Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years and what, in your imagination, would be your long-term dream job

In Berkshire Hathaway’s 2017 shareholder meeting Charlie Munger somewhat wryly remarked “It would certainly be unpleasant if we were in the department store business... Just think of what we avoided Warren.” While Munger and Buffet may be glad they’ve avoided the department store business I couldn’t be more excited about it. The changes, challenges, and competition that have scared off investors and forced numerous retailers into bankruptcy have made this one of the hardest but also the most interesting times to be in the industry. That is why I plan to continue working in corporate strategy in the retail industry for the next 3-5 years. The pace of change and ongoing challenges are just too exciting to pass up.

I’d ideally like to use XXXXX’s strength in the high-end retail space to move to the corporate strategy team for a global luxury goods conglomerate like LVMH, Kering, or Richemont. Longer term my dream job would be to manage a fashion focused investment fund – such as the venture arm LVMH launched this year - because while I’m not sure if we’ll still be using iPhones or driving our own cars in 10, 20, or 100 years—I’m willing to bet that we will still be buying and wearing clothes!

My enthusiasm for retail stems from my work over the last year – in which I’ve been able to collaborate with our Chief Digital Officer on a project to define and build-out XXXXX’s new 1234 Strategy. Our CDO called this project “the most exciting, but also the most complex idea” that he has worked on during his time at the company. I was involved in significant pieces of work including in-depth analysis of our top market which led to the development of a pilot program, new service experiences, and the expansion of our XXXXX stores all in the XYZ area. Additionally, I took the lead on a specific ask from our CDO to develop a comprehensive view on how we should segment the different kinds of markets we have stores in.

I presented my work to our executive team and helped craft the story and strategy that later went to the Board. My work helped to shift our internal strategy from “why would you ever invest another dollar in stores?” to “our greatest opportunity to win in a digital/online world is by leveraging our existing assets and disproportionately investing in our top markets and best customers!” In our most recent semi-annual senior leadership meeting our CDO declared that XXXXX’s focus in 2018 would be the 1234 Strategy that I helped to develop.

Working on such high-impact and transformational projects has been very exciting and it’s absolutely cemented my desire to continue working in the retail industry after business school, by either jumping to high end retail or returning to XXXXX. I’ve developed strong perspectives on what traditional retailers need to do to remain relevant and competitive in the digital/online age and I’m confident that the program will provide me with the perfect education and experience to move to a global luxury goods conglomerate and continue my growth in the retail field.