About Elizabeth: Elizabeth Williams (‘23) is from Dallas, TX and received a Masters in Professional Accounting (2017) and BBA (2016) from the University of Texas. Prior to MBA school, Elizabeth spent four years at KPMG working in the audit and consulting practices. She is involved in several Anderson organizations and enjoys exploring LA.
About Sofia: Sofia Jimenez (’23) is from Sacramento, CA and received a B.S. in mathematics/economics from USC in 2016. Prior to attending Anderson, Sofia worked as an associate portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein in New York City. Sofia is a Consortium member, UCLA Fink Fellow, and serves on the Investment Finance Association, John Anderson Golf Club, and Admissions Ambassador Corps boards.
About Mariana: Mariana de Vicenzo (’23) is from Santa Ana, CA and received a B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University in 2014. Prior to Anderson, Mariana worked as a strategic pricing manager at Dexcom Inc. in San Diego, CA. Mariana is a Consortium member, UCLA Fink Fellow, and serves on board of the Investment Finance Association, Entertainment Management Association, Strategy and Operations Management Association and ALMA.
Each of us have a different background in finance and different vision for our future careers, but together we navigate the world of finance and believe in supporting women in this industry. Outside of our summer internships, we continue to work together along with 8 other students to manage the Student Investment Fund, a $4 million portion of the UCLA endowment. Having a small, connected network of students to share ideas and our experiences with has been invaluable for all of us. We look forward to sharing a bit about our summer internships with you!
Elizabeth
I am working at Closed Loop Partners in New York City this summer on the buyout private equity fund. Closed Loop is an investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity and catalytic capital as well as an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. I’m sure you are wondering what is the circular economy? It is a new economic model which is an overhaul of how products are designed, manufactured, sold, refurbished, and recycled - reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and protecting our environment. I came to MBA school to pivot into impact investing and this summer has been a great experience getting to work on the commercial side of sustainable investing.
Over the past several weeks I have worked on a variety of aspects of the deal process including pipeline development and evaluation, due diligence on an active deal, and portfolio monitoring. Our fund invests in companies along the value chain to build circular supply chains. In addition to learning an extensive amount about recycling, I am also developing a market landscape on a potential new industry for our fund. Closed Loop is a unique investment company with 70% female employees. It has been an incredible opportunity working at a firm with people from all different backgrounds and at the forefront of sustainability through strategic investments.
Sofia
This summer I am working at Post Advisory Group in Los Angeles, CA. Post is an asset manager specializing in high yield credit and senior loans. Having a background in equities, I was eager to try a new asset class, and Los Angeles has long been known as a credit hub. This summer, I’ve learned that that reputation holds true.
During my first month on the job the news was flooded with inflation concerns and rate hikes; to say the least, it was a volatile time in the markets. But the managers at Post all approached it with seasoned experience and allowed me a front row seat to their decision-making process. In my internship, I am assisting with analytics, client communication, and writing a research paper which will contribute to Post’s marketing efforts. Despite my outfit in the picture (right), Post is incredibly casual! I am loving working in an intellectual finance world with a relaxed California attitude.
Mariana
This summer I am interning at Credit Suisse in LA on the Financial Sponsors and REGAL (Real-estate, Gaming and Leisure) groups. Prior to working at Credit Suisse, I spent seven years working in the healthcare industry within Corporate Finance, Revenue Management and Commercial Pricing. My well-rounded experience around the income statement helped to build a foundation of business fundamentals that has allowed me to make a transition into banking.
Despite the markets slowing down, I have been very fortunate to have been placed on two very exciting and active deals for our office this summer - on each side of the house - sponsors and gaming. This summer I have had the privilege to be on the team facilitating the transaction of Citrix and Vista on the Sponsors side and on the Gaming side, my and I are helping a client bid for an acquisition target.
Despite the steep learning curve on office specific practices, my teammates have been incredible, which makes our long nights worthwhile. I have learned to build LBO models from scratch and understand first hand the importance of managing and structuring leverage. Everyday I learn something different and I am constantly being pushed beyond my limits. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for me and the team.
Me and my teammate working on a presentation until 1AM
My intern class and I on 7/4 watching the fireworks
Student Blogger: Elizabeth Williams '23
Education: University of Texas BBA‘16 & MPA‘17
Pre-MBA: Advisory Senior Associate Financial Due Diligence @ KPMG
Leadership@Anderson: VP Portfolio Monitoring for Anderson Venture Impact Partners (AVIP), VP Career Development for Net Impact, Forté Fellow and Ambassador
Student Blogger: Sofia Jimenez '23
Undergrad: University of Southern California ‘16
Pre-MBA: Associate Portfolio Manager, AllianceBernstein
Leadership@Anderson: Admissions Ambassador Corps VP of EDI, Investment Finance Association Director of IM ACT, John Anderson Golf Club VP of EDI
Student Blogger: Mariana de Vicenzo '23
Undergrad: Georgetown University ‘14
Pre-MBA: Strategic Pricing Manager, Dexcom Inc.
Leadership@Anderson: Investment Finance Association VP of EDI, Entertainment Management Association VP of Career Night, and Strategy, Operations Management Association VP of Admissions, and ALMA EVP