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Internship Profiles >
Internship at
Goetzpartners
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Mahmoud Hatahet |
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Roman Kotlarzewski with
Mahmoud |
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Mahmoud, Jeannine Metzger
and Carsten Smolka |
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WHAT CONTRIBUTION DO YOU FEEL YOU MADE IN THE
INTERNSHIP PERIOD?
I was also able to learn from my colleagues, and
get the work done. I think that was the biggest challenge at my level,
but it was also worthwhile that my work was directly adding value to
the client mandates I was involved in.
From an academic point of view I have seen that
there are specific qualifications such as Chartered Financial Analyst
(CFA), which match the demands asked of the investment banking
professional. Such a qualification can be regarded as an extremely
valuable add-on to the broader based course content covered at the
GBCM.
IF YOU COULD REPEAT THE INTERNSHIP WHAT WOULD YOU
DO DIFFERENTLY?
I would
have started preparing for the CFA exam much earlier, as the content
of the CFA material goes hand-in-hand with the daily operations of the
investment banking industry.
WHAT ASPECTS OF YOUR ACADEMIC BACKGROUND WERE
HELPFUL DURING YOUR INTERNSHIP?
I have also seen that although Finance and
Accounting are crucial in the investment banking industry, it is also
a business about people. One should know how to pitch for the client,
get a mandate signed, and close the deal. This requires a lot of
marketing and management know-how as well.
The
practical programme that GBCM offers, and the professors who are
people from the industry, have made the transformation from a student
to a professional much smoother in this respect.
HAS THIS INTERNSHIP HELPED YOU TO DEFINE YOUR
FUTURE GOALS?
Definitely. This experience has been of great value to me, as I have
developed a completely new understanding towards the professional
world. The internship has definitely helped me to define my future
goals, but has also shown me that the financial world is multifaceted
and it is necessary to make a choice as to how best to proceed.
Last but not least, I would like to thank Dr. Walsh
and Mr. Kotlarzewski for their support during my academic career to
date and for their initiative in finding me an internship to start off
my career in the area of my interest. |
Internships
Through
our industry partners, GBCM finds placement for students in terms of
both internships and more permanent positions. See below for a profile
of one such placement:
INTERNSHIP AT GOETZPARTNERS
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ahmoud Hatahet, a GBCM student, has been working as
an intern at Goetzpartners in Munich since November 2006.
Goetzpartners is a top-tier corporate advisory firm bringing together
corporate finance and management consulting expertise to reflect the
shift from traditional specialisation in these fields to integrated
services. As part of his internship Mahmoud worked both in the Mergers
and Acquisition division and the European Finance department. Here are
some of the comments Mahmoud had to make about his experience.
WHAT WORK AREAS WERE COVERED DURING YOUR
INTERNSHIP?
The first two months were spent reporting to the
Director of
Finance, Europe where I gained exposure to the ins- and outs
of operative finance within a European context. As it is a small
organisation I was able to obtain direct hands-on experience in all
relevant areas, such as budgeting for the European operating units,
monthly financial reporting, cash flow projections and the preparation
of year end financial statements.
Additionally I carried out ad-hoc work in the areas of payroll,
insurance and fleet management. This was a valuable exercise in that I
was able to gain a good insight into the workings of operative finance
both within a local German and European context.
Subsequent to the two months in the finance
department, I moved within the same organisation to the investment
banking department, where I spent six months. The investment banking
operations offer advisory services on Mergers & Acquisitions for
buy-side and sell-side firms, where my principal tasks were in
assisting in the preparation of presentation materials, undertaking
industry and company specific research, and preparation of valuation
materials, such as trading and transaction multiples. I also
participated in in-house trainings such as media & cartel law, German
corporate tax reform 2008, and LexisNexis (Database research tool).
WHAT WERE YOUR INTERNSHIP EXPECTATIONS AND KEY
LEARNING GOALS?
My expectations were to develop a deeper
understanding of the financial services industry. Moreover, investment
banking is a business about people, so further expectations were to
develop my soft skills and (people) interaction.
DID THE INTERNSHIP MEET THESE EXPECTATIONS AND DID
YOU ACHIEVE KEY LEARNING GOALS?
These expectations were fulfilled, but I have seen
that I will never stop learning.
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