Behavioural Prep

Why NYC?

After having lived in some significant cultural and economic hubs, I believe no city encapsulates my personal and professional goals as New York City. I believe it is crucial to develop hard and soft skills and a strong theoretical foundation to lay the framework for a prosperous career in finance. New York's resources, opportunities, and strong UT presence offer a distinguishable enviornment for facilitating early career growth at a fast rate and I look forward to the opportunity of possibly contributing to that network. Besides professional development, I love a great New York slice of pizza and have really fond memories of spending thanksgiving with my family there one year.

Why WSFM?

After speaking with mentors, I have identified three reasons as to why I want to join WSFM. First of all, I believe strongly in WSFM's mentorship program. If I am fortunate enough to be accepted, I would love the opportunity to take part in Professor X's recruitment and internship prep in order to secure a full-time offer. Although I am extremely grateful for my current mentors, I believe having a seasoned professional to Mtalk to like Professor X is a huge advantage. Secondly, WSFMs extensive network on Wall Street would help me through the networking process of recruitment, but also as a support network for a long career in finance. Lastly, I thoroughly believe in WSFs mission and would love the opportunity to pay it forward and help teach next years class and continue to support as an Alumni.

Time you were challenged

As I mentioned, I ran a soccer camp for children during the pandemic. Every Wednesday, from 5-6pm the length of hours seemed to double as I taught the 6-9 year olds. Ensuring that the camp was COVID-19 compliant under Qatar's strict regulations was already difficult, but creating engaging soccer lessons for 6 year olds was even more difficult. I appracohed this challenge through research and testing and then reflecting upon different lesson plans that I implemented. In the end, through trial and error, I came up with a formula for teaching them mixing in educational soccer drills with relatable concepts like fortnite which led to great respect around the neighborhood etc.

3 Strengths?

Curious - From having moved around many countries, I have always taken an interest in learning about new cultures and asking questions. This has translated to how I am in academic and professional settings as I am not afraid to ask why and I will always ask Adaptable - Again from constantly being on the move I have learned to adapt to situations very quickly. Whether that be adjusting to a new school, making new friends, or adjusting to a new culture, I have continently done it with a smile on my face and effectively. Time management and organization - I have learned to prioritize certain things over others and found that organization has been key to my success when juggling so many things at once Take pride in my work Real examples

Tell me about a time you failed?

During my senior year of high school, I had become increasingly interested in investing. I had been reading the news and looking on social media and saw so much positive sentiment surrounding Bitcoin. I became curious and learned about Bitcoin superficially and decided to invest my hard-earned money from my businesses. In short, what happened was I bought in, it fell significantly, and I lost a lot of hard-earned money. From this failure, I realized there was a lot more to investing, and I was eager to learn. This failure ultimately inspired me to join USIT and learn how to properly invest, so in some ways I am grateful to have had that failure for the lessons I learned from it.

Tell me about a time you took a risk?

During the pandemic, I started a COVID compliant soccer camp to address the lack of supply of childcare in my community. I saw parents struggling balancing work from home and taking care of children, I saw an opportunity to help. However, this did not come without risk. Aside from all the potential risks of taking care of 6-12 year olds, we were in the height of the pandemic and were exposed to health risks as well as the scrutiny of the neighborhood page. In order to mitigate these risks, I developed training drills that ensure children could have a fun time playing soccer, while giving peace of mind to their parents knowing they were having fun safely. Throughout the six weeks of the camp, not one single child got COVID and many members of my community thanked me for helping during that time.

Why IB?

From numerous conversations with upperclassmen and professionals, I have identified three reasons as to why I want to pursue a career in investment banking. First of all, investment banking will enable me to improve upon quantitative skills, such as financial analysis, and improve upon soft skills, by giving presentations and interacting with senior bankers. Moreover, there is so much that investment balls do, equit raises, debt raises, buyside, and sellside Secondly, the quality of talent in investment banks is exceptional. Banks offer a supportive environment from the analyst class horizontally, and mentorship vertically forms senior bankers. Moreover, I will have the opportunity to work closely with C-suite executives. Lastly, I yearn for the opportunity to tangentially make industry change by facilitating M&A transactions. M&A transactions have transformed industries and produced innovation. I am captivated by these processes.

Tell me about yourself?

Hi my name is Thomas Slocombe and I'm a sophomore finance major from Doha, Qatar. My mom is Colombian and my dad is Englisha and I have spent my childhood growing up across nine different countries. My first introduction into the world of business came through founding two businesses in my local community. One a lawn care and pressure washing service and the other, a soccer camp for children to address the lack of childcare supply in the pandemic. My experience in founding these businesses inspired me to get a stronger theoretical understanding and I enrolled in a higher level economics course at my school. I realy engaged with the subject material, but my life took a sudden turn. My family was forced to relocate from Houston to Qatar at the end of my junior year of highschool. Although this was a significant obstacle, I became further interested in economics after seeing how macroeconomic factors affected my own life. From here, I applied to UT and since arriving I joined an investing team where I have been exposed to an extensive finance curriculum, competed in national competitions, and now had the opportunity to teach as well. Outside of school, I am currently working at a secondary private equity firm and worked at a middle market buy side investment bank last summer. I have thoroughly enjoyed working in both, but enjoy the client-facing work more due to the exposure of different industries. That's a little about my background and why I am so excited to interview with you guys today, i am open to answer any other questions you have for me

3 Weaknesses

Impatient Mitigants Too emotionally invested in my work Mitigants Particular about working conditions Mitigants Real examples Working to improve

Recent Deal

L'Oreal Acquisition of Aesop in August 2023 for 2.5 Billion in an all cash deal Date of announcement and close Announced: April 2023 Closed: August 2023 Buyer and Seller Buyer: L'Oreal Group Seller: Natura Group Financing 100% cash Cost $2.5 Billion at almost 24x EBITDA Strategic Rational L'Oreal wants to expand into this chic, culty segment with the acquisition and Aesop fits perfectly into this criteria Expanison into China; they believe the Chinese market has untapped potential considering their affinity for beauty and chic European brands They also believe they can expand Aesop across the globe given L'Oreals distribution channels Additionally, the beauty industry has become increasingly competitive with more M&A and this acquisition will help market share Stock Price Reaction Rose by 1.2% Why I think its good Largest Deal yet for L'Oreal M&A has been a crucial part of L'Oreals growth as it looks to expand into different beauty segments We have seen significant increase in popularity in these cult-favorite, chic beauty brands such as Le Labo, Dyptique, and Aesop just some to name I also believe Aesop offers a unique set of superior goods to competitors using sustainable materials

Tell me about a time you led a team / Tell me about a time you displayed leadership/ expert in a group?

Last Spring, I had the opportunity to work as a Makreting Manager Intern for a company called Storage Scholars. Storage Scholars is a business that provides storage solutions for college students to help with moving and storing their items. I was selected to lead a team on marketing initiatives on campus. Through the training, I gained marketing skills such as online and in-person marketing and then developed initiatives that my team and I carried out. Throughout the internship, I definitely made mistakes and learned to take feedback in order to come up with better plans. In the end, we were successful at the time, attracting dozens of customers for the service. My biggest takeaways were not letting rejection get in the way, planning, and keeping an open mind.

Tell me a time you experienced an ethical dilemma?

Last spring when I was recruiting for summer internships, I interviewed at a real-estate investment firm and verbally agreed upon an internship. I knew the owner of the firm through my fraternity and thought he would be a reliable connection. However, after seeing some red flags arise and stories not connecting, I felt like reconsiderimg. I did not want my summer to be wasted in the hands of a questionable firm. From here, I decided to renege my offer. Although, I am someone to honor agreements, I felt like I had been mislead and did not want my summer to go to waste with this individual.

Finished something under pressure?

So last fall, my friends and I decided to compete in the fall case competition. With little experience in consulting and a deadline a week away, we were in for a long week. The week fell during a difficult time for all of us and as the deadline approach we had only taken baby steps on what seemed like a long hike. Those last two nights before the deadline were extremely long, realizing we had so much to do, we divided up work and got to it. On that final day, we ended up submitting a few minutes before the 5AM deadline. This was not an enjoyable experience, especially since we didn't win. What I learnt from this was to not take too many responsibilities at once and learn to say no.

Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?

That's a great question and I am still considering many options and open to seeing where my career takes me but have an idea about where I want to be professionally and personally. Professionally, I would like to have worked in investment banking for some time before taking a career pivot to pursue a new interest. Whether that be taking an operating role in another company, moving around the globe, or pursuing private equity, I want my career to be that of constant growth. Ideally, I would like to work in Private Equity in order to continue developing my skills in hopes of starting my own firm one day. Personally, I would like to continue to pursue extracurricular passions such as travelling and spending time mountain biking or hiking.

Tell me about a time you were humbled?

This past spring, I earned the opportunity to compete at Wharton for a private equity case competition. After facing numerous rejections and months of work, we created a pitch that we thought had serious potential to win. Upon arriving, we presented our pitch exactly as we had rehearsed it and had solid answers to difficult questions. However, despite this, we did not end up placing. Although I was disappointed, I came away with some great takeaways. First of all, the competition gave me an idea for what it takes to be at the top, and moreover, I reflected upon how I could improve my presentation skills for future competitions. The pitch itself was a great learning opportunity as well and I look forward to applying these lessons in future pitches.

Tell me a joke?

What did the right eye say to the left eye? Between you and me something smells.