Launch Career Strategies

From the Field to the Sales Floor | How College Athletics Prepares You for a Career in Sales What does it take for a college athlete to thrive in a competitive sales career? In this episode, we sit down with Anna Stein , Account Executive on the MuleSoft Financial Services team at Salesforce , to find out. Anna took a classic path - starting as an Account Development Representative and earning pro...

JD DeGulis, President and Portfolio Manager at Soundshore Management , joins host Karen to discuss navigating a career in finance. Soundshore is a long-only, value-focused boutique managing roughly 35 concentrated positions, with about two-thirds of assets coming from institutional clients like pensions and endowments. JD's core advice for young people entering finance centers on two big deci...

In this episode of Top of the Pile from Launch Career Strategies, host Karen Elders sits down with Emma Pratt , co-founder of Girl Math Capital , to talk about building a career in finance, taking smart career risks, and making investing more accessible for women. Emma shares her path from Vanderbilt University to starting her career in leveraged finance at Bank of America, where she built a stron...

Hiring managers don't remember resumes - they remember stories In this episode of Top of the Pile , Karen sits down with storytelling expert and narrative strategist Aaron Calafato to talk about why storytelling isn’t just a “nice to have” skill - it’s essential to standing out in today’s job market. Aaron has helped brands like Indeed , Glassdoor , and Palo Alto Networks build trust through...

In this episode of Top of the Pile , host Karen Elders sits down with Jim Citrin , one of the nation’s foremost experts on leadership and career success. As leader of Spencer Stuart’s CEO practice, Jim has advised boards and CEOs on more than 850 top leadership searches over the past 25 years. He brings a wealth of experience as a former McKinsey consultant, Goldman Sachs associate, and bestsellin...

In this episode, I sit down with Gary Strauss , a seasoned digital sales professional whose impressive career has spanned groundbreaking moments in the media industry. Gary was a key player in the pioneering days of digital advertising as part of the initial outside sales team at DoubleClick, a company whose acquisition by Google in 2008 was pivotal to shaping the tech giant’s dominance in the ad...

In this episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Brian Lawler , a Senior Sales Manager, Amazon Ads with an impressive career in the advertising industry. Brian has held senior roles at top companies, including LinkedIn, AOL, DoubleClick, and News Corp, and has spent over seven years at Amazon. Known for his exceptional sales skills and leadership qualities, Brian is highly respected by customers and...

Meet Teddy Fuller , Account Executive with Oracle NetSuite . Teddy is a 2021 graduate of the University of Denver and has spent the past 2.5+ years selling for NetSuite. Teddy shares his experience breaking into a top tech sales team. Hear about the undergrad courses and skills he developed that helped him get his first role as a BDR (Business Development Representative) and make the jump to an AE...

Join me and my talented intern, Christina Klinoff (BC '24) , as we co-host this exciting episode that brings together sports entrepreneurship, mentorship, and college athletics. This episode is perfect for a variety of listeners: Are you an aspiring college athlete or a current college athlete? Are you an aspiring entrepreneur? Are you interested in sports, NIL, and/or AI? Are you interested...

Communication: The "Swiss Army Knife" major Check out my conversation with Christine Caswell , Director, Internships & Career Readiness at Boston College .  Christine guides 800+ Comm majors as they navigate getting an internship and their first "real" job.  Hear about Christine's journey as a broadcast journalist - where she started out and the grit and determination...

Your credit score is your adult GPA! In part two of my conversation with Ann Garcia, Certified Financial Planner , we focus on helping young professionals understand some simple ways to set themselves up for financial success.  Ann shares many easy steps to make the most out of the money you're making today while also beginning to build a safety net for the many expenses at different stages o...

Want to balance living your best life today and financial security tomorrow? Check out my conversation with Ann Garcia , also known as The College Financial Lady to find out how it is possible.  Ann is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and managing partner of Independent Progressive Advisors , a financial advisory firm based in Portland, Oregon.  Ann got her nickname of The College Financial Lad...

Join me as we dive into the fashion industry when I speak with the mother-daughter dynamic duo, Alison Bruhn and Delia Folk , co-founders of The Style That Binds Us , a next-gen media company focused on style and fashion. Hear about each of their unconventional entrees into the world of fashion and the relationships and skills they developed. Delia shares how she got her first opportunity with an...

Show up. Be curious. Show you're hardworking. If you're interested in a career in advertising or media but also might love a tech sell - this is the episode for you.  Today we're switching gears over to the digital media and advertising technology space.  My guest is Lauren Benedict ,  SVP, Enterprise Sales at MNTN , the leading connected TV performance advertising platform.   Laure...

Interested in commercial real estate, investment banking - or both? Check out my conversation with David Genovese , CEO of Baywater Properties . David's stellar career includes senior leadership roles with Credit Suisse First Boston and Bankers Trust Company.  Learn about David's career path and the early pivot he had to make. Plus, David shares an overview of the commercial real estate...

Attention! Double-dip - two career paths in one episode! Learn about a career path in the insurance industry AND as a Human Resources professional (or People Team, Talent Management, Human Capital - so many names today!)  This episode's guest is Colin Haupt, SVP, Employee Engagement & Experience for Pure Insurance .  Understand the many aspects of an HR career and what the Engagement &amp...

Check out my conversation with Kallie Hapgood , Managing Director, Investor Relations with Gridiron Capital . Gridiron is a private equity firm that partners with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams across consumer, B2B and B2C companies.  Hear how Kallie started her career in finance and made the shift to investor relations. Kallie shares incredible advice about being a liberal arts und...

In this episode, we hear from James Marciano, Founder of Tuck Advisors, an investment bank that focuses on mergers and acquisition advisory for smaller companies and startups with a focus on the education and health and wellness space.   James earned his undergrad degree from Harvard College and went on to complete an MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. Surprisingly, James found him...

It was the Spring of 2020 and Haley Georgen was stuck home like the rest of us.  Haley decided to combine her love of photography and cheese to create That Cheese Princess , a company that makes unique charcuterie boards for small to large gatherings in the Providence/New England area. Learn how Haley put the marketing knowledge she learned in the classroom to work in real life.  Haley shares her...

Listen in to hear how undergrad Roland Afzelius turned his love of the water into a business (Oyster Bay Water Sports) and an amazing learning experience.  This episode has tons of great advice on entrepreneurism, being a computer science major, and how to learn by doing!  Hear what it's like to run a small business and learn about entrepreneurism from the many sides - inventor, finance, fund...

Kevin McCordic had just started his senior season on the Providence College Men's Lacrosse team when bad luck literally hit him square in the jaw.  Hear how his time on the sidelines helped him grow as a student, athlete, and human being.  And as a result, authored his first book: Wired Shut, 21 Unspoken Keys to College In this episode, Kevin shares tons of his incredible advice - everything...

How a positive attitude and strong networking lands you the job...twice! Key Career topics include: Networking before, during, and after job experiences | The hidden job market |  "Creative" Networking Mackenzie Coughlin had recently graduated from Providence College and secured her dream job at LinkedIn when COVID-19 derailed those career plans.  Mackenzie was less than a year into her...

Switching gears to Investment Banking as I chat with Eric Stein , Global Chairman of Investment Banking for JPMorgan.  Eric has had a tremendously successful career at JPMorgan but his initial path wasn't the typical IB path.  Listen in to hear his message around work ethic and passion for the finance space. Plus, he shares advice on how to prepare for the investment banking summer analyst in...

Career Topics: Networking | Growth areas in the media & content spaces | Getting your resume past ATS | Organizing your job search Today's guest is Bucky Keady , an extremely well-respected HR and talent management leader in the media and publishing industry. Bucky spent 15 years as Associate Director of HR at Conde Nast - home to Vogue, Vanity Fair, Wired, Architectural Digest and more -...

Fast Facts: Bomb that interview? Not feeling like you put your best foot forward? We've all been there.  That pit in your stomach after finishing an interview and thinking "Jeez, I really screwed that up".   Here are some thoughts around how to try and repair the damage and how to avoid it in the first place. LAUNCH Career Strategies was founded by Karen Elders and Elyse Spalding. W...