Q&A with Eric Maskwa, BC MBA ’17

Eric Maskwa, BC MBA ’17, has leveraged his skills gained and growing Boston College network to transition away from a technical path to M&A Advisory with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Why did you decide to pursue an MBA?

I decided to get my MBA because I wanted to transition away from the technical path I had been on.  I wanted to grow into a more senior level manager and I felt adding an MBA would help me achieve that goal.

What was your experience before your MBA?

I graduated from Columbia University in 2008 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Prior to Boston College, I worked for almost 6 years at MillerCoors. I spent the first 3 years at their brewery in North Carolina working in Quality for the Packaging team. Most of my work was in process improvement and quality education for the teams on the floor. I then moved to Milwaukee and worked as a Packaging Development Engineer at the corporate office. There, I worked on new product development, cost savings, sustainability and process improvement initiatives.

Why did you end up choosing BC?

I chose BC for several reasons. First, I was looking to move back to the Northeast, which is where I grew up.  I also was drawn by the name recognition that comes with BC and the alumni network that I had heard about from friends who came here for their undergraduate and graduate studies. Finally, I was drawn to the small size of the program. Coming back full-time was as much about the experience as the education for me, and I felt the smaller size of the program would allow me to build stronger relationships with the people in my class.

What activities have you been involved with?

I have tried to be as involved as I can be. Last year, I participated in Invest ‘N Kids, where we tutor students from local middle schools. I also try to attend as many of the Thursday/Friday social events as possible, as well as the football tailgates in the fall. I have really enjoyed playing on the MBA soccer team that plays against graduate schools from around the Boston Area.

Where was your internship over the summer and what was that like?

This summer I worked at Liberty Mutual Insurance as a Summer Associate in their Corporate Development Program.  My assignment was in their Advanced Analytics groups within Claims. My projects were based around developing a business plan to implement a new analytic technology and to explore opportunities in Artificial Intelligence. It was a really great experience.

Talk a little bit about the data analytics curriculum and the skills you acquired.

The Data Analytics curriculum is a great addition to the core. It is now such an important skill set for almost every job and it continues to grow in importance. It also helped touch on some of the programming and modeling techniques that builds a basic understanding, but most importantly Data Analytics helps everyone to be able to ask the right questions. In addition, the faculty have been great. They are accessible whenever I need help and have given advice on additional coursework that might interest me.

What are your post-graduate plans, and how did the BC help prepare you for your career?

I recently accepted a job at PriceWaterhouseCoopers as a Sr. Associate in US-Advisory. The group I will be working in, Delivering Deals Value, is focused on M&A Advisory. I will definitely be leaning on what I’ve learned in my finance classes, as well as some of the strategy and operations courses I took.

Career Development was extremely helpful in my job search for both my summer and full-time positions.  They were always able to meet to help give advice on potential opportunities and prep for interviews when needed. They were able to set me up with contacts at the companies I was exploring, so I could learn more about the company and the specific roles. For my full-time position that I accepted, they reached out to me about the position, knowing I might be interested.