This edition of Real Humans: Alumni takes us to Denver, where dual degree candidate Andrew Davey-Greaves strives to impact environmental sustainability and human rights out of EY-Parthenon. But first, in his pursuit of higher education, Andrew recognized that Yale School of Management (SOM) had positioned itself as the place to have the related forward-looking conversations on business and society. Read on to learn how Yale SOM’s MBA & MEM programs prepared Andrew to excel as a strategist.
Andrew Davey-Greaves, Yale SOM MBA/MEM ’18, Senior Director at EY-Parthenon
Age: 33
Hometown: Westford, MA
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Connecticut College; BA in Government
Graduate Business School, Graduation Year and Concentration (if applicable): MBA – Yale School of Management; MEM – Yale School of the Environment
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Fulbright Fellow, US Department of State – Malaysia (2014); Social Responsibility Associate, American Apparel & Footwear Association (2015)
Post-MBA Work Experience: Senior Director, EY-Parthenon, 2018-2024
Why did you choose to attend business school?
I’ve always seen business as a unique force to impact environmental sustainability and human rights. Growing up in Westford Massachusetts, my town was shaped by a mill owner who took a pragmatic view that he could improve operations by investing locally in the community: he welcomed immigrants into fully-furnished apartments, built a loyal labor force, and eventually won the lucrative contract to produce contracts for the Union Army’s uniforms. My goal in attending business school was to determine how I could help shape the modern version of those corporations who use sustainability and corporate responsibility as a business driver.
Why Yale SOM? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
Yale SOM has positioned itself since its onset as a place to have forward-looking conversations on the interaction of business and society. I found through the interview process that this was more than just a motto – SOM attracts the students and faculty who are motivated to have these hard conversations and to integrate with students from across disciplines to push their thinking.
What about your MBA experience prepared you for your current career?
I wear multiple hats in my current role including strategist, case team leader, and sustainability subject matter resource. Yale SOM prepared me to be a strategist by developing my core business toolkit and understanding of how enterprises function. Just as importantly, SOM prepared me to be a team leader by developing my management toolkit and building a better sense of how I engage most effectively with others. By integrating sustainability throughout the curriculum, SOM helped connect my environmental and social background with my understanding of broader business needs.
What was your internship during business school? How did that inform your post-MBA career choice?
I had two internships over my three-year dual degree, focused on sustainability strategy at both LL Bean and Under Armour. I remain deeply grateful to my mentors at both firms for bringing me in on substantive questions that the firms were answering on how to better connect sustainability goals with enterprise goals. My takeaway from the two experiences was that I still had much more to learn about how companies establish and deliver on their top enterprise priorities, and that a role in Consulting would position me to best understand that process.
Why did you choose your current company? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to work?
I got great advice early on in the consulting recruiting process to “look for a two-way match” and to find the company that was as interested in me as I was in them. In one of my first conversations with EY, one of the practice leaders told me a story about a water conservation project he was involved in, and was excited to hear my thoughts given my background in sustainability. When I ran into him two months later on interview day, he remembered me by name and gave me an update on the project. The commitment to sustainability and level of deep personal connection confirmed that I’d found my two-way match.
Advice to current MBA students:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of the job search?
Invest time in identifying, preparing for, and having good conversations. I always got a much greater return on this investment of time than I did in scrolling through job boards.
–One thing you would change or do differently as part of the job search?
I wish I’d looked more for “ecosystems” – the groups of people with whom you share a geography, a subject matter passion, or a skillset. Once you can tap into this type of group, it becomes easier to narrow your focus and prioritize your outreach efforts.
–Were there any surprises regarding EY-Parthenon’s recruiting process?
No major surprises – consulting firms have very well-established recruiting pipelines. Take advantage of the fact that your classmates have gone through a similar process and learn from them about what firms prioritize in the recruiting process and how they differ.
–What piece of advice do you wish you had been given during your MBA?
Graduate school curricula don’t “build” from the 100-level to the 400-level in the way that they do in undergrad. The onus will often be on you to find which courses thematically tie together. Spend some time in your first semester figuring out what you want your educational capstone to be and ensure you’re putting the right pieces in place to build towards it.
