April 14, 2023
Kelly Molera, a graduate of the Master of Global Management program at Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, has landed a full-time position at Aalto Capital, an investment banking and private equity firm. Molera, a Phoenix native, had her sights set on this industry even before completing her studies at Thunderbird.
Molera's Thunderbird Global Challenge Lab project played a crucial role in leading her to Aalto Capital. During the consulting project, she worked at the company's London office for three weeks, gaining valuable exposure to the analysts' day-to-day activities. Upon completing her project, she was thrilled to receive a full-time job offer.
Kelly Molera
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"Seeing the dynamic nature of Aalto's work and positive company culture, as well as exploring London as a whole, made the decision to work for Aalto easy," Molera said.
The London office of Aalto Capital was co-founded in 2019 by John McRoberts, another Thunderbird alum (class of ’87), who is originally from Harare, Zimbabwe. With his extensive experience in investing capital and managing the growth process of several companies, McRoberts embodies the school's spirit of global innovation and entrepreneurship.
"Kelly has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities, despite being the youngest member of our team. Her adeptness in managing teams and expertly overseeing the delivery of work streams is a testament to her remarkable skills. Following her internship, we were compelled to offer her a full-time position, and she has since been an invaluable asset to our organization," McRoberts said.
Molera also had high praise for McRoberts, describing him as a “people person” who fosters a fun yet hardworking workplace.
“The relatively flat hierarchy at Aalto Capital entrusts analysts with several responsibilities, affording them a high level of autonomy, not often afforded at bigger banks. I am grateful to experience such varied, client-facing exposure at every stage of transactions, from client acquisition to deal closing. John offers employees high levels of autonomy, but he is as hands-on as managing partners get,” Molera said.
Molera feels well prepared for her current role, building on the broad-based training and cross-cultural approach of Thunderbird's curriculum in her career. Molera, who has a background in economics and math, credits Thunderbird's case study teaching method with developing her critical and creative thinking skills, enabling her to consider the impacts of all stakeholders in business decisions. She believes that Thunderbird's teaching in cross-cultural communication, negotiation, leadership and management, corporate social responsibility and geopolitics have prepared her well.
McRoberts, who has always been impressed with Thunderbird students, offers the following advice to those interested in investment banking: "The most important attributes for success are to be hardworking, a good listener, thorough in all that you do, have exceptional attention to details, humility while being confident and to always go the extra mile."