Tyler Cornellier put his education to work right away, landing a job at Silicon Valley Bank in San Francisco. Hired as an analyst, he was promoted two years later to a senior analyst position. Tyler credits his involvement in the business analytics program at UNH Paul College with giving him the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in his profession.
Q. What led you to combine the study of busines analytics with finance – why did you think it was important?
A. I studied both finance and business analytics for two reasons. First, because I genuinely enjoyed quantitative reasoning; using analytics to tell a story. Second, I understood the importance of financial literacy for both corporations and individuals. I viewed my life as a business, and I believed that being able to quantitatively assess my financial situation would be invaluable to my success.
Q. How did that combination help you secure the position at Silicon Valley Bank and progress to your current role as a senior strategy analyst?
A.Combining both studies was the sole reason for why I secured a position as an Analyst on the Analytics & Sales Operations team at Silicon Valley Bank. My knowledge in both fields inspired my honors thesis (“Illuminating the Dark Box of Private Equity”), which was directly applicable to the work I would be completing at SVB. The experience I gained at Paul College provided me a strong foundation to succeed when starting the role. It was a seamless transition.
Q. How are you using analytics in your current position to generate strategic insights for the business?
A. I support senior market managers that manage relationships with startup companies across the U.S. My goal is to help them understand what is happening in the innovation economy, and how it impacts their portfolio. I use both external data (venture capital financing information) coupled with internal data (SVB proprietary data) to identify growth opportunities both near and long term. Opportunities include identifying product gaps for current clients, identifying “top” prospects in the venture ecosystem, and internal process improvement to make everything more efficient.
Q. What do you love about your work/job?
A. I love the ability to build trust with senior leaders at SVB to provide strategic guidance through analytics. I thoroughly enjoy taking complex data sets and transforming them into tangible action items and business recommendations, that impact the growth/success of the business.
Q. Any advice you have for students considering majoring or double majoring in business analytics?
A. I would advise students to actively consider joining the Business Analytics program. The experience gained in the program is directly applicable to how data is used in a corporate setting to make business decisions. Some examples of skills I obtained in the Business Analytics program that I apply today include writing basic code, normalizing/structuring large data sets, creating dynamic quantitative models, and presenting data simplistically to key stakeholders. I believe the Business Analytics program prepares every student for success, regardless of the industry they go into post-graduation.
Q. Anything else you would like to add?
A. I would not be where I am today if I had not studied in the Business Analytics program. I believe having the ability to tap into a data-driven mindset for any decision a person makes is invaluable when it comes to an individual’s success.
Co-Curricular Activities at UNH
- Analyst, The Atkins Investment Group
- Director of Finance, UNH Rines Angel Fund
- University Honors Program
- Golden Key International Honour Society
- Ski and Board Club
- Volunteer, New Orleans Lower Nine
- Volunteer, Cornucopia Food Pantry
