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Member Profiles
Principal Member: Vanessa
Undergraduate Program: Duke
MBA Program : Wharton
Year Joined Parthenon: 2004 as Summer Principal / 2005 as Principal
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What did you do prior to The Parthenon Group? |
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I played tennis professionally on the Women’s Tennis Tour for about 4 years between Duke and Wharton. I competed throughout the globe ~35 weeks a year and was fortunate enough to be able to play each year in the Grand Slams, as well as to play for Canada in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
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Why did you select The Parthenon Group? |
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I chose Parthenon for a number of reasons. I found the people to be much like my peers at Duke: extremely bright, but also very well-rounded and kind. They seemed to genuinely like the firm and each other (a perception that has proved to be true).
I liked Parthenon’s two-case model. I felt that it would put me in a position in which I could learn the most the fastest – both about a variety of industries and about a variety of problems. I liked the fact that Parthenon teams do not spend four days each week with the client. I’ve spent much of my life traveling for tennis, and I no longer wanted to be living in a hotel room. I like the concept of going to the client when we needed to meet with them, but being able to do much of our analysis from the office.
I did not want to work somewhere where I was just a cog in a very large machine – I didn’t just want to be a number. I wanted to work somewhere where each individual felt like they were a part of the firm’s success. I’ve found this to be true of Parthenon. We all work on our cases, but also each have responsibilities outside of that with which we contribute to the firm. Responsibilities range from being on the recruiting team for one of our undergrad or MBA target schools, to overseeing training programs, to planning our yearly company meeting. I think we all do feel like we are a part of the firm’s success.
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What type of case work have you done while at Parthenon?
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In my two years here, I’ve done work in a lot of different areas: helping firms with their growth strategy or pricing strategy, advising them (based on regression analysis) on how they can improve the marketing effectiveness of their ad spend, working with task forces on the merger and integration of two companies … the list goes on. I’ve worked on projects for firms in a variety of industries including beer, mutual funds, media, textbooks, and fast food. |
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Which industry has been the most interesting? |
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I’ve spent a total of about a year working on three different projects for a beer company. It’s an interesting industry that has its own unique challenges. We’ve worked collaboratively with them to understand how they can better use their resources (e.g. marketing dollars and proficiency with sales execution) to positively affect local market share.
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What have you enjoyed most about the move to the Mumbai office? |
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It took me very little time to decide that I wanted to be a part of our newest initiative. It's always a great challenge to be a part of building something. Parthenon's unique culture really differentiates itself from most other firms - both in terms of our work environment and our relationships with our clients. Being a member of the team responsible for establishing that same culture, in a new office, in a new region, was appealing to me. It has been a great journey to be involved with thus far and the team's enthusisasm is infectious - resulting in a highly motivated work atmosphere. Our office is comprised of a mix of Parthenon experience from other office as well as new local hires - who have been extremely strong additions to the Parthenon. The work has been interesting, spanning across multiple industries, and involves both current and new clients.
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What internal roles have you been involved in? |
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Everyone has a role outside of their work with our clients. I lead the Duke and Wharton recruiting teams. I enjoy it. They are both my alma maters, and I want to make sure they are well-represented at Parthenon. |
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What would you say about the people and culture of the firm? |
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Parthenon’s motto is “Smart, Nice, Driven.” I heard it throughout the recruiting process and it seemed to fit with those I met. Having been with the firm for two years now, I’ve found it to be true. It’s a really neat group of smart, hard-working, well-rounded people. |
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What are your interests outside of work? |
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I love to compete, so I still play tennis. I also took up marathon running because I wanted a different challenge.
I was recently elected to the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) Board of Directors as a Player Representative. It’s an interesting new challenge that is enabling me to apply what I’ve learned at Parthenon to an industry that I know well. It is a significant time commitment, but the firm (Bill A. and the partners in particular) have been very supportive. I’m not sure that I could find too many places that would have allowed me to pursue this opportunity.
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