Mark Kolakowski
Mark Kolakowski has an extensive background in finance, including a long multidisciplinary career on Wall Street. He has covered financial careers for About.com since 2008.
Experience
During his 14 years at Merrill Lynch, Mark was a major contributor in many areas, most notably:
- profitability analysis
- transfer pricing
- business forecasting
- product pricing
- sales compensation
- market research
- data mining
- business strategy
Prior to Merrill Lynch, Mark developed a comprehensive sales forecasting system for AT&T, before moving into project analysis. Then he became a management consultant at Touche Ross (since merged into Deloitte), whose engagements included merger analysis, forensic accounting, bank operations and mutual funds accounting.
Self-employed since 2001, Mark's activities have included being a strategic advisor to an Internet entrepreneur, a consultant to banking giant JPMorgan Chase, a guest lecturer at New York area colleges and an editor of academic research papers in economics. In his book Career Confidential: An Insider's Guide to Business (2008) Mark draws case studies in career management from his own experiences. He also has been interviewed for television documentaries dealing with the functions of the DTCC and financial fraud committed against Hollywood's elite. Additionally, Mark is a contributor to Investopedia, "the world’s largest digital financial education platform."
Education
Mark earned an AB magna cum laude in economics from Harvard College and an MBA in finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. While at Merrill Lynch, he passed the NASD (now FINRA) Series 7 Registered Securities Representative exam. He credits a strong liberal arts education received at Regis High School in New York City for much of his later academic and professional success.
Mark Kolakowski
Despite recent troubles, the financial services industry remains a magnet for ambitious and hard-working people. Dynamic work environments. Big rewards for performance and creativity. Opportunities to advance swiftly. Chances to gain personal financial independence. My years on Wall Street made possible my second career as an independent consultant and writer.
Meanwhile, all industries, as well as nonprofit and governmental organizations, need financial expertise in areas such as accounting, management reporting, planning, budgeting and treasury. Consulting and public accounting firms also are leading employers of top financial talent. In tough economic times, the financial function is more critical than ever.
The duties of financial professionals often cross over into other disciplines, such as information technology, management science, marketing and human resources. During my years at Merrill Lynch, for example, controllers typically served as the chiefs of staffs and chief administrative officers for their department heads, as well as point persons for systems liaison and quantitative analysis. Accordingly, I approach the topic of financial careers from a broad perspective, and encourage outside-the-box thinking regarding career development.
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