Exchange (2018) - Tippie College of Business

BRIAN RICHMAN
CHESCA COLLOREDO-MANSFELD
THAT CONNECTION
I FORMED WITH
SANDY WAS REALLY
INSTRUMENTAL IN GETTING
A FOOT IN THE DOOR AT
GOLDMAN SACHS.”
—HANNAH HENDRICKS
SANDY DAVIS
But why was an executive at a major investment bank in
New York City taking time out of her hectic schedule to
come to Iowa City and coach students?
“I’m just so grateful for the experience that I had at
Iowa,” responds Davis.
As a Hawkinson student herself, Davis flourished under
the mentorship of Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld,
director of the Hawkinson Institute from 2002 to
2004, and Sarah Rogers, then assistant director.
Colloredo-Mansfeld had spent a portion of her career
as a Wall Street analyst and found innovative ways
to get Hawkinson students into internships with top
investment banks that had not historically taken
Tippie students. This included careful pre-screening
and “match making” between investment banks and
students. Over time, says Colloredo-Mansfeld, bank
recruiting teams came to trust the reputation of
Hawkinson students.
“A combination of a really strong finance faculty
and finance course offerings, summer internship
experience and coaching, as well as a real hunger for
opportunity on the part of the students meant that
recruiters started looking to Iowa to recruit for New
York and Chicago positions,” says Colloredo-Mansfeld,
now the executive director and co-founder of the
nonprofit MiracleFeet.
Once students land jobs, they excel, which enhances
the reputation of Iowa’s Hawkinson Scholars as
well-grounded in finance and down-to-earth. These
alumni then become advocates within their firms and
strengthen the talent pipeline.
Besides getting Tippie students’ collective feet
in the door, Hawkinson instills in students a
confidence that they can compete professionally.
“The confidence part was half the battle,” recalls
Davis. “I was terrified to move to New York. I didn’t
think I belonged there or that I could do it, and
Chesca and Sarah pushed me out of my comfort zone
to at least give it a try. I think that often, especially
as women, we need that person to nudge us and say,
‘No, really. You are absolutely qualified to do this. It’s
not as scary as you think and let me tell you why.’”
“Alumni are the driving force behind our ability to
place students in these high-visibility positions at
well-known banks,” says Brian Richman, director
of the Hawkinson Institute since 2008.
“Most are very dedicated about paying it forward
and creating the same opportunities for younger
students.”
The collaborative environment has long
been a hallmark of the Hawkinson Institute,
Richman says.
“Seniors help juniors. Juniors help sophomores.
Alumni are involved all along the way. As strange
as it sounds, interview prep for investment banking
is very much a team sport. You can’t do it alone. It
depends very much on building cohesiveness within
the program.”
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA TIPPIE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 19