Q&A with Dartmouth (Tuck) MBA alumnus Caesar Shih

Caesar’s path to a strategy role

Many Big Four auditors desire to go beyond financial statement auditing and internal control testing and hope to land strategy roles at multinational companies. Tuck MBA graduate Caesar Shih shares his thoughts about how an MBA helped him achieve this transition.

Just for fun: You have not lived in Taiwan for about 10 years. What do you miss the most? What is the first food you buy when you come back to visit?

•  I dearly miss my family and old friends! Although talking on Facebook and LINE can shorten the distance, there is nothing quite like being in-person with people, which now has a very different meaning for the people that I care about. During these short trips I appreciate the little things about Taiwan more and more. 
• Food: I’ve realized how exceptional Taiwan’s high quality sushi restaurants are. After living overseas in the US and China for several years, I can see that the C/P value of Japanese food in Taiwan is just incomparable. Taiwan’s seafood quality is second-to-none, and one would need to pay 2-3x for equivalent sushi in Shanghai/New York.

It was a LONG time ago but, do you have a favorite memory from your MBA application experience or takeaways from that period?

• The application period to me was a  great chance to do some deep self-discovery and reflection. I found that the process of listing all my achievements, failures, strengths and weaknesses not only helped me succeed in the MBA application process, but contributed significantly to my job search after school started. After I was admitted to Tuck, I thought the “application” had come to an end, only to realize when I arrived on campus that another 1-2 years of continuous applications awaited me. These included applying to internships, full-time positions, school centers, housing, scholarships, and special projects. I advise MBA applicants to keep a very good record of the strategies, stories and write-ups that you accumulate in the MBA application stage, because these will serve as great assets to build on for future applications.

What was your original motivation in pursuing an MBA?

• As a Big Four auditor I gained a solid understanding of how a company’s operations translate to financial results, but I really wanted to make a lasting impact in a company that I cared about in a role with more space for decision making and analysis. Thus, my motivation in pursuing an MBA was to make a transition to investment banking or corporate strategy roles.
• During the first year I networked extensively and visited all the bulge-bracket firms on Wall Street but I realized the people there were really sleep deprived, so I decided to focus on corporate strategy recruiting opportunities.

Can you share a happy memory from your MBA life at Dartmouth Tuck?

• Outward Bound is a pre-term outdoor adventure experience that gave me one of my most lasting memories. It started on the second day after arriving on campus; a group of 40 students piled onto a tour bus and headed to the wild coast of Maine. After brief self-introductions, we separated to four groups and embarked on a five-day sailing adventure. We had minimal food/water, a compass and map, but no electricity, restroom, shower, or cellphones. Can you imagine going five days without having access to your phone!? How about peeing into the ocean, and going “number 2” in a bucket that you share with the other ten classmates (still strangers)? How about sleeping side-by-side with people who have not taken shower for five days? Although I did not really enjoy the toilet part, I saw the value in putting my phone aside and just focusing on the things and people I care about without disruptions. Experiences like this help you to bond with teammates, force you to think differently, be spontaneous and discover strengths that you may not realize you have. In addition, my best friendship at school was formed while we were members the same Outward Bound team.

Can you tell us something about Tuck that not everyone knows – something we might not find on the website or hear during an information session?

• You won’t hear about how many parties we have during the info sessions! Because people are basically limited to the small town of Hanover (and nearby towns), we partied for all kinds of reasons. This really fostered a strong sense of community, because we all saw the same groups of people again and again. Fortunately, most of them were like-minded and friendly.

Tuck is a unique MBA program located in a somewhat isolated, small community – what type of people are a good fit for the Tuck MBA program? 

• The location is a good fit for someone who wants to slow down a bit amid gorgeous, natural surroundings. People who are looking to build strong connections with classmates on a day-to-day basis are a good fit. Also, if you love the great outdoors, especially skiing/snowboarding, Tuck is an awesome place as the largest ski resort in the northeastern US (Killington) is just 1 hour away from Dartmouth. I was able to tackle the advanced slopes after two years of study.
• On the other hand, Dartmouth is not the best choice for people that prioritize having oodles of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, concerts, and malls at their fingertips.

Based on your post-MBA career experience, if you could go back and be an MBA student again is there anything you would do differently? 

• The first thing I would change is to keep a better record of the notes/takeaways I accumulated from various classes. I might use Evernote to record and organize all the notes I took. The reason is that since graduation I have often wanted to refer to the cases/notes I took at school, but it is very challenging to find them, especially as I made those notes several years ago.
• The second thing I would do if I could go back in time would be to take more advantage of the entrepreneurship resources and try to build a business model. The opportunity cost of failure is probably the lowest while at school.

Can briefly discuss your post-MBA career progress?

• For my summer internship, I joined the MBA summer program at Corning in the US HQ, where I supported a strategy project in Corning’s Gorilla Glass business unit. After graduating from Tuck, I joined Corning’s MBA leadership program at HQ in New York. Now I am based in Shanghai, working in Corning’s Display Business Unit.

What is the most important knowledge or skill you learned in your MBA education that has benefitted your career?

• The Management Communication course has benefitted me beyond my MBA life. This course helps students to structure their thinking, translate thoughts into presentations, and professionally communicate the content to select audiences. This is a critical skillset one must possess for any post-MBA role. 
• In my pre-MBA career, I often had business meetings with my clients’ CFOs and finance managers, however, the scope was narrow and the approach was typically straightforward. With the communication skills I honed in courses like Management Communication, I was far more prepared to deliver interesting and persuasive content in high-pressure meetings. 

Pre-MBA you worked as a Big Four auditor. Do you have any advice for auditors regarding getting MBAs to make a career transition or possible career paths that they may want to consider?

• An auditing background plus a good MBA education can qualify you for many job categories. I’ve seen auditors become investment bankers, consultants, financial analysts and investors, among others. Auditors have a solid business knowledge base that recruiters know can be applied to the job, but this does not mean they would be willing to offer a job opportunity without something more. It is important to bring a “spark” to the recruiter about what is special about you and that makes you an outstanding candidate. It really depends on personal aspirations, and whether one is capable of impressing a recruiter, which really requires persona and charisma plus communication skills.

You have been doing quite well in market intelligence/strategy roles in the program management office of a large MNC. Do you have advice for people that would like to work in such roles? What is a good way to prepare for this career?

• An internal strategy team typically finds candidates from either consulting firms or MBAs with strategy/project management experience. Working as a management consultant pre/post-MBA will help you get your resume passed to the hiring manager. For candidates that do not have consulting experience, a recruiter will scrutinize the candidate’s past work experience to see if he/she is capable of doing the job, looking at analytical skills, project management, leadership engagement, etc. Global MNCs typically recruit directly at top B-Schools, so leveraging school networking opportunities will be the easiest way to find these jobs.

As far as you know, what is the difference between working for the internal management consulting/strategy team and an external management consulting firm?

• In my job in the Program Management Office at Corning, I have worked with various external consultants (strategy consultants, data analysis consultants and market intelligence consultants). The main difference with them and my internal role is that we get to see the entire progress of a project from strategy setting to execution. External consultants typically have a very defined project timeline, and they stop providing service once the time is up. This means external consultants typically do not know what happens afterwards (unless there is a second phase). But internal consultants will be able to see first-hand the impact they are making and if any adjustment to the original strategy is needed.
• In addition, external consultants typically work longer hours with better compensation. While external consultants work longer hours per week, they typically get a few days/weeks off in between projects, but internal consultants most likely will not be able to get this as companies need to move from one project to the next project right away.