I love to travel. By choice, I’ve done quite a bit of it for work. One of my favorite things about McKinsey has been the opportunity to explore the world. I’m on the go in my free time too – site-seeing in major cities or being a beach bum. This week, I’m traveling to the U.S. for one of my favorite events – the Asia-Pacific presentations McKinsey hosts for MBA students interested in working in this region.
The students I’ll meet during these events will be a major part of the incoming associate class in Hong Kong (my office) and elsewhere in the region. They inspire me and re-energize me. I hope the students will feel as excited about McKinsey as I am after they learn more about the personal growth they can experience here.
I hadn’t heard about McKinsey when I started my career. I studied computer engineering at the University of Waterloo and took a product development role with the largest telecom operator in Canada after graduation. I learned more about consulting while I was working. I quickly became fascinated by the options McKinsey provided in terms of best-in-class training, mentorship, and exposure to almost any topic I could think of.
The ability to learn continuously is an important reason I am here. I work with some of the brightest and most driven individuals; they challenge me, coach me and teach me new things nearly every day. Now that I’m an associate partner, I work with multiple clients and teams which means I’m always growing as an individual and professional.
My network at the firm has been instrumental in helping me too. My two closest mentors are now both partners in our telecom, media and high-tech practice in Asia. I met Kevin working together for a high-tech player in China and Ferry when he moved from Europe to Singapore. These people have helped me decide what engagements to do, topics to research, client service teams to join, etc. I am indebted to them and excited to pay their active sponsorship forward by helping create opportunities for new joiners within the firm.
If you’re interested in learning more about opportunities with McKinsey in Asia-Pacific and you’re an MBA student studying at HBS, MIT or Wharton, it's not too late to sign up to meet Harrison in Boston and Philadelphia later this week. If you're an MBA student who is not able to attend one of these presentations, please join us via webex Thurs. Nov. 10 at 7:00pm EST to learn more about our offices and practices in Asia Pacific from our colleagues in the region. Sign up here to receive further details.