Entrepreneurial Alumni

Tanner Yager (March 2011 - London), a graduate of the University of Kansas, Head of Pomerol Partners USA, a new expansion of Pomerol Partners, a global consultancy focusing on big data visualization and strategy for investment banks. He runs sales operations, lead generation and heads marketing for the growing business.

"At Deutsche Bank in London I was positioned on a specialized analytics team determined to find creative ways to manage the derivatives portfolio. In our wider team, I was able to meet Pomerol's co-founder and current CEO, Fred Hefer, who was then on a similar team focusing on Prime Brokerage at DB. Fred spun out Pomerol Partners soon thereafter as I moved to NYC to manage a healthcare fund for a couple of years. In this role, I met hundreds of entrepreneurs and fulfilled a dream of being in a quasi- 'Dragon's Den' like role within the health-tech industry. Through every day meetings and large-scale tech events, I found myself inspired to run my own, forming Pomerol Partners USA this March. Since then, Pomerol has grown significantly, acquired several top tier clients, won some awards and launched a new website. We also have taken in one new Mountbatten, Brian McManamy (March 2015 - New York), who has excelled recently at Pomerol. I have also resourced a few other current Mountbattens as their term ends in August to join the Pomerol team in London.

At Pomerol, we fulfil a very unique niche to help bring investment bank's big data into 2015 using best-in-breed visualization software such as Qlik and Lavastorm. We're always looking for well-rounded and tech-savy individuals as we have an aggressive growth strategy and are trying to capitalize on the opportunity at hand. We are truly building a global business to help cultivate a smarter society from the top-down.
Mountbatten gave me a great platform to meet intelligent and awesome people that will be there for you in the long-term. But when being entrepreneurial you have to be willing to take calculated risks. Be uncomfortable, be gritty, and know how to spot opportunities when they are at your door. Take a deep breath, and take the plunge."

Elizabeth Kurz (née McWhirt) (August 2007 - London), a graduate of the University of Richmond, Virginia, is a an extremely motivated entrepreneur who started a business to transform her life, and that of many others.

What your company is/does, and your role in it?
I'm an online health and fitness coach and I work with Beachbody (creators of Insanity/P90X/21 Day Fix) to provide options for those wanting to make a positive change in their lives. I work mainly through social media meeting new people across the U.S. and Canada, building relationships, digging down deep into their needs, and why they want to make a change for the better. I also provide my customers with unwavering support individually or set them up with groups made up of other individuals with similar goals. One of my favorite parts of my job is building a team of coaches and helping to develop them into great leaders for their customers and coaches that join them. To be able to provide someone with the opportunity and hope to take charge of their own life, dictate what they're going to do with it and their time is so awesome! Read full story.

You can reach Elizabeth or follow her on her website, by email, on facebook or on Instagram.

A Day in the life of...

Doreen Thompson-Addo (January 2002 - New York), graduate of Keele University enjoyed her internship at Mountbatten so much that she ended up working for the London office of her internship company for another year and half. However, in 2004 she decided to leave the corporate sector and has been working in the charity sector ever since. She is currently Head of Programmes at the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.

Morning: I usually get into the office around 9am and review my 'to do' list for the day before catching up with Rosemary and David, my 2 fabulous team members, to see how they are progressing with the projects they are working on. Rosemary is co-ordinating our Access to Professions law programme which is raising the aspirations of young people in inner city schools and offering them practical insights and advice about the legal profession. David is working on an exciting new pilot programme that aims to improve the relationship between the police and the local community. After catching up with them I will spend time responding to important emails and returning telephone calls.

Afternoon: I spend quite a lot of time attending meetings and developing new business relationships. I particularly enjoy my meetings at the BBC and the Houses of Parliament. In 2014 we delivered a successful pre-apprenticeship programme in partnership with the BBC and are currently looking at running the programme again. The programme offers talented young people with limited academic qualifications the opportunity to gain a recognised qualification and work experience/mentoring at the BBC (as well as free tickets to the Graham Norton Show!). My meetings at the Houses of Parliament led to the first Political Journalism internship programme being delivered, where 4 young people from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds spent 2 weeks each at the Political Press Gallery (the highlight? Prime Ministers Question Time!). Read full story

To find out more about the work of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, visit www.stephenlawrence.org.uk or find them on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also connect with Doreen on LinkedIn.

Fundraising & Charitable Alumni

June seems to be a very popular time for fundraising, and we have three different opportunities for you to help and support your fellow alumni in their charitable endeavours as they put themselves to the test.

Tim Molton, Alex Melia and Paddy Keenan (September 2008 - New York) are cycling from Nice to Rome in aid of charity! They give the following background account: "This gruelling ride will see us cycle through the harsh conditions and barren featureless landscapes of the Cote D'Azur, through Portofino and Florence and down into Rome. With nothing to eat but homemade pasta accompanied by fine local wines, our bodies will be put through a rigorous test. The total journey will be in excess of 800km accounting for overnight stops in the closest small towns. This will be done at a rate of 100km per day over 8 days.

Hopefully, you will consider that our efforts are for a worthwhile cause and thus deem our journey worthy of your sponsorship. Money raised will go directly to Dreams Come True, a charity that helps to create once in a lifetime experiences for terminally ill and seriously ill children."
Please sponsor anything you can through their fundraising page.

Nirmal Depal (March 2012 - New York) misses his time in New York and hopes all his friends are doing well with their careers, shares the following with us: "I am an active volunteer of the Hindu Temple, based in Neasden, London and love contributing towards their charity causes... and I am sky diving to raise money for a charity named BAPS Charities, and also supporting The British Heart Foundation and ROSA (The UK fund for women and girls)". Support Nirmal on his fundraising page.

Lois McLean (March 2011 - New York) is trekking Cotopaxi in Ecuador in June - the third largest active volcano in the world. Louis will be trekking over 9 days to get to the summit at 5,897m above sea level. He is raising funds for Deloitte's National Charities, Alzheimer's Society, Mind and Prostrate Cancer UK. Check his fundraising page for full details.

We would like to wish all fundraisers the best of luck in their endurance activities, and look forward to hearing how they get on.

Jobs

Robert Walters are delighted to continue to work with the Mountbatten Institute, and biannually host an event at their Head Office in London for the graduating class. They offer a personalised service that includes a face-to-face registration, information on the market, current vacancies, advice on CV writing, and preparing for an interview. They are very successful in placing the graduating class in highly desirable roles, for which their recent placement experience makes them extremely well qualified and suited.

Since September last year, Robert Walters has successfully placed 21 Mountbatten graduates across Operations, HR, Legal and Marketing, four of which attended their most recent event for March graduates. They have helped them secure both permanent and temporary roles with reputable employers such as RBS, Markit, Bluecrest, Goldman Sachs, RBI and London Metal Exchange. With many more Mountbatten graduates currently interviewing, we are confident that this number will increase rapidly over the coming months.

To browse all other job opportunities, and there are a number at present, please go to our alumni website.

Jo Harvey: jharvey@mountbatten.org
Vicki McCordall: vmccordall@mountbatten.org
web: http://alumni.mountbatten.org