Back to Spring 2012

From Edifices to Energy

Before students leave the Smith School and College Park for the summer CSVC sat down with MBA student Adam Coile to learn about how he spent his first year in Smith’s Full Time MBA program and how he plans to spend the summer.

CSVC: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. Can you tell me about your professional work before Smith and what you hope to pursue when you graduate from the MBA program?

Adam: I have my undergraduate degree from American University in business and knew that I wanted to pursue an MBA eventually. During undergrad I focused on finance and interned at two investment firms, Glenmede Trust Company and Mission Capital LLC. After I graduated I worked as an Analyst for Himmelfarb Commercial, a small real estate investment and development firm. I worked directly with the owner to analyze new acquisitions and perform due diligence on possible investments. I also managed all of our properties, construction and development and handled all internal finances. It was a great experience to evaluate our tenants’ companies and gave me a useful skill set, but in the end I wasn’t passionate about real estate.

When I came back to school I was unsure of exactly what I wanted to do. I had thought about renewable energy because I had exposure to it at my pervious company but I had always been interested in impact investing. I had originally thought you had to choose between a business career or a non-profit career. Living in the Washington, DC area I found out that I could do both and started seeing companies like Grassroots Business Fund, Calvert Foundation and TechnoServe that work in both worlds. After I came to Smith I realized that I love investing and that I am good at it and want to apply this skillset to social impact. This is what led me to impact investing.

CSVC: It sounds like you have some great work experience that you bring to the Smith community. What are your plans for the summer?

Adam: This summer I will be working for MicroVest Capital Management. I will be working specifically on their portfolio of investments in microfinance institutions in 30 countries. I will be working with each of their regional divisions to conduct due diligence on new investments and will also be involved with creating a risk portfolio for different investments. The part that I am most excited about is that I will be involved in developing a social measurement tool. This will be a learning experience for me and a great opportunity to have a long-term impact on the company and field.

CSVC: What made you choose to get your MBA at Smith?

Adam: I knew that I wanted to stay in the Washington, DC metro region for school so Smith was a great option. Additionally, the resources at the Dingman Center and CSVC really made Smith stand out and demonstrated that there were resources on campus for students with similar interests to myself. This, along with attending the Social Enterprise Symposium before I enrolled and reaching out to current students, convinced me that Smith was the ideal place for me.

CSVC: Since beginning the Full Time MBA program in the fall of 2011 what have you most enjoyed getting involved with outside of the classroom?

Adam: I just recently became one of two Portfolio Managers for the Mayer Fund, Smith’s $2.6 million student-run equity investment fund. As a co-manager my job is to manage 10 student analysts who will follow different sectors throughout the year and manage the performance of the fund. My job is to continuously evaluate risk, review sector ratings, follow the markets and know what is going on at all times to understand how it may impact our investments.

In addition to the Mayer Fund, I am the Vice President of Marketing for Smith’s Net Impact Chapter, which has been a great new skill to add to my finance background. Being immersed in the culture of students that want to use business to have environmental and social impact has been inspiring and is great energy to feed off of.

I am also a volunteer business analyst with Vort Port International, which is a technology incubator founded by a group of engineers that builds technologies for implementation in developing countries. They are currently working on solar lamp technology in India, biodigesters in Madagascar and the project I am working on, bamboo bikes in Uganda. I came on this year to help develop a business model and plan to launch this technology in Uganda with the aim of creating a local sustainable business that takes full ownership.

CSVC: You seem to be on the cutting edge of the impact investing field. How did you decide that this is where you wanted to transition your career and become an expert and do you have any advice for students looking to break into a new field?

Adam: I am an avid reader and take advantage of every moment I can to read blogs, newspapers and books. When I realized that I wanted to move into the impact investing field I began reading biographies and books by the leaders in the field. I wanted to understand their career paths to help me better shape my own. For example, the weekend after attending the Emerging Markets Forum put on by CSVC and CIBER I read the Social Entrepreneurs Handbook by Rupert Scofield, the founder of FINCA and keynote speaker at the at forum. Seeing his path and the impact of his career reinforced my choice in shifting my career path and focusing on social impact. Being in the DC area, a hub for social entrepreneurship, and gaining access to the organizations and professionals focused on using their careers for good has been inspiring and I would highly recommend students take advantage of those resources. In the end I think I have been successful so far by identifying my skill set and leveraging that into a field that I am passionate about and where I can directly apply these skills.

CSVC: You started to talk about all the things you love to read. Can you give us your daily “must read” list?

CSVC: When you’re not reading, doing school work or any of the other things you are involved in (if you have the time!) what are your hobbies or interests?

Adam: I love being outdoors, traveling and running. My passion for the outdoors has directly impacted by professional interests, where I see impact investing as a tool to protect the environment. I try to run or ride my bike every day and I have completed multiple ultramarathons and mountain running races.

CSVC: Thanks so much for speaking with us today Adam. Good luck on your summer internship and keep us posted on how it goes.