Please describe your role at the firm.

I am a Senior Managing Director on the Medical Device Investment Banking team. My role primarily focuses on developing and strengthening our relationships with clients, which includes creating thoughtful content for our clients and making sure deals are executed smoothly. In my role, I also work hard to ensure that our analysts, associates, and VPs feel the ownership and pride of being part of a successful team.

Tell us about your career path at Guggenheim. What brought you to the firm and what from your past has helped make you successful?

I came to Guggenheim Securities in 2015 to help start the Medical Device practice. Since joining, I’ve quickly learned that the people at Guggenheim are not only impressive professionals, but also people I truly enjoy working with. I find it refreshing that colleagues go out of their way to help each other, even if they are complete strangers, and are excited to build this business together as a team.

What are the most valuable lessons you learned from your mentors?

I have been fortunate in continuing to work with the mentors who I’ve looked up to throughout my career. They have taught me so much already, not so much through words as through actions. In retrospect, the most valuable lessons I’ve learned have been to lead by example, to treat others with respect, to take responsibility and pride in your work, and that winning is nothing without integrity.

My parents have also been extremely influential mentors throughout my life. Their work ethic, sacrifice, and support that they’ve given me is something that I can never repay. I’m eternally grateful to them!

What is the best career advice you have received?

The best career advice I’ve ever received is to take ownership. Whether that means admitting when you don’t know something or taking responsibility when you make mistakes, demonstrating accountability earns you trust.

It also means being true to who you are – I’m a nerd at heart and can’t get enough of puzzles and brainteasers but it’s refreshing to work in a workplace where individual interests (even if not popular) are celebrated. Whether it be with colleagues or clients, I have found that being genuine and authentic in who you are and what you do builds a stronger foundation for success.

How would describe your experience moving up from Analyst to SMD?

Too fast. Not that it’s been easy by any means, but time flies and you sometimes forget to appreciate where you currently are in your career versus where you are looking to go. For example, as you progress in your career, you’ll gain more client exposure but also more responsibility, you’ll attend more meetings but are away from home more, etc.

Enjoy the upside of every role – what you do have, not just what you don’t have! I love this job and find the challenge of each next step to be rewarding, but also urge folks to enjoy the journey too.

How have your responsibilities changed with each promotion?

In one word – more. As a VP, you still need to know how to model complex transactions, but over time you will need to be able to answer clients when they ask questions. As an SMD, you still need to know about a company’s performance last quarter, but you should know it off the top of your head instead of looking it up to summarize on a page.

That's why it’s so essential to build a really strong foundation of technicals and organization. It’s difficult to teach someone how to drive a car if you’ve never done it. If you’re hoping for a promotion, don’t worry about talking the talk or walking the walk, just treat every work product as a representation of yourself and people will notice!