Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals going forward, and how will the Columbia MBA help you achieve them?

Columbia’s MBA program is the inflection point that will enable me to make a career shift into the restaurant industry. Upon graduation, I will develop and lead a strategy team for a restaurant group such as NoHo Hospitality or Myriad. Though this role does not exist in most hospitality organizations, I aspire to forge a path in this business for analytics-based strategy to be integrated into market expansion. A large challenge that restaurant groups face is that decisions are made by investors rather than driven by individuals with expertise in using research to manage growth. Through years of ongoing conversations with contacts in the business and avidly following trend studies, I see an opportunity for strategy to play a critical role in restaurant groups’ development. This function is especially pertinent considering that this industry is experiencing soaring rates of failure: the number of New York City restaurant closings in 2014 nearly doubled from the previous year (Zagat 2014). Maturing my skills in a strategy role will empower me to eventually become the chief executive officer of an existing restaurant group such as Union Square Hospitality or STARR Restaurants.

This trajectory perfectly marries my strategy background from JPMorgan with my longstanding passion for cuisines and dining. Now is a pivotal time to enter the business as there is a vast influx of private equity investment; Alliance Consumer Growth’s recent funding of Tender Greens is a notable example. I have attended several on-campus events and spoken with numerous students and alums, but my friend Diego Suarez’s reflection particularly stood out: he said that while his Columbia MBA granted him tremendous credibility when pursuing his career change, more importantly it provided the knowledge base required to switch industries. Diego’s comment further fuels my conviction that Columbia’s elective-heavy curriculum will afford the formal training I need to seize this time-sensitive opportunity. CBS’s specialized classes such as Consulting 101: Driving Strategic Impact and Napoleon’s Glance will allow me to adapt the project management skills that I cultivated in ABC investment bank’s Internal Consulting Analyst Program and apply them to hospitality groups. Moreover, CBS enables students to learn from renowned faculty: Dean Kathy Phillip’s leadership seminar offers unparalleled insight into management skills that will be paramount to leading a strategy team and eventually a restaurant group. Lastly, I can explore NYC’s thriving restaurant scene with my classmates and expand my hospitality network in New York though the Gourmet Club and Columbia Women in Business.

While Columbia’s exceptional curriculum and classes offer the education I require to transfer my strategy skills to the restaurant business, its unique programs outside of the classroom will further drive my professional growth. The Global Immersion Program will give me exposure to applying learned concepts to new industries, which is a skill that will be critical to my transition. I am tremendously excited to take advantage of the opportunities that this program, along with Columbia’s career-oriented curriculum structure and celebrated faculty, will provide to propel my success in restaurant strategy.