From an Athletics Team to a Business Team: Success Translates

In some ways, what rising senior and team captain Preston O'Brien did this summer — interning for private investment firm Inverness Graham — was like his experience on the Dartmouth ski team.

How, you ask?

Working to be at one's best individually for the benefit of the team.

"It's true that ski racing is an individual sport, but that's only from the start line to the finish," said O'Brien. "In just about every other aspect, the team component is big. As a member of the team, you're part of something greater, even though you're competing individually.

"I do think there are some parallels to my summer internship experience."

O'Brien was based just outside of Philadelphia this summer, with roles involving help with financial analysis and modeling, assisting in the due diligence process and looking into various companies that could be, or were already, investments.

The parallels to skiing tie into the overall mission of the company.

"My coworkers and I might be working on separate things, but everybody is working towards the same goal," said O'Brien. "Being part of the ski team has led to some really good collaborative skills, not specifically related just to work, but also in life in general. Being able to work with other athletes who are as competitive as it gets, being a member of the team and learning to operate in high-stress environments, has been beneficial beyond athletics.
Preston O'Brien

"Having exposure to athletics teams basically my whole life made it really easy to take some of those same skills and apply them in a more professional workspace."

A double major in math and economics, O'Brien wasn't sure what he wanted to do this summer. So, he reached out to Ken Graham, the founder and chairman of Inverness Graham, who's a former Dartmouth skier (class of 1985) and continued supporter of the Big Green skiing program.

"I reached out to him for some general career guidance," said O'Brien. "I wanted to understand the path he took after being a high-level ski racer. He was very helpful. He could relate from exactly the position I was in — from being a skier at Dartmouth, his career path afterwards and the life he moved into after skiing."

Graham was impressed with O'Brien.

"What stood out to me about Preston was his remarkable ability to balance being a high-performing alpine ski racer and strong student, all while maintaining a highly personable and thoughtful nature," said Graham.

O'Brien was intrigued by the conversation with Graham.

"Many of the things he mentioned were in alignment with my skills and interests," said O'Brien. "After seeing my interest, he put me in touch with the human capital manager at Inverness Graham to see if I might be interested in their internship program. After learning more about the industry, I was excited to start the interview process for the internship."

As a company, Inverness Graham tries to help bring growth to other businesses.

"We try to find a business that is doing something well, but ask how we can help them grow," said O'Brien. "It can be hard for a business to do that organically without any outside help from an investor."

O'Brien's summer featured full days, along with a lot of learning and growth opportunities.

"Typically, I was in the office from 8:30 in the morning to sometime in the evening," he said. "I enjoyed the environment, which was very collaborative and very open. I got some really good exposure to not only one managerial level above me, but also two and three levels above."

O'Brien fit in nicely with the collaborative culture.

"Being a successful Division I student-athlete requires immense dedication and a competitive mindset, but Preston manages to also bring compassion and empathy to his interactions with his teammates and others," said Graham. "This combination of qualities is rare and valuable and speaks to his ability to excel in a team environment and to develop strong relationships and support those around him.

"These are all qualities we value highly in the team-oriented culture at Inverness Graham."

Graham greatly values his team experiences at Dartmouth, which set him up for success in the business world… much like is currently happening for O'Brien.

"I believe these experiences were foundational for my career success and helped set the framework for the high performance, yet highly collegial and team-oriented culture we have built at Inverness Graham over the last 20 years," said Graham, who was also a kicker on Dartmouth's freshman football team. "I should note that one of my other co-founders at Inverness Graham, Scott Kehoe (a Dartmouth class of 1985 classmate), was a two-sport varsity athlete at Dartmouth (football and lacrosse), so the Dartmouth Athletics' genes run deep at Inverness Graham."

A big part of O'Brien's job this summer was tied to financial analysis, which fit him as a math and economics major.

But the job entailed much more than that.

"At the end of the day, a lot goes into trying to evaluate a business," said O'Brien. "Certainly, some of it is looking at numbers and trying to understand how well it's doing, but there's also a soft, more intangible, side to understand the product that a business sells. It's important to be able to recognize the differentiating characteristics that a small business selling a great product has. From there, we aim to help those types of businesses along their growth path.

In other words, as O'Brien continued, "There is an area for creativity in understanding the soft side of a business."

In many ways, it's a lot like skiing. Many would think the task on race day is very cut and dry, get from point A to point B as fast as possible, but there are a number of additional factors which need to be considered.

"Every run is very unique," said O'Brien. "Every single race is on a different hill and there's a different course set. Even if you ski the same course on the same hill three times in a row, there are still some slight differences in the condition of the track. You have to be prepared for a different race, a different hill, a different course than you've ever skied before."
Preston O'Brien alpine ski action at Dartmouth Carnival

Preston O'Brien alpine ski action at Dartmouth Carnival

Like every run is different, every situation is different in the business world. It leads to a lot of questions, which O'Brien didn't hesitate to ask in the very open culture within Inverness Graham.

"Most days, I was excited with 10 to 20 questions," said O'Brien, who admitted he felt fueled by the people, the business and the learning opportunities within the company. "There's this whole world I had been exposed to. There were a lot of acronyms that maybe I didn't understand, or a business concept that I hadn't encountered before, but everyone at Inverness Graham was open to all my questions."

For O'Brien, learning from those around him made work enjoyable.

"There was a lot of intellectual excitement," he said.

That intellectual excitement and curiosity allowed O'Brien to grow this summer, something he had already done at Dartmouth to help set him up for the opportunity in the first place.

According to O'Brien, two ways Dartmouth has helped him have been analytical thinking and collaboration.

"Analytical thinking has developed through a lot of different classes at Dartmouth," he said. "Dartmouth is also a very collaborative place. In general, other students are very willing to help each other study and help each other learn. You learn a lot from your peers and mentors, which is also a skill I brought to the workplace."

O'Brien brings a lot to every setting he finds himself, with his time in athletics playing a critical role.

"Playing sports instills a mindset focused on continuous improvement, setting goals and working towards achieving them," said Graham. "Furthermore, the team sport environment teaches individuals how to effectively communicate, collaborate and motivate their teammates, skills that are highly sought-after in the business world and most certainly at Inverness Graham.

"Preston's athletic background will undoubtedly serve as a strong foundation for his future business success."

This summer's internship helped affirm post-graduate goals and aspirations to O'Brien; this is the field of work he wants to pursue.

"I feel very fortunate that I was able to learn from a lot of very intelligent people around me," he said. "They were all so open to answering questions and to facilitating my learning.

"The experience was fantastic."

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