Career Path of a Strategic Finance Manager at DoorDash
Justine's career path began with a mid-sophomore year transfer from the University of Pennsylvania's College of Arts and Sciences to the Wharton School, driven by a desire for "a post-grad path of students who graduated from the business school" and immediate career entry. This led to investment banking roles at Mizuho and Macquarie, followed by a business development position in private education before Justine's current role as a Strategic Finance Manager at DoorDash, focusing on "affordability and pricing."
Finance, Investment Banking, Career Pivoting, Business Strategy, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Justine Lee
Manager (Strategy & Finance)
DoorDash
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton, 2016
N/A
Economics
Technology
Finance
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient
Video Highlights
1. Justine's career path demonstrates that a business background is valuable in finance, but her initial liberal arts education broadened her skillset.
2. Her experience in investment banking (Mizuho and Macquarie) showcases the importance of internships and how they can lead to full-time roles, providing valuable experience in finance.
3. Her varied experiences, including roles in investment banking, business development, and her current strategic finance position at DoorDash, illustrate career versatility and the possibility of transitioning between industries while building a successful career path in finance.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path? I'd like to start with your experiences in college. Did you have any internships or jobs before your current role?
I went to the University of Pennsylvania for college. I started in the College of Arts and Sciences, which is the liberal arts school. Then, I transferred to the Wharton School, their business school, in the middle of my sophomore year.
The reason for that was I heard what my peers were doing after graduation from each of the schools. Liberal arts, business, engineering, and nursing were our four schools. I was more interested in the career path of students who graduated from the business school.
I wanted to start working right away and get started on my career without having to go to grad school. That's why I switched from liberal arts to business. I also wasn't particularly interested in becoming an engineer or a nurse, which eliminated those two schools.
During college, I also had an investment banking internship at Mizuho, a Japanese bank. When I graduated, I started as a full-time healthcare investment banker, focused on IPOs for early-stage or pre-commercial biotech companies.
After Mizuho, I moved over to Macquarie, an Australian bank, where I worked as an investment associate. I analyzed debt and equity opportunities to deploy balance sheet capital. That role was industry agnostic.
Briefly, I worked as a business development manager at a private education company focused on high school education and arts enrichment. Now, I am a strategic finance manager at DoorDash. I started as an associate there, primarily focusing on affordability and pricing.
Advizer Personal Links