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Cody Riesterer
Partner/Financial Advisor
Promus Financial Group, LLC
Program/Concentration: Jack Welch MBA
TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES AT PROMUS FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC.
I am the youngest partner at Promus Financial Group, LLC, a district agency within New York Life Insurance Co./Eagle Strategies. I help create holistic financial plans for our clients, covering protection planning, retirement planning, investment planning, and estate planning. I am a virtual financial advisor and have clients across the country. I meet with my clients via Zoom and provide the same top-level service as an in-person financial advisor would provide, but I save my clients time and money by meeting virtually. Being a virtual financial advisor helps my clients feel less pressure to partner with someone in the city they live in and now can partner with someone they truly trust even if they live in a different state. I love the work I do and helping people feel more protected and reaching their financial goals.
Why were you looking to get an MBA?
JWMI helped me gain my position as the youngest partner in my firm. It allowed me to become a leader within the organization and helped our organization grow. I have always valued education, and obtaining my MBA was something I knew I wanted to achieve early in my career. JWMI was a perfect fit for my MBA goals of attending a Top 25 program without leaving my career as a financial advisor. I knew getting my MBA would significantly impact my ability to be a business leader in the financial services industry.
DID YOU FIND THE CURRICULUM WAS IMMEDIATELY APPLICABLE? PLEASE EXPLAIN.
Yes, I found the curriculum at JWMI to be immediately applicable in my new role as a partner in a firm. JWMI taught me something new in each class that I could learn on Monday, implement on Tuesday, and see results Friday. Each class had a different impact and grew my overall business knowledge to see things that I would have never considered before. I was able to make choices that impacted business operations positively.
Looking back at what you thought about an online program when you first embarked, what was your overall impression now? Did it meet your expectations via DQ boards, EOP videos, faculty, etc.?
I was unsure of committing to an online program. By trusting in the staff, I now fully understand why JWMI is a top 25 ranked program according to multiple trusted media outlets and publications. The online platform allowed me to keep growing my book of business while helping others reach their financial goals. Each discussion question (DQ), Experts of Practice (EOP) video, and assignment over the 18-month journey challenged me to think critically and achieve success. An MBA isn’t supposed to be easy; it’s supposed to challenge you, so you work hard and grow. The Jack Welch MBA did that for me.
What’s been your most rewarding experience in the program?
The most rewarding experience I had at JWMI was working with professors who were also leaders in their different fields. It allowed me to see that the people teaching us the various topics had first-hand experience and had not been researchers their entire careers. Learning directly from different business leaders allowed me to understand the material at a much higher level.
How did you navigate school, family, and work? What strategies did you implement to get it done?
From the start, time management was critical to balancing the Jack Welch MBA, my family, and work. Putting different time blocks into my calendar for all three priorities allowed me to be successful at each; I became a Welch Scholar while fostering my family relationships and building a successful book of business. Alongside time management, I had to think about what was most important to me in life and what my goals were that I wanted to accomplish. Understanding what is most important and my goals helped me stay motivated when I had a big assignment due during a busy work week.
WERE THERE ANY FACULTY OR STAFF MEMBERS WHO HAD A MEANINGFUL IMPACT ON YOUR JOURNEY?
My very first professor, Dr. Michelle March, made an immediate impact and helped me excel. Dr. March set the standard of high performance that allowed me to succeed in all the classes afterward. She pushed me to think more critically, write more profoundly, and truly implement what I was learning into my daily life. I don’t think I would have obtained the Welch Scholar recognition without her guidance.
Please share any advice for new students embarking on the MBA journey.
My advice for new students is to work harder than you have ever worked for something in your life and implement what you are learning. If you do that and open your mind to what is possible with the Jack Welch MBA, it will significantly impact your life.
Connect with Cody Riesterer on Linkedin
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