Charles Chen
Strategy Associate
31 years old
Driving License
London (W6 9SU) United Kingdom
Student
Available
I am ethnically Chinese, but was born and brought up in Mumbai, India. After spending 15 years in India I moved to Canada for high school and university. My travels taught me about the power of diversity and how important it is to have diverse views on a single problem. This led me to do my Master's in International Business and CEMS Master's in International Management as I wanted to meet more future Global leaders. I am currently on my last term on exchange in London School of Economics and Political Science and spent my last semester on exchange at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
My educational background focuses on entrepreneurship and high growth companies. Many of these companies fail due to a lack of focus. My goal is to join a firm that understand the power of diversity in skills and culture and has a work environment that is focused on solving problems. I am very excited to be finishing my Master's and moving onto the next stage of my career.
My educational background focuses on entrepreneurship and high growth companies. Many of these companies fail due to a lack of focus. My goal is to join a firm that understand the power of diversity in skills and culture and has a work environment that is focused on solving problems. I am very excited to be finishing my Master's and moving onto the next stage of my career.
Marketing Strategy Associate
iQuanti
May 2016
to July 2016
Internship
Bangalore
India
- Conducted in depth research of the SEO platform industry, key competitors, and current market needs to uncover a clear target segment that was 45% more profitable for the firm.
- Identified inefficiencies in the product development cycle and developed a priority list for the product team to focus on based on research from users of the platform; resulted in 30% of financial savings.
- Presented a layout change to the current homepage that improved customer usability by 25%, to key executives of the organization; implemented in the next product development cycle.
- Collaborated with the Vice President of Marketing and two interns to enhance articles on the firm’s website; resulted in intelligible articles for the viewers and significantly higher page ranking on Google’s organic search.
Lead Research Associate
Ivey Business School
January 2016
to July 2016
Part-time
London
Canada - Ontario
- Managed a team of six students and streamlined administrative tasks for the professor; resulted in high quality research and more efficient processes for the duration of the project.
- Developed a communication and information processing system that organized over 400 national articles, 100 congressional files, and 2500 local articles; resulted in a 50% improvement in information accuracy.
Business Strategy Associate
Zaya Learning Labs
May 2015
to August 2015
Internship
Mumbai
India
- Assessed the start-up’s current impediments through financial analysis, internal interviews, and external research that led to an improved business model and corporate strategy.
- Analyzed the U.S market for investment and market entry opportunities and created PowerPoint presentations for the CEO for his presentations to investors; led to Series B funding.
Accounting and Administrative Assistant
Grand River Conservation Authority
May 2014
to August 2014
Internship
Cambridge
Canada - Ontario
- Reconciled weekly accounts receivables using Excel, Headquarters Manager, and Global Payments; guaranteed all payments were accounted for in the internal system and bank accounts.
- Collaborated with accounts payables team to ensure all vendor payments were paid in full and on time weekly.
- Demonstrated exemplary customer service and communication skills by quickly identifying customer needs and directing them to the correct department to solve issues, ensuring customer retention and loyalty.
Financial Administrator
The University of Guelph - Child Care & Learning Centre
August 2013
to December 2013
Internship
Guelph
Canada - Ontario
- Recognized an accounting error and led the recovery of over $40,000 of outstanding receivables and developed preventative measures to avoid similar incidents in the future.
- Communicated with the County of Wellington and the financial department of the University to solve sensitive problems relating to employee salaries and subsidies received by customers to ensure fair financial treatment.
- Analyzed the organization’s past financial data through the financial reporting system and developed an Excel system to predict future spending that resulted in a successful $35,000 budget cut for the following year.
Public Relations Intern
Ketchum Sampark Pvt. Ltd
May 2012
to August 2012
Internship
Mumbai
India
- Analyzed competitors and industries daily, and updated clients on real time public image; resulted in a competitive advantage that allowed clients to immediately mitigate negative press and maintained positive consumer engagement.
- Managed a client’s event of over a 100 attendees by sending out reminders, booking a conference room, hiring caterers, and preparing information packages that resulted in an attendance that surpassed expectations by 35%.
Fall Semester Exchange in Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Overall Average - A
Spring Semester Exchange in London School of Economics and Political Science
Ivey Global Lab Average - 92%
Dean’s Honor List in HBA 2 – Academic Achievement of 84.92%
Relevant Courses: Business Strategy & Sustainability 90%, Managing High Growth Companies 88%
Acquired the Certificate in Entrepreneurship
Winner of the 2015 Ivey Kick-Off Case Competition
Learn more
Relevant Courses: Business Strategy & Sustainability 90%, Managing High Growth Companies 88%
Acquired the Certificate in Entrepreneurship
Winner of the 2015 Ivey Kick-Off Case Competition
Bachelor of Commerce - Management, Economics, and Finance - Co-op (Transferred)
University of Guelph
September 2011
to August 2014
Cumulative GPA - 80.2%
Learn more
- Dean's List (2014, 2013)
- Relevant Courses: Operations Management 91%, Intermediate Macroeconomics 87%, Financial Management 87%.
Completed 2 co-op work terms
- Very interested in joining an organization that allows me to work in different countries
- As a CEMS student I have already done two semesters on exchange and have lived in more than 5 countires
- I enjoy playing the classical guitar in my leisure time
- I enjoy practicing a number of different martial arts as I believe it adds discipline to my life.
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Organic Growth
I have spent a lot of time studying the lean start-up ways and focusing on organic growth rather than external funding for firms to be successful.
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Operations
I have focused heavily on the internal operations of firms as it is crucial for high growth organizations to be cash flow positive if they are to survive.
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Presentations
I have had to pitch a number of different presentation to investors for feedback in ideas for my start-up.
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Excel
Good
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Powerpoint
Good
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Project
Intermediate
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Outlook
Good
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Word
Advanced
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Management
Having had the chance to lead a number of different teams I have learned effective ways to lead people
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Problem Solving
While working on a team there are always different problems that the team faces. After working on numerous projects in different teams I have learned the best ways to keep the team focused on the goal.
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Collaboration
Creating a collaborative work environment for the team is much more effective than creating a competitive culture. I always strive to have get all teammates inputs and have the team work as collaboratively as possible.
