By Heream Yang
Jose Padilla
Born in Minnesota and raised in Honduras, Jose Padilla’s (MBA’21) fascination with finance sparked from witnessing the financial ramifications of the 2009 Honduras military coup. “I decided to study finance because there was a military coup in our country and this caused financial turmoil for a lot of people,” Padilla explained. “I learned the power of diversification really quickly.”
Padilla concentrated in Finance, along with Management and Organizations, as an undergraduate student at New York University’s Stern School of Business. During his time at NYU, Padilla developed a passion for sales and launched his career in business development at a finance recruiting company, working his way up to Account Executive at an AI cybersecurity company. Padilla’s time in sales taught him 2 lessons: he enjoyed working with Latin American clients who shared his cultural background; and he didn’t see a long-term career in cybersecurity, even though he enjoyed his work — instead, he felt drawn to his finance roots.
Padilla began researching potential MBA programs to make the pivot from sales to finance. His uncle had attended Vanderbilt Business and spoke highly of his experience, and Padilla’s interactions with the Admissions team ultimately solidified his decision to attend. “It really seemed like Vanderbilt was making a real effort to make me feel at home,” he said.
As Padilla began strategizing his entry into the finance world, the Career Management Center (CMC) suggested he look into Private Wealth Management, an ideal blend of the relational aspect of sales and the quantitative nature of finance. Padilla landed an internship at the Goldman Sachs’ Miami office, a perfect fit for his desire to work with the Latin America region. After a successful summer, Padilla will be returning to Goldman Sachs full-time as a Private Wealth Advisor.
Click through the timeline below to find out how Padilla landed his offer.
