What Are the Benefits of Starting a Career at A&M?

Pierce Cohen is a Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s (A&M) Private Equity Performance Improvement (PEPI) practice in Houston, Texas. He earned his bachelor’s degree and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Texas at Austin.

In the following Q&A, Pierce highlights the valuable skills gained during his MBA studies, particularly project management and accounting, and how they have translated into his work at A&M. Pierce also discusses his involvement in campus recruiting and his aspirations to grow as a leader within A&M. 

What skills or experiences did you gain in college that have been valuable in your career thus far?

During my senior year of undergrad, I had the privilege to run the largest student-run career fair in the country—with over 5,000 students and more than 300 employers across a two-day period. This was my first exposure to leading large teams and helped refine my project management skills, which have directly translated to my work at A&M, as most of our post-acquisition work involves extremely hands-on program management with our client’s portfolio companies.

Additionally, I had heard during my MBA studies that the most impactful subject that I would take would be in the field of accounting, and that has proven true throughout my time at A&M. At the core of several of our pre-acquisition diligence engagements comes a need for a deep understanding of financial statements and how businesses record and report their expenses and revenues. Having deep exposure to accounting during my MBA studies was extremely valuable to help me begin my A&M journey.

What led you to pursue your chosen field of study?

I earned my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas primarily because I thoroughly enjoyed the problem-solving nature of the math and sciences curriculum. Throughout my undergrad studies, I always had a side interest in ensuring I could keep some business skillsets in my toolbelt and took classes in statistics, accounting, finance, etc. I quickly found during my post-undergrad career that I was heavily drawn to the operations/analysis side of how businesses were run, which ultimately led me to return to pursue my MBA.

Why did you choose to intern at A&M during your MBA program? 

Going into the recruiting process as an MBA student, I was initially struck by A&M’s combination of high-quality people and the immediate ability to do impactful work. As I continued to network and interview with my current group, I felt more and more confident that these were extremely intelligent and personable colleagues whom I would be more than happy to go into the foxhole with to solve complex problems.

Why did you choose to join A&M full-time? 

My internship experience met exactly my high expectations for what working at A&M could look like. I witnessed first-hand the non-hierarchical structure of our engagements, which was extremely empowering for a summer associate and soon-to-be senior associate. This also ramped up the learning curve as I progressed early in my career, as I was getting extremely beneficial experience and exposure on my engagements that I would not have received elsewhere.

Tell us about your involvement in the firm's campus recruiting and how it's shaped your perspective on talent acquisition and the next generation of professionals.

I have been heavily involved in the campus recruiting efforts for the PEPI team for the past five years, leading the MBA Intern Program through last year. I am now transitioning to co-leading the on-campus recruiting program for our group as we expand to a broader campus footprint. During my time at A&M and in the recruiting process, my goal has always been to bring in highly capable, smart and driven individuals who will help raise our capabilities as we grow and evolve our practice.

How do you stay organized and manage your time effectively, especially when faced with competing priorities and deadlines?

I have two extremely simple tactics that are effective for me:

1. I keep a running list of the must-dos that I have coming up. Seeing these written out helps me automatically prioritize all my competing priorities.
2. Every evening and morning, I will clear my inbox to only include emails with data I currently need or actions that require immediate effort. I am a perfectionist by nature and am inclined to complete all my responsibilities as quickly as possible. Still, over my time at A&M, I have found that these two steps help me organize and get everything done accurately before deadlines.

What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment so far in your career?

I recently completed an engagement that involved carving out and standing up a professional services firm roughly the same size as A&M. I and a dozen colleagues worked tireless hours during a six-month sign-to-close period to get the company ready for closing. I stayed on support for 10 more months to help drive progress during the initial stand-up period. As of now, this is the largest carve-out that A&M has completed.

What advice would you give to university students looking to work in consulting? 

Stay involved! There’s plenty of campus groups that will help you get exposure to what a life in consulting could look like, and an overwhelming number of consulting specialties you can pursue. Try to figure out what you are truly interested in and pursue that as a career. Sometimes we are working extremely hard, and the best way to make it through is to do what you love.

In hindsight, what advice would you give your college self or other recent graduates about navigating the transition from school to work?

Leverage others’ past experiences. I’ve found that some of my quickest learning experiences have come from a colleague or senior mentor who has gone through something similar and will have ideas or tactics to navigate. You don’t have to just rely on yourself to get things done, but also remember that you will need to pay it forward and help others in a similar situation down the road.

What are your career goals and aspirations for the next few years?

My goal is to continue to grow as a leader within my project teams and within the PEPI group. The group has expanded rapidly over the past few years in the number of staff and the diversity of service lines for our clients. I’m excited to keep helping A&M and PEPI continue their upward trajectory in the market.

What's your favorite hobby or activity outside of work, and how did you get into it?

I was one of the millions who decided the lockdown of 2020 would be the time to get myself back in shape. I’ve spent the past three years building up my home gym, and I spend a lot of my free time in there or running outside (when the Houston heat permits). I’ve run two marathons to date and hope that number will increase in the next few years.

If you had to eat only one type of cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

I wouldn’t be a true Houstonian if I didn’t say Tex-Mex. It would be a short life, but it would be good.

What are some fun facts about you?

I’m a lifelong Houston and Texas sports fan (some teams have been more enjoyable than others), I’m recently engaged to be married and planning on officially tying the knot in 2024, and I have a 10-year-old dog named Milo, who is the wisest person I know.