Paul Reeder grew up in South London and attended the University of Cambridge. There, he studied history and economics, and played fives — a sport similar to handball and played on an indoor court. He spent his career working with a diverse array of companies in the financial sector, providing them with information and data from SNL Financial and more recently, S&P Global. He holds an MBA from Darden and received his Bachelor’s of Arts from the University of Cambridge in England.
He joins the CDC in order to build on Darden’s relationships in the financial world, and to develop new global and domestic relationships in the industry. He looks forward to advising students interested in pursuing investment management, hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital careersRead on to learn more about Paul’s approach to building Darden’s stronger connections with financial services employers.
1. How are you able to best help students pursue careers in your focus industry?
Mine is an an oddly bifurcated role. For investment banking, there really is a Yellow Brick Road leading to the Emerald City, by which I mean the route is well-established and clear. My job is therefore to keep students on that road and hold the Flying Monkeys at bay. By contrast, jobs on the “buyside” of the investment world – investment management, hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital – are a lot harder to source, so I’m working hard to build better connections between Darden and potential employers in those industries.
2. Tell us about one or two of the most interesting trends in the MBA job market in your focus industry.
Contrary to the accepted narrative being pushed by some in the media, investment banking is not losing out to tech in its MBA hiring efforts. Darden has consistently sent 50-60 students into banking for several years. Tech recruiting is most certainly growing but more at the expense of other areas of the economy, not banking or consulting.
3. Though you’ve all been at Darden a short time, do you have any anecdotal success stories about helping a student/students land a job or internship that you can share?
It’s hard for me to claim responsibility for any one student’s success so far, as on-Grounds intern recruiting was over scarce more than four weeks after I started. I think the important point to emphasize here is that career success is a team sport. However, I have been working closely with one student in the Class of 2018 that is committed to finding a job in venture capital. My role has been to help find additional connections that he might not have thought of, and to keep his spirits high in one of the most difficult of the MBA job searches. He’s yet to land – as is commonly the case with venture capital – but I’m confident he will land.
