Essays_English

I am an associate in the McKinsey’s European Corporate Finance & Strategy Practice. This practice group deals with corporate strategy, M&A advisory, alliances, and post-merger management. Since joining the practice last summer, I have worked on two M&A advisory engagements. In the first one, our team worked for an international industrial company and was in charge of evaluating a potential target based in the U.K. For this assignment, we analyzed the strategic fit between our client and the target, performed a valuation of the target and the expected synergies and evaluated different deal structures. I was responsible for ensuring our team understood the industry, for developing the first ideas on the valuation, and for assessing the synergies. In the second assignment, we worked for an international transportation company considering a potential acquisition in the U.S. In this study, I was primarily responsible for doing the valuation of the target, assessing the synergies and the investment and restructuring costs. This January, I joined the European Corporate Finance & Strategy Practice’s Amsterdam-based Finance and Analysis Support Team on a two to three month rotational basis. In this team we support other teams in their efforts to solve their clients’ problems. Being on this team gives me the opportunity to be exposed to a very broad range of technical finance problems and to learn a lot in this area. Before joining the corporate finance practice, I was a general consultant specialized in financial institutions. I was on one team that supported an international insurance company to develop its Corporate Claims Service Lines and on another team that helped a major Swiss bank to improve its management information system. In the latter study, while working extensively with clients, I had the opportunity to build up relationships with them and to give presentations to the steering committee. Besides problem solving, another important task is managing internal resources and external relationships. As an associate, I am internally responsible for managing support staff, such as research and information, visual aids, proof-reading and production. Externally, I am responsible for the relationships with junior client team members. Additionally, my previous experience as a corporate lawyer at a leading Swiss law firm means I am the natural contact person for lawyers and investment bankers involved in the projects. Moreover, building my own McKinsey collegial network in- and outside the Zurich office is also crucial to efficient and creative functioning. In addition to working on studies, I am very active in office-related activities. Participating in recruiting and internal training and organizing office events allows me to leverage my experiences as a boy scout leader, a military officer, and an organizer of student parties. For example, I assumed the co-leadership for the organization of last year’s McKinsey Swiss office Christmas party.