When you understand the stories that numbers tell, you can go anywhere and work for anyone. In the Strategic Finance Academy—one of two Kelley MBA Academies that focus on finance—you’ll explore business development and analysis, sales and marketing finance, investment analysis, planning and forecasting, and treasury options to prepare for a career in any industry.
Strategic Finance Academy: Bring your passion to any industry
Description of the video:
Stephanie Sibilia, Full-Time MBA student:
The Strategic Finance Academy is really for students who are interested in going into corporate finance roles or treasury.
Joe Fitter, Director, Strategic Finance Academy:
The roles in corporate finance are very broad-ranging, and really can prepare someone to be on the general management track, ultimately to be a business leader. The Strategic Finance Academy begins that early on, and develops that capability throughout the course of the next year.
Stephanie Sibilia:
When we would meet every Friday, we would have three or four different companies come and present with recruiters and alums, and talk about both their company, their projects, their roles, and then also the opportunities for MBA students.
Kyle DeLapp, Full-Time MBA student:
You have companies come in and give you cases, so you can better understand the industries and what it's like to be a financial professional there. But you also have something called M&A Day, where they have a company come in and teach you a real case about a mergers and acquisition case.
Joe Fitter:
We have an intensive Academy Week in the fall where we host two different trips, one trip based in the Midwest, and another trip out to the West Coast.
Stephanie Sibilia:
We spent three days visiting companies in Indiana, and then in Louisville and Cincinnati. That bonding transformed the Academy into a great network, and into a great resource of peers that I could use going into my internship search.
Kyle DeLapp:
I went on the San Francisco trip, and I was able to network about 15 to 20 different professionals at Intel, so that when it came time for interviews I actually knew each of my interviewers pretty well.
Joe Fitter:
There are several different network opportunities. Recruiters will come on campus. There's roundtable sessions, where we conduct very informal mock interviewing. The best Fortune 500 companies are hiring from Kelley. Kelley prepares the students to be successful. I, myself, am a former Kelley, and was successful. I think that that success breeds further success through network, through an understanding of career opportunities, and how the curriculum is set up here at Kelley.
What kind of finance career is right for you?
Are you interested in corporate or strategic finance? Are you drawn to consulting? The Strategic Finance Academy enables you to find the right fit for your career goals and to gain the analytical skills you need to solve business problems. You will:
- Travel to places like Silicon Valley and Chicago to meet with companies and see how financial professionals play a strategic role in Fortune 500 firms
- Gain real-world experience by conducting a consulting project for a company such as Whirlpool, P&G, AT&T, and Xilinx, preparing you for your internship and career
- Learn from professionals and executives from top companies
- Receive ongoing mentoring from the Academy director, a second-year mentor, and Strategic Finance Academy alumni
Career outcomes
Students in the Strategic Finance Academy have landed internships and full-time roles in companies such as 3M, AT&T, Discover, EY, Ford, Intel, Merck, PPG, Target, and Xilinx. And Kelley MBA graduates pursue careers across the US and abroad. View our employment statistics.
Learn about the Academy and careers in finance
Gain insights about the Academy and career paths in finance from Strategic Finance Academy alumni and program leaders.
Learn how to prepare for tech-related business roles
Gain insights for careers in the tech sector from a Kelley MBA student, alumni, and faculty.
Questions? Contact us.
Neil Powell
Strategic Finance Academy Director
nepowel@iu.edu
Strategic Finance Academy Director Neil Powell has more than 25 years of corporate finance experience, having served in a number of roles in the high-tech industry. He has both domestic and international experience, serving as business controller, senior director, vice president of finance, and corporate controller in Fortune 50 and small cap businesses. He earned his MBA at the Kelley School of Business.
LP Ailes
Strategic Finance Academy Career Coach
LP joined the Kelley Graduate Career Services staff in December 2021 after 10 years of student service experience in and around Indiana University. A proud Hoosier with two degrees from IU and a background in higher education and student affairs, he most recently oversaw graduate student professional development and led the graduate career coaching team in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. As a coach for the in-residence MBA program, LP enjoys assisting Kelley graduate students in meeting their career goals and achieve success.