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Member Profiles
Senior Principal Member: Andrew
Undergraduate Program: Middlebury
College
MBA Program: MIT
Sloan
Year Joined Parthenon: 2003 as Summer Principal / 2004 as Principal
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When did you join TPG?
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I joined
Parthenon in 2004 after completing business school at Sloan.
Actually, I was a Summer Principal in 2003 in the Boston
office, where I also spent my first full-time year. I then
decided to transfer to our San Francisco office, where
I’ve been for the past two years.
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What did you do prior to TPG?
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Prior to Parthenon I worked in several startup companies, two of which I founded myself. Neither of them is a household name, but one we managed to sell to a prominent financial news website. Working at Parthenon is far and away the most “corporate” job that I’ve ever held, but it retains many of the characteristics of a startup that I enjoyed.
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Why did you select TPG?
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Parthenon was on my short list of potential employers when I entered business school. I had an interest in strategy consulting as a possible career path and had past exposure to the firm through a friend. As I looked more closely at the various firms, I realized that Parthenon’s unique blend of size and culture was the perfect fit for me. My prior professional experience was in small, venture-backed startups, and so Parthenon’s entrepreneurial emphasis and collaborative interpersonal dynamic was deeply appealing. I also believed then, as I do now, that I would experience greater responsibility, and consequently more rapid development, sooner at Parthenon than anywhere else.
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How would you describe the type of casework you do at Parthenon?
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Every
project brings its own set of questions, and consequently
the types of analysis that I have been involved in have
varied. Some cases are deeply quantitative, such as a detailed
conjoint analysis that I completed on a branding case.
Others require facilitation of senior management in a post-merger
integration setting. Every case contains an element of
industry analysis to set the context, a skill set that
I developed rapidly upon starting at Parthenon.
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What has been your client mix over the past 4 years?
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o My mix of casework has reflected that of the firm at large and hasn’t focused on a specific client or industry. I have completed a number of education projects across both private and non-profit sectors, but have also worked in a wide range of industries, from mining, to life sciences, to retailing.
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What was your favorite case?
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We completed a case for a for-profit education company to help them understand their brand assets and recommend a strategy for leveraging their brand in the future. This was a uniquely satisfying case in that it linked the standard market assessment dimensions of our work to a deeply quantitative conjoint analysis of brand perceptions in the market. Our client contact was intimately involved in the work and the collaboration was tremendously effective. Not only was the work interesting, but it was also hugely impactful. We recommended a radical shift in their branding strategy, which was accepted by senior management and their board. Today they are in the midst of executing that strategy and report strongly positive market acceptance of the change.
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What leadership opportunities have you had at Parthenon?
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Partly because of the non-hierarchical nature of the firm and partly because I’m in a small but rapidly growing satellite office, I’ve had frequent opportunities to lead cases and develop substantive relationships with senior clients. This is one of the attributes of my Parthenon experience that I’ve enjoyed the most.
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What would you say about your internal responsibilities at the firm?
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I was deeply attracted to the idea that I would not be just a face in the crowd upon joining Parthenon. Internal responsibilities are a direct opportunity to put my stamp on the firm, especially through my recruiting responsibilities for the San Francisco office.
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How would you describe the culture at Parthenon?
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When talking to alumnae, I often hear comments about how much they miss the Parthenon working environment. Culture is by nature difficult to define with precision, but I have found it deeply rewarding to confront difficult management challenges with a group that is as talented, dedicated, and good-natured as my colleagues.
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What are your interests outside of work?
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I’m a new father, so my primary “interest” is spending time with my wife and daughter. We moved to San Francisco in part to explore the area. We typically spend a weekend afternoon on a hike somewhere in the vicinity, often in the Marin Headlands. |
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