From a business perspective, Parthenon was an ideal match for my interests coming out of undergrad: while the client industry profile is diverse, the firm’s expertise in education and its private company and foundation clients fit well with my interest in government and policy work. I also really liked the firm’s commitment to higher-level strategy cases over integration and implementation cases. Still, what stood out to me the most about Parthenon were the people at the firm.
I found in my internships during school that the people you work with are crucial in the day-to-day enjoyment and overall value of a work experience, so during the interview and sell process I did my best to get to know the members of offices I applied to. Over the three weeks of interviewing at Parthenon, I had the chance to interview with every member of the then 13-member office; everyone was extremely inviting, and I felt more comfortable at TPG than any other firm I interviewed at. In my first year here I’ve gotten to know my colleagues well through our daily work together, as well as the mentor program and social events, both planned and impromptu. I feel lucky to be part of such a talented and positive group of individuals. Even as the size of the office grows, the camaraderie, respect, and intellectual excitement that I was originally drawn to has only been reinforced.
What types of industries and clients has your casework covered here at Parthenon?
One of the main draws of consulting is the range of industries and business models that it allows you exposure to; this is especially true at Parthenon due to the staffing structure (we work on two cases at a time). Because I’ve spent a majority of my time on shorter cases in the private equity practice, I’ve learned quickly about markets I previously knew little about, such as natural gas transportation, construction site fall safety equipment, electronic block trading, and catastrophe insurance. Though we have a running joke about a budding “obscure industries practice” as a result, the variety of client industry and size I have worked in has made me much more aware of the spectrum of business services and models that I was otherwise unaware of. I recently started on a case for the Gates Foundation, and it is very easy to see just how transferable the skills I’ve gained in cases for private client translates to cases that also involve policy aspects.
What
type of work do your cases typically involve?
I’ve worked on 11 cases in 11 months, and I’ve found that my managers are eager to ensure that I make the most of my time in consulting by encouraging skill development. Associates have the opportunity to meet with Principals in addition to receiving case-specific and six-month feedback from managers to make sure that they are getting a diverse experience in terms of type of case, work stream activities (survey, regression work, cost analysis), and who they work with – this all plays into staffing decisions.
What
has been your favorite case thus far at Parthenon?
My favorite case so far was a pricing strategy project for an online auction company. We were engaged by the client to perform regression analysis on buyer and seller responses to past price changes, and then use this information to recommend future pricing changes given a set of goals that the company developed. The sheer number of listings and transactions on the auction site made the task seem intimidating at first, but the team I worked with made the size of the database and complicated aspects of the analysis manageable. The team bonded closely over the six weeks of the case as we traveled together, held several-hour brainstorming sessions, and worked long hours; I learned to use Access and E-Views effectively, deal with massive amounts of data, and think through complicated pricing analysis with a team.
I felt encouraged from day one at Parthenon to share my ideas and questions in case team meetings with senior team members, and this case required that I represent my findings and thoughts on their implications to my team members on a daily basis. This really taught me to pressure test my work so that I am 100 percent confident in the quality of my output, because further analysis and major findings depended directly on it. It’s rewarding to hear positive feedback from clients for our work, and to help them through the process of making major decisions – in this case, our findings for pricing scenario outcomes and recommendations for changes were incorporated immediately into the company’s decisions, which was a thrilling process to take part in.
Which
internal initiatives have you been involved with?
I’ve had the opportunity to take on a range of internal roles in the past year, including writing monthly San Francisco office newsletter updates for the Parthenon newsletter and heading up the office’s Charitable Contributions Committee. I’ve most enjoyed the work I’ve done with other Associates in coordinating the pro-bono casework that San Francisco takes on. Since I’ve started, I’ve scaled my participation up from executing analysis, to planning my own work stream, to managing the office’s relationship with pro-bono clients and even running a planning session with a client’s board members in preparation for their annual board of directors’ retreat. These opportunities have proven extremely rewarding and are representative of the high amount of responsibility that Associates here are given early on – this will undoubtedly help this year as my classmates and I transition to take on advanced Associate roles and see more interaction with clients.
How
does Parthenon fit into your life outside of work?
The San Francisco office in particular provides the opportunity to be part of a tightly knit community of very talented yet unassuming individuals. Whether we’re in late at night to prepare for a presentation or river rafting during the Associate Boondoggle weekend, I’ve found that my coworkers are extremely supportive and encouraging, and always eager to provide guidance. I would now count the Associates I work with among my closest friends and, in addition to daily lunches in the large conference room and Parthenon-sponsored events like our recent sailing trip and Iron Chef competition, many weekends will find us getting together to try a new restaurant, catch a Giants game, or just spend some time outdoors. The office is especially active -- there are subsets of the office that play competitive hockey and lacrosse, bike 150-mile weeks, and ski Tahoe every weekend in the winter – so it’s never difficult to find a tennis or running partner over the weekend, or a fellow yoga enthusiast to join me downstairs for an evening class at the Bay Club.
