top of page
Alice, Senior Manager, FP&A at The Bouqs Company: Advize Career Interview
Alice, a Senior Manager in FP&A at The Bouqs Company, embarked on a journey from pharmacy aspirations to financial leadership, fueled by an economics class and a passion for numbers.
Learning early the value of practical experience and adapting to change, a case study landed a role at Hot Topic, eventually leading to senior roles at Amazon and The Bouqs Company, where they now manage the entire P&L across diverse business units.
A typical day involves strategy discussions, sales analysis, and tackling challenging interpersonal dynamics to solve problems and analyze new initiatives.
A proactive and communicative individual, speaking with conviction is essential for success, as is a mastery of technical skills and communication.
The consumer goods industry provides enjoyment through understanding and using the product, a stark contrast to the complexity of semiconductors.
For students interested in this field, Alice recommends investment banking or private equity for accelerated learning, but overall, encourages internships early and often, with a willingness to speak up.
Their biggest lessons underscore the importance of early internships, the value of communication, and the need to embrace the dynamic nature of the business.
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Alice Choi
Senior Manager, FP&A
The Bouqs Company
Occidental College
UCLA Anderson MBA
Economics
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Finance
Honors Student, Immigrant
Watch all of this Advizer's videos below
Career Path of a Senior Manager FP&A at The Bouqs Company
Alice initially pursued pharmacy in undergrad, but an economics class sparked a change in interest, leading to multiple accounting internships where Alice "learned that like I really liked numbers, I really liked to, um, work with them"; desiring a more analytical focus, Alice transitioned into finance, proving analytical skills with a case study to land a financial analyst role at Hot Topic, eventually leading to senior roles at Amazon (Ring division) and currently The Bouqs Company in FP&A. Alice sought to wear "multiple hats and be able to like, see the business as a whole" at a startup, which motivated the move to The Bouqs Company.
Main Responsibilities of a Senior Manager, FP&A at The Bouqs Company
Alice, a Senior Manager, FP&A at The Bouqs Company, manages the entire P&L for the company, which encompasses various business units like standalone retail stores, Whole Foods partnerships, e-commerce, and a subscription model, and also works on financial modeling and 5-year planning. A significant portion of Alice's day is spent "talking with business partners, understanding the business, and being able to convert that into numbers so we can talk about it financially."
A Day In The Life Of A Senior Manager Financial Planning And Analysis At The Bouqs Company
A day in the life of a Senior FP&A Manager at The Bouqs Company involves consistent meetings with business partners and executives to discuss strategy and financials, starting with a daily review of sales versus budget to "help inform our business partners" on optimizing marketing spend. When there's time, improving reporting, performing ROI analyses for new initiatives, and preparing quarterly board slides also become priorities.
Most Important Skills For A Senior Manager FP&A At The Bouqs Company
Alice, a Senior Manager, FP&A at The Bouqs Company, emphasizes that strong technical skills like Excel, Power BI, and SQL are crucial for success in FP&A, with Excel being the most important and easily self-taught; Furthermore, Alice notes that being able to "communicate those numbers" effectively is equally important, suggesting programs such as Toastmasters to improve one's presentation skills and ability to present data in an accessible manner.
Favorite Parts Of Being A Senior Manager Financial Planning And Analysis At The Bouqs Company
Alice, a Senior Manager of FP&A, finds the most enjoyable aspect of the role to be "solving problems and analyzing new initiatives," which is a change from previously prioritizing working with business partners to learn more about the business; Alice now appreciates the puzzle-solving aspect of ad hoc analysis, especially when it involves learning about specific e-commerce topics like "same day radius expansion."
Biggest Challenges Faced By A Senior Manager FP&A At The Bouqs Company
Alice's biggest challenges as a Senior Manager in FP&A at The Bouqs Company revolve around interpersonal dynamics when delivering "bad news" like budget cuts, requiring them to be approachable and emphasize that they're "here to work with them, not against them," along with the difficulty of obtaining necessary data from other teams, often leading to reliance on assumptions that require research and collaboration.
Favorite Parts of Working in the Consumer Goods Industry as a Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis
Alice enjoys working in the consumer goods industry because, unlike in the semiconductor industry where understanding the complexities of chips was challenging, consumer goods allow one to "understand the product" and even "see myself use the product," which facilitates deeper analysis and better communication with business partners. For Alice, this personal connection and ease of understanding make consumer goods "a lot more enjoyable."
What type of person thrives in Finance, according to a Senior FP&A Manager at The Bouqs Company
Alice believes that proactive and communicative people thrive in her industry. She emphasizes transparency, "telling them what they see on their end to help grow the company," and having "a strong backbone," which involves speaking opinions and being willing to take on new challenges.
What a Senior Manager Financial Planning and Analysis at The Bouqs Company wishes they had known before entering the Consumer Products industry
Alice, a Senior Manager of FP&A at The Bouqs Company, learned that consumer products are surprisingly dynamic and fast-moving, requiring constant adaptation to the economy and customer behaviors, and that "cross-functional collaboration" is crucial due to frequent changes in the industry, even to the point of being "completely full with meetings" involving business partners. A role in FP&A can also shift focus quickly, from being narrowly focused on a part of revenue like "promotions and discounts" to taking on B2B work.
Entry-Level Positions For Aspiring Financial Analysts
Alice recommends investment banking or private equity/venture capital for undergraduates or graduate students seeking entry-level FP&A positions, noting that while the hours are long and stressful, those roles offer accelerated learning and exposure to multiple industries from the get-go, especially regarding financial statements. Ultimately, Alice took a corporate finance route as a financial analyst, but reflects that, "if I did know, I would've done it" referring to the investment banking or private equity/venture capital path.
Significant Career Lesson From A Senior Manager FP&A At The Bouqs Company
Alice learned the importance of speaking up, which initially was a challenge as "in the beginning" she would stay silent, hesitant to ask questions, however, feedback encouraging to speak up and instances where holding back led to foreseeable negative outcomes taught her that "speaking up is better than not speaking at all" and can positively impact the company. This lesson was significant because overcoming the fear of speaking up allowed Alice to contribute more effectively and prevent potential issues, underscoring the value of voicing concerns and opinions.
College Experiences That Helped A Senior Manager, FP&A At The Bouqs Company Succeed
Alice felt behind peers in college due to switching majors to economics and not having the best grades, so "what ended up doing was getting an internship pretty early on," which proved invaluable, and also suggests that everyone should pursue internships "as early as possible during your college career," regardless of GPA, as practical experience is crucial for securing a job after graduation. Additionally, Alice participated in a condensed business program during college which ended up setting the stage for them to want to pursue business school later on.
Advizer Personal Links
bottom of page