By NICOLAS LOPEZ, CFA on APRIL 5, 2010
The first thing you may notice before reading this blog post are the three letters after my name, “CFA”. Some people might think of it as Cat Fanciers’ Association, but it actually means Chartered Financial Analyst. Coming from the investment banking/management world, where the CFA credential is commonplace, I never really expected myself to end up in corporate finance. However, after last year’s wild ride in the financial markets, I started to think about new areas of personal development. This is where Best Buy came to my rescue.
After reading about Best Buy in the financial press, I decided maybe it was a good idea to see what the Company was all about. I applied for a job on the Business Analysis team and flew out from California for an interview not knowing what to expect. Well for starters, seeing the Best Buy corporate campus for the first time was pretty amazing and everyone was extremely nice. In addition, every0ne on the Business Analysis team seems to have a great financial background. The questions during the full-day round of interviews were not only financial intensive, but strategically developed to get a better understanding of how the analyst would think.
Some people were shocked that I would actually leave Southern California to live in Minnesota in the dead of winter. However, I was of the opinion of how cold can it really be? When it came to crunch time, they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Let’s just say the quality of life at Best Buy is better than anything you could imagine, especially if you are coming from the investment banking world. The only trick was getting my new wife to approve the go ahead. She said yes. The day we left Orange County it was 80 degrees in Newport Beach, and the day we arrived in Minnesota it was 10 below zero.
I arrived at Best Buy on January 4th, 2010 and joined the Business Analysis team. This team was newly formed in early 2009 and focuses on corporate strategy and financial analysis. What does this really mean? As an MBA student reading this post, you should know that we are trying to identify projects with the greatest source of shareholder value (i.e., NPV/EVA). It is our job as analysts to analyze current initiatives in place and to research new areas of growth. As Best Buy’s strategy continually evolves, we need to recommend projects that deliver the most incremental value to shareholders.
From day one I have been challenged with projects ranging from financial model development to strategic analysis for international markets. This includes market research, DCF/EVA analysis and competitor analysis, among others. I would say the learning curve is pretty steep for the first few months, but you should be able to contribute solid ideas and analysis for projects right away. I am fortunate that I get to work with a great team everyday and I honestly think this was the best move I have made in my career thus far.
The future for me at Best Buy is wide open. As I continue to work on my internal network and build relationships with various cross functional teams, I believe there is great opportunity ahead. Best Buy is working on many great projects and it is pretty exciting to see where the Company is headed. My advice to MBA students considering employment is give Best Buy a shot. You will be amazed at all the opportunities the Company provides its employees.
