Alen Lin | Class of 2002 | TMP (Evening Program)
Senior Director, Fitch Rating - Corporate Finance
Alen (at the right) is a big fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team
【校友介紹】
Location of Residence: 芝加哥, 美國
Current Role: Senior Director - 惠譽國際, 企業金融 (Fitch Ratings, Corporate Finance)
Job prior to Kellogg: Technology/TelecomJob after Kellogg: Investment Banking, Equity Research, Credit Research
LinkedIn Page: www.linkedin.com/in/alen-lin
I started my career at Motorola as an engineer fresh out of college. Soon after I started my MBA program, the mere association with Kellogg opened numerous new opportunities for me. While still enrolled in the program, I was able to move into new roles including Product Management and Business Strategy, before I even completed my degree. The experience was nothing short of transformational, especially for someone coming from an engineering background with no experience in marketing or finance. Beyond Motorola, new opportunities transpired and took me to technology investment research in Asia for 10 years, and then back to Chicago. Very simply put, Kellogg degree opens doors, on a global scale.
Please briefly introduce your industry, company, and role
As one of the three global rating agencies (S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch), Fitch provides ratings for the debt capital markets. I am now part of the Corporate Finance team with a focus on North America technology industry. Most corporate loans and bonds globally are rated by at least two of the three rating agencies. The debt issuers include public companies and private companies with LBO’s representing a large portion of the software industry that I focus on. Given the low-interest rate environment since the financial crisis, private equity firms continue to be active in the LBO market providing a continuous stream of financing transactions.
A major function in this role is to be opinionated and support my opinions with facts and analyses. Through discussions with various industry sources and meetings with company management, I form opinions about companies and make my opinions known to the public.
What are the challenges and keys to your career success since Kellogg?
The greatest challenge has been how to change careers after 10+ years in a particular role. After spending over 10 years at Motorola, how to move out of the technology industry into something I had never done before. Then, after another 10 years in Asia equity research, how to move into the next career back in the US. The key has been to pivot around a key set of skills you may have - in my case, technology. My engineering degree combined with Kellogg MBA has enabled me to cross between technology and finance industries. While I am not the best engineer, nor am I the most sophisticated finance professional, the combination of the two disciplines narrows the field of competition significantly. Most engineers don’t know finance; most finance professionals don’t know technology. Knowing enough about both was the key differentiation. Even now, I am not shy about telling companies and investors that I started my career as an engineer - this still gets their attention most of the time.
Alen (second to the right) hosts the Kellogg Class of 2017 for a BBQ at his back yard
What are some of the most valuable things you get out of Kellogg after graduation?
The name opens doors. It was a major contributor to moving from engineering to business strategy and product management. It was a major contributor in securing my first equity research role halfway around the world. It was also a major contributor to securing a position when I was ready to return to the US. The hit rate is significantly higher, particularly when the hiring manager is also a Kellogg alum.
Not to diminish what I learned while at Kellogg, education transformed my view of businesses. The rigorous coursework in marketing, finance, and strategy provided me with a more complete perspective of all the critical functions that make a business operate. These are all valuable tools I use daily in performing my job.
What do you like the most about Kellogg?
A very friendly environment. Different schools attract different personalities that make up the student body. Kellogg attracts students who are social with good interpersonal skills. That made the experience comfortable and fun without sacrificing learning. The soft skills provide a good balance to the hard skills that you learn in various classes. This is particularly important as I found that a large part of the learning was from my peers in group projects; having good classmates to work with definitely made the experience more pleasant.
What are some of the advice you want to give to the fellow Taiwanese that wants to follow your path?
Before committing to a school or to an MBA program, everyone should do some soul searching. Know your strengths and weaknesses, and know where you would like to be long-term. Rather than committing to Kellogg MBA hoping that random opportunities would unveil themselves; should approach it by knowing how a Kellogg MBA would add the necessary skills and differentiation for your long-term plans. Having a coherent view of how Kellogg MBA would help you achieve your long-term goals should provide you with the drive to commit.
Seek out opportunities shamelessly rather than waiting for opportunities to find you. You have nothing to lose by aggressively seeking out opportunities that align with your long-term plan. Not being aggressive in seeking out opportunities would mean that other people may never know your interests and opportunities would be missed.
Cannot overemphasize the importance of networking. I encountered the opportunity to move from Motorola (Chicago) to equity research (Taipei) because I was networking in the bar (Hong Kong). I was informed of the opportunity to move back to Chicago because I made efforts over the years to maintain contacts with people I worked with. Networking provided the opportunities for people to know my interests before the opportunities were available - and the end result was the opportunities found me.
Seek out opportunities shamelessly rather than waiting for opportunities to find you. You have nothing to lose by aggressively seeking out opportunities that align with your long-term plan. Not being aggressive in seeking out opportunities would mean that other people may never know your interests and opportunities would be missed.
Cannot overemphasize the importance of networking. I encountered the opportunity to move from Motorola (Chicago) to equity research (Taipei) because I was networking in the bar (Hong Kong). I was informed of the opportunity to move back to Chicago because I made efforts over the years to maintain contacts with people I worked with. Networking provided the opportunities for people to know my interests before the opportunities were available - and the end result was the opportunities found me.
留言
張貼留言