Name: Mike Palaskas
Year: Sophomore
Major: Economics & History
Minor: Business Institutions
CFS Class: Business Field Studies
Employer: CDI Global

Going into the CFS program this past winter, I knew I wanted to find an internship that gave me an opportunity to work in both a financial and consulting capacity, while establishing strong connections in the two industries. I’m pleased to report that my internship at CDI Global, a mid-market mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, exceeded my expectations in all of these areas. I was able to learn the basics of finance while still getting the more holistic approach of consulting through research for potential acquisitions and divestitures for clients. This has helped me affirm my existing interests in consulting and finance, while refining the areas of work that I’m most interested in pursuing in the future.

To me, one of the most unexpected and interesting parts of CDI is the way that the business is structured and operates. In class, we discussed the importance of building a strong network, and read a piece by the Harvard Business Review entitled, “How to Build Your Network,” which described the concept of the “information brokers,” people who have such a strong network that they’re able to provide exceptional value to their firm well above their job title. This idea immediately resonated with me, because CDI Global essentially functions as a corporate version of an information broker. The company uses its wealth of experience and global connections to provide companies with far more precise targets (companies that clients seek to acquire or divest to) than the companies could have found their own. One major aspect of my work at CDI involves compiling target lists such as these, and the power of the network is clearly evident. Each of the partners has a vast wealth of knowledge about their industries of expertise, and together their network forms the core value proposition of the business. Overall, my experience at CDI greatly increased my knowledge of and interest in finance and illustrated to me just how powerful a strong network can be.