution that elevates everyone around him.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. Lead a landmark M&A transaction that reshapes an industry. I’m motivated by the opportunity to work on complex, high-stakes deals where thoughtful analysis and execution can create meaningful, lasting impact for clients and markets.

2. Build and mentor high-performing teams while helping deepen the Owen to Wall Street recruiting pipeline. Over time, I want to invest in developing talent both within my firm and back at Owen, by creating stronger pathways, mentorship, and access for future students pursuing careers in investment banking. I’m motivated to pay it forward just as others have done for me. I believe long-term success is not just measured by deals completed, but by the people you help develop along the way.

What made Tyler such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“I’m delighted to nominate Tyler Ingebrigtsen for the Poets & Quants Best and Brightest Class of 2026. Tyler exemplifies what it means to be an exceptional student leader, making a lasting impact on the Owen community through his initiatives as a co-president of Owen Finance Club and his work with Vanderbilt Athletics.

Over the past two years, Tyler has impressively balanced the rigorous demands of investment banking recruiting with meaningful contributions to our campus. After securing his internship in Wells Fargo Investment Banking, he stepped into a co-presidency role with the Owen Finance Club—one of Owen’s largest student organizations—where he has overseen club programming including the training program for investment banking candidates across both the MBA and Master in Finance programs.

Beyond activities at Vanderbilt Business, Tyler served as a graduate assistant for the Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball Team during both his first and second year of his MBA program, supporting coaches and players with daily operations, travel logistics, and gameday coordination. What truly stands out was his initiative in creating a joint programming event that connected Vanderbilt Athletics with graduate students and alumni across business, law, and education. He organized a networking reception at the new basketball facility that brought together local alumni and current students for a non-conference game—an event that was so well-received it’s poised to become an ongoing tradition.

Tyler’s journey at Owen demonstrates a remarkable ability to excel academically while building meaningful relationships and creating value for our broader university community. He’s the kind of student that elevates those around him. I am very excited for him as he graduates and moves into his full-time role as a M&A Associate at Wells Fargo Investment Bank.”

Emily Anderson
Executive Director, Career Management Center
Vanderbilt University – Owen Graduate School of Management

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2026

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