By Rocio Pineda, MiF 2018
“Is this school/program going to give me the exposure to network with top Investment Banking and Private Equity firms?” – is the question I kept asking myself after receiving the offer from London Business School (LBS) to join its Post-Experience Masters in Finance program. After all, as Keith Ferrazzi very eloquently mentioned in his book Never Eat Alone, in business relationships are all there is.
As a first year student concluding my first semester at LBS, I can say with conviction that by far LBS’s strongest asset is its networking opportunities. The school has not only given me the opportunity to learn from world-class faculty and exposure to leading financial services firms, but it has also helped me enhance my leadership skills in the process.
Each year a group of 10 hand-selected MIF/MBA students travel to New York City during the fall break to attend an Investment Banking (IB) and a Private Equity (PE) trek. This year I was fortunate to attend both, and was selected leader of the IB trek –becoming the first ever Hispanic and/or LGBT student in LBS’ history leading a Wall Street trek.
Given that both treks were happening during the same week, LBS ended up having a total of 22 back-to-back meetings with top IB and PE firms, in addition to two alumni networking drinks. This was by far the most productive networking trip I’ve ever had, and also it was a lot of fun working with fellow MIF/MBA students preparing for the trek! Not to mention running across the city to make sure we were on time for each meeting.
The IB trek took place during the first three days of the week, where we met with: Moelis, Deutsche Bank, USB, Evercore, Guggenheim, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Macquarie, and Natixis. The PE trek started on Tuesday right after the last meeting from the IB trek; I had a very “New York” moment running from Goldman Sachs’ office to Permira while reviewing the questions we had on the subway. The other PE firms we met with were: Cinven, Hellman & Friedman, MidOcean, Apax, AEA, KKR, TPG, Oxbridge (Recruiting), and Campbell Lutyens.
All in, while we had a very busy week it was such amazing experience learning and networking with top professionals in the industry, in addition to having the opportunity to build stronger relationships with fellow LBS students.
“Is this school/program going to give me the exposure to network with top Investment Banking and Private Equity firms?” – The answer is YES! LBS offers a very unique experience and gives you ample networking opportunities. I am ecstatic I made the right choice and I highly recommend future students to challenge themselves to participate & lead an LBS trek, it is truly an outstanding and very rewarding experience!