[PROFILE] Thomas de Fresart '14

Thomas de Fresart

Hometown: Tempe, AZ

College: Arizona State University: B.S., Finance & M.S., Alternative Energy Technology

Pre-Business School: Valuation Consultant at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Co-Founder at SolarWing

Summer Internship: Solar Leadership Program Associate at SunEdison

Post-Anderson: I will be joining EDF Renewable Energy's Rotational Training Program in San Diego.

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job: I wanted to be a civil engineer. When I was in middle school, I took a trip with my grandparents through the Swiss Alps and was fascinated by the bridges and tunnels that spanned the mountain ranges.

Why business school? My goal for business school was to transition from a career in financial services to one in renewable energy development. Business school is a unique place where hiring managers celebrate transitions instead of question them. 

Why Anderson? While conducting industry research, I discovered that 70% of the U.S. investment in renewable energy was made in California, so I wanted to move to the state and begin building my professional network. After visiting the UCLA Anderson campus and meeting with current and prospective students, I was sold. Since I was not pursuing a traditional MBA role, I was attracted by the incredible diversity of Anderson career paths.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: President of the Energy Management Group, Energy & Utilities ACT Coach

Favorite class and why? Venture Capital & Private Equity with Professor Garmaise: The valuation skills I developed while in this class have prepared me for my role at EDF Renewable Energy, where I will be valuing wind & solar assets and negotiating sales with large firms such as Google and UBS.

Tom (third from left) with his AMR team in Ecuador

Applied Management Research Project: My AMR team worked for Conservation International and developed a valuation chain development plan for the Galera-San Francisco Marine Reserve in Ecuador. 

To the prospective students considering UCLA Anderson, check out my team's AMR Blog to get a better idea of the incredible adventure you could have during AMR working with a client like UCLA Anderson's partner, Conservation International: https://uclaandersonamrecuador.tumblr.com/

Favorite Anderson Event: Traveling through Europe this past summer with six classmates.

Best Anderson memory so far: Spending a week in Ecuador with my AMR team conducting primary research and exploring the country.

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RECRUITING

What helped most in your interview preparation and career search? Support from current students and recent alumni of Anderson's Energy Management Group was incredibly helpful in developing a professional network in renewable energy.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search and interview prep? I spent a lot of time going through mock interviews with David Cooley and having Regina Regazzi redline my cover letters. David and Regina are so effective because they are direct and don't sugarcoat their feedback.

How many informational interviews have you conducted while at Anderson? 30? I feel like I know half of my industry.

Any particularly beneficial informationals? Speaking to Board of Advisors member and Anderson alumnus Greg Craig '89. Greg has spent his career in energy and put me in touch with and recommend me to key managers at companies I was interested.

Hardest interview question you've been asked? You have three minutes to come up with a five minute sales pitch on a topic of your choice. The clock is ticking...Go!

 

How did you land your internship? I competed in the Renewable Energy Case Competition held at the University of Michigan. Our team made it to the final round, which enabled us to present our findings to SunEdison's GM of North America. We later spoke at the happy hour and he recommended me for the Solar Leadership Program at SunEdison, where I spent my summer.

 

Describe your internship. I developed a market entry framework for SunEdison's Commercial Distributed Generation group to assess new geographic market feasibility. 

Why Energy? Prior to b-school, building the solar-powered parking canopy structures at the Phoenix Public Library with my start-up, SolarWing, was my proudest moment. Since then, I knew I wanted to build tangible products that have a positive impact. If done correctly, renewable energy has the potential to transform the electricity market, save consumers money, and reduce environmental impact.

After his internship, Tom (far left) spent the remainder of summer in Europe with other Anderson classmates

-Sandra Nguyen, Communications Manager, Parker Career Management Center

Comments

[blondeau]

Nous espérons beaucoup que tu puisse venir en Europe
simplement pour le plaisir de te revoir.
Toutes nos félicitation pour tes études cela doit être passionnant .bravo aussi pour ton nouveau Job. Bon Papa Bonne Maman