With my undergraduate degree in computer science in hand, I entered the job market during the depths of the dot-com crash. Impeccable timing. A budding interest in economics led me to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco where, as a research associate responsible for maintaining a large-scale estimated general equilibrium model, I learned firsthand just how much art accompanies the science of forecasting. As Yogi Berra said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
Continuing my pursuit of economics as a Ph.D. student at Harvard, my research focused on public finance. Though I enjoy research, I desired a faster paced environment than academia or government policy. Thus, as a newly minted Ph.D., I entered the job market during the depths of the financial crisis. Impeccable timing once again.
This time, I headed to McKinsey to ply my trade as a management consultant. Working primarily in tech and telecom, I became proficient at PowerPoint and collecting hotel points and frequent flyer miles. Kidding aside, helping leading companies with their most challenging strategic questions was a great experience.
After studying from afar in academia and being a consultant, I got the itch to put my skills to the test as an operator. I joined a Series A startup that went through numerous ups and downs (as startups are wont to do), raised over $100 million in venture capital, and ultimately had a successful exit. That startup experience and subsequent work with growth-stage companies led me to Delta-v.
Across my career in government, academia, consulting, startups, and now at Delta-v, the one constant has been working with data to drive better outcomes. The decisions we make in life and in business are essentially bets. I love the challenge of leveraging data to tilt the odds in our favor.