Thomas Austin

1) Briefly summarize your educational and professional experience before you attended the Cox School.

In 2008 I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in government and history. Since graduating I have worked for R Austin & Sons USA, a family business specializing in high-end hospitality and residential design. My role at the company has been running the back office. Managing payroll, accounting, contracts, and day-to-day operations.

2) What kind of degree program did you pursue at Cox?

I am currently pursuing the Master of Science in Finance degree.

3) Which courses did you take that were most helpful in getting you to where you are today, and who were your professors in these classes?

Since I did not have any academic background in finance the summer boot-camp aided in my preparation for main course curriculum. Additionally Susan Riffe's 6201 accounting class was so well organized and taught and provided me with a very useful understanding of basic accounting principles and practices. To date Chip Ruscher's Portfolio Theory and International Financial Markets classes are providing me with a broad understating of the overall market environment whilst also teaching me how to price and value various market instruments.

4) What were the most important skills you acquired, lessons you learned, and experiences you had in these courses?

These courses have reiterated how large and encompassing the field of finance is. These courses along with other classes like Corporate Finance have been very beneficial in providing me with a theoretical framework of finance. This has helped me to organize and place many of the new ideas, tools, and principles that have been and are continually been added through each stage of the program.

5) What year will you/did you graduate from Cox?

2013

6) What are/were your professional goals?

To gain employment within the field of finance. I am still not sure what area I would like/be best suited for.

7) Did you receive an offer of employment after completing the MSF program?

Yes, I was hired as an Analyst Intern (Post-graduate) at Deutsche Bank in the Commercial Real Estate Group.

Romina Meuti

1) Briefly summarize your educational and professional experience before you attended the Cox School.

I started my career in PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PwC") as a Tax Consultant in the Transfer Pricing and International Tax areas when I was a senior at SMU. After two years in PwC Dallas, I moved to Barcelona, Spain where I was able to work in the same service line, but with multinational companies based mainly in Europe and Asia. After almost three years, I moved to PwC Ecuador seeking for exposure in the Latin American business world. Finally, after two years, I decided I needed a career shift into the area that I have always had a passion for: Finance. The MSF, in terms of both timing and content, was the perfect first step into achieving my goal.

2) What kind of degree program did you pursue at Cox?

I obtained my BBA and my Master's degree in Finance from Cox in 2007 and 2013, respectively.

3) Which courses did you take that were most helpful in getting you to where you are today, and who were your professors in these classes?

I believe the most useful courses I have taken while at SMU are finance, accounting and economics courses. The finance courses provided me a great insight of the financial theory, but also of the real world such as the way the financial markets work and how investors think. To be able to understand the effects of finance in the real world, it is crucial to understand accounting and economics principles; without them, finance becomes irrelevant.

4) What were the most important skills you acquired, lessons you learned, and experiences you had in these courses?

The most important skills I have acquired throughout my journey at SMU include analyzing Financial Statements, understanding basic financial principles such as time value of money, building financial models for valuation purposes, learning how to use a Bloomberg terminal, and many other skills that has made me a more competitive professional.
The most important lesson I have learned is that business ethics is as important as knowing all theory in order to achieve a leadership position in today's business world. Also, no matter how much you know, if you are not able to successfully work in teams, your ability to demonstrate how knowledgeable you are and how you can drive groups towards a specific goal will be very limited.

5) What value do you think the Cox Network provides to students and alumni?

I believe the Cox Network provides excellent opportunities for students and alumni to stay in touch with important business players and to be updated with the business world in Dallas and the community as a whole. Unfortunately, as I am not permanently based in Dallas, I have not been actively involved in some of the activities planned by the Cox Network, however, I have taken advantage of certain tools available to us as alumni (for example MustangTrak) and kept in touch with professors and alumni who are also important resources we can rely on for wherever we may find ourselves professionally.

6) What year will you/did you graduate from Cox?

I graduated from Cox as a Finance undergrad in May 2007 and I will graduate from the MSF program in May 2013.

7) What are/were your professional goals?

My professional goal is to achieve a position in corporate finance where I can apply, and still develop, the technical and leadership skills I have obtained through my education at SMU and my previous international work experience in a Big 4 company.

8) What progress have you made toward achieving those goals since you graduated from Cox?

Prior to starting the Cox's MSF, I worked as a Financial and Strategic Planning Consultant for a big business group in Ecuador. That was the first time I was able to work in a core finance position. Nonetheless, I realized I needed to come back to school to refresh some of the basic financial concepts and learn some important tools that will allow me to keep moving forward into achieving my goal.

9) Did you receive an employment offer after completing the MSF program?

Yes, I was hired as a Senior Associate at PwC Houston in the Global Tax Solutions Department, which provides consulting services on topics such as Transfer Pricing and International Tax issues to multinational companies.

Yixuan “Catherine” Hu

Hometown: Shanxi, China

Current Position: Financial Analyst at Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty

1) Briefly summarize your educational and professional experience before you attended the Cox School.

Before attending Cox School, I got my bachelor’s degree in Economics from Xi’an International Studies University in China in 2012. Professionally, I had a summer internship in an investment bank, participating in IPO due diligence.

2) What kind of degree program did you pursue at Cox?

I pursued the Master of Science in Finance degree at Cox.

3) Which courses were most helpful in getting you to where you are today, and who were your professors in these classes?

On the whole, the classes I took at Cox gave me a broad understanding of the current financial market. Professor Jeffrey Noland’s Financial Modeling class was very organized, informative and focused on real-world applications, which provided me with an in-depth knowledge about the Investment Banking and Private Equity industry while teaching me practical modeling skills. Professor Michael Vetsuypens’ Valuation class helped me apply the theoretical financial concepts to real business situations through case analyses and taught me how to make financial decisions wisely.

4) What were the most important skills you acquired, lessons you learned, and experiences you had in these courses?

Through the courses at Cox, I gained structured knowledge of finance. The valuation, modeling and financial analysis skills I acquired are especially beneficial to me as well as my career. In addition, the various group projects in the classes enhanced my ability to work in teams, think strategically and assess situations from different perspectives.

5) What value do you think the Cox Network provides to students and alumni?

Cox Network is very helpful to students and alumni. The mentor program connects students with industry leaders. From my mentor, I got career advice, learned more about the industry and the American business culture, which is extremely important to an international student new to the US. Furthermore, the various roundtable events related to consulting, private equity, venture capital and etc. give me great opportunities to network with and learn from key employers in finance.

6) What year will you/did you graduate from Cox?

I graduated from Cox in May 2013.

7) What are/were your professional goals?

I am eager to use my financial knowledge acquired at Cox and multi-culture background in both China and the US to become a financial professional that help investors make wise investments internationally.

8) What progress have you made toward achieving those goals since you graduated from Cox?

I am currently working as a financial analyst in a Texas based real estate company to help Chinese high-net-worth individuals invest in the US real estate.