Hello! My name is Andrew Spiegel. I am a Senior Associate on the Truist Securities Technology, Media & Telecom Leveraged Finance team based in Atlanta, GA. My role is focused on advising corporate clients and financial sponsors on the origination, structuring and execution of institutional loans, high yield bonds and bank loans for LBO, M&A, recapitalization and refinancing transactions. Prior to Truist, I spent roughly three years in Public Accounting, including Grant Thornton’s Transaction Advisory Services group and Deloitte’s Audit practice. I graduated from the University of South Carolina with a double major in Finance and Accounting and obtained my CPA license in the State of New York shortly after graduating. I was drawn to Investment Banking, albeit “late to the game”, as I gained an appreciation for how Investment Banks helped businesses of all shapes and sizes achieve some of their most significant milestones and growth objectives. As someone who attended a “Non-Target” university and did not have strong connections into “high finance”, I can provide a unique perspective on what it will take to break in to the industry. I am also active with my firm’s recruiting initiatives, so I can provide specific insights into our talent acquisition process.

My name is Chase Cormier and I currently work in corporate development at IES Holdings, a holding company with four operating divisions in the construction and infrastructure space. Prior to IES, I spent time as a private equity associate in New York City with ORIX Capital Partners and DFW Capital Partners. I started my career in finance with RBC Capital Markets in the Power, Utilities and Infrastructure group in Houston. I graduated from North Carolina State University in 2013 with a degree in Agricultural Business Management with a minor in Economics. I have experience helping students considering a career in investment banking or private equity and understand the challenges of coming from a school that is not heavily recruited at. If you'd like to chat, please reach out to proformafutures@gmail.com and the team will coordinate a call.

Hi - I’m Chris Ellan and am the head of M&A for Frontline Education, a K12 administrative software company. Prior to Frontline, I spent over a decade within the investment banking industry in various roles spanning from supporting an exotic derivatives desk at Morgan Stanley to a tech banker at Jefferies. Most of my time in banking was spent with Wells Fargo where I held roles in DCM and TMT. An entrepreneur at heart, I’ve also founded a few (mostly failed...) businesses in the past. Most notably, I co-founded ReporterSuite, a software company that ultimately sold to Stenograph. I had a somewhat unique entry into the world of finance. Having been inspired by my families’ military heritage, I shipped off to the Navy after high school. After leaving the Navy, I trekked back to my hometown of Tallahassee and attended community college before transferring to Florida State, then again to Emory University to finish out a BA in finance with a minor in applied mathematics. Given my unconventional entrance into finance, I’m excited by the idea of helping folks navigate the process of getting into and staying in the industry. If you'd like to chat, please reach out to proformafutures@gmail.com and the team will coordinate a call.

My name is Viboosh Chandrasekar and I am currently a senior manager of business operations at Love Health. Previously, I was working various finance and strategy roles at Takeoff Technologies. Prior to joining Takeoff Technologies, I was a management consultant at KPMG. Originally from Boston, I graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Finance and Economics. After trying my luck at professional sports, I pursued a career in finance as I was looking for a fast-paced and high-intensity environment. I view myself as a ‘player-coach’ and am more than happy to help with recruiting, resume reviews, case interviews and interview prep. I’m also available to chat about career paths and different roles in finance.

I am currently in the BizOps and Strategy team at Handshake, a late-stage tech unicorn. Before moving into tech, I spent the first five years in TMT investment banking at Moelis, Jefferies, and Nomura, and in corporate development. I started my career in finance because I wanted to build a solid foundation in financial analysis, and develop a skill set in providing data-driven insights that will impact a whole organization. I made my switch into tech to get more hands-on operational experience and implement the strategies and recommendations I've formulated. Outside of work, I am an avid poker player, traveler, and self-described foodie. Happy to chat about anything investment banking related (internships, full-time, lateraling, etc.) or transitioning from finance to big tech.

Hello, my name is Prashant Bishwakarma and I am a Manager of Corporate Development at Capital One. Prior to Capital One, I was an investment banking analyst at Dickinson Williams & Company, a boutique investment bank serving companies in the lower middle market. Prior to DW&Co. and graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University, I interned in public investment banking at B.C. Ziegler in the Senior Living group. I am happy to talk to any prospective student looking to get into finance, but I can be particularly helpful to students who attend a non-target university in secondary markets. I can also provide insight into F100 Corporate Development. Finance is a great career path for building a foundational understanding in business. I chose finance because it brings great visibility to management teams early in your career.

Hello! My name is Michael Zhang. I’m currently a strategic finance senior director at GoGuardian. Prior to GoGuardian, I spent time as a tech growth investor at Sumeru Equity Partners, buyout investor at H.I.G. Capital’s Advantage Fund, and leveraged finance investment banker at Nomura. I’ve always been passionate about business, and I initially pursued finance for the opportunity to interact with a wide array of companies, industries, and management teams. After spending 5 years in finance, I decided to switch over to an operator role at GoGuardian to get closer to the ground in terms of driving change and creating value within businesses. As both LGBTQIA+ and a minority, I’m excited to share my experience with you as you evaluate potential career paths within investment banking, private equity, and/or corporate finance as well as provide any help with interview prep.

My name is Connor Flanagan and I am currently a Program Manager at HQ, a Digital Currency Group subsidiary. I was previously an Associate on the Aladdin Implementations team at BlackRock in New York City, where I worked for ~4.5 years and interned as a Summer Analyst on the Aladdin Client Services (ACS) team. I graduated from the University of Richmond in May of 2018 and started back on ACS the following July. At BlackRock, I specialized in supporting our Trading and Execution Management tools across all of our institutional clients. Across both my roles, I gained expertise in financial technology consulting, client engagement and product management. I believe that a career in FinTech is extremely valuable, as it provides non-stop learning opportunities in a fast-paced, creative and challenging environment. If you have any interest in learning more about my career path, or would like to enter into a career in either FinTech or Consulting, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

I am originally from Ethiopia but was raised in Portland, Oregon. I attended undergrad across the country at the University of Richmond, where I got my bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in Finance. During my four years at UR I was lucky enough to have two summer internships, both with US Bank back in Portland. After my sophomore year I interned as a Private wealth management analyst. To be honest not the most exciting work but gathered some good expertise working with trading softwares like FactSet and Bloomberg. Junior year summer I was back with US Bank in Portland but this time in their Commercial Lending division. This time I had much more hands on experience. I would spend my time analyzing local companies financial health and future productivity to help the team determine the best lending products/services the US Bank could provide. Since graduating, I have been working for Accenture as a CDTS (Corporate Development & Transactional Services) analyst. In this role I do all the modeling and deal shaping for any mutli-tower opportunity greater than $10M USD. I am happy to speak with you about work and opportunities in corporate finance along with give a perspective on recruiting not specific to investment banking (though I have experience recruiting here as well).

My name is Tyler Montoya and I'm currently a business development associate with GoldenTree Asset Management. I graduated from the University of Richmond in 2018 with a BA in finance and leadership studies. I pursued a career in finance because I believe that working in a field that requires you to be skilled quantitatively, qualitatively, and interpersonally is extremely valuable and rewarding. In contrast to many of the other team members at Pro Forma Futures, I work in a business development role. If you think you might be more inclined to a position that is focused on sales and relationship management within the asset management industry, feel free to reach out!