Illinois Business Consulting is student led and student driven. Students apply for the leadership positions and are selected based on their prior IBC experience, work experience, project management skills, leadership capabilities and interpersonal communication skills. The Student Leadership Team is responsible for running the consulting operation, staffing the projects and performing key marketing, operations and training activities. Student Senior Managers are responsible for ensuring the successful execution of the client projects under their supervision.
Student Director
Katie Kilbridge
Katie graduated from the University of Illinois in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy as a member of the College of Business Honors Program and the Campus Honors Program. Currently, Katie is pursuing her Master’s in Accounting Science and will join Deloitte’s Enterprise Risk Services practice after graduation. Katie has previously interned with Deloitte and Wintrust Financial Corporation. Katie has been with IBC since August 2010, completing eight projects focused on social media, agriculture, financial modeling, and the consumer goods industry. Katie has held positions as Consultant, Project Manager, and Senior Manager in IBC.
Managers
Stephanie Barry, Senior Manager
Stephanie is a second year MBA student concentrating on healthcare and strategic management. Stephanie graduated from The University of Texas with a Bachelor's degree in Economics in 2010. Stephanie has over 15 years of experience in healthcare receivables management with Financial Corporation of America. During her career, Stephanie has developed expertise in process improvement, project management and business strategy. During the summer of 2012, Stephanie interned at Christie Clinic with a focus on continuous improvement. Stephanie joined IBC in the August 2011 and has held the roles of Consultant, Project Manager and Senior Manager. In addition to IBC, Stephanie is President of Women in Business, Co-President of I-Motivate and Assistant Course Director for Business 101.
Chris Burgelski, Senior Manager
Chris is an undergraduate senior majoring in Economics and minoring in Business. He joined IBC in January 2011 and his first project included performing a market and competitor analysis for a metal finishing company. The following semester he was promoted to Project Manager and developed a marketing strategy for a professional provider of exam preparation courses. His third engagement with IBC involved advising a nationally ranked Country Club on a major political decision that would affect the Club’s finances and operations. Chris recently completed an internship with GE Energy as part of the Financial Management Program. Chris is also involved with AIESEC Illinois and is the Vice President of the Economics Club.
John Busch, Senior Manager
John is an undergraduate senior in the College of ACES majoring in Finance in Agribusiness. John has been involved in IBC since January 2011 and has completed two engagements as a Consultant and two engagements as a Project Manager. John's project experience includes market analysis, financial feasibility studies, business plan development, and financial modeling. John recently completed an internship with Pervasive Health, a start-up health IT company, and will be pursuing a career in consulting this fall.
Obi Egekeze, Senior Manager
Obi is pursuing an MBA with concentrations in Finance and Strategic Management. Obi graduated from the University of Maryland in 2008, earning Bachelor's degrees in Finance and International Business. During his undergraduate years, he was a three year starter at place-kicker for the football team at Maryland. Between academic pursuits, Obi did non-profit work for two years with Uplifting Athletes. Uplifting Athletes aligns college football with rare diseases and raises them as a national priority through outreach, research, education and advocacy. Obi most recently completed a summer internship at Coca-Cola, working as a Global Finance intern supporting Global Marketing and Commercial Leadership. Obi has been with IBC since August 2011.
Eileen Hansen, Senior Manager
Eileen is an undergraduate senior in the College of Agriculture Consumer and Environmental Sciences pursuing a degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences with a minor in Business. She joined IBC in August 2011 as a Consultant on a project that developed a business plan for an industrial park fueled by a geothermal loop. In the spring, she was the Project Manager for a project creating a distribution and expansion plan into European markets for a start-up raw and organic chocolate company. As a Project Manager, she led the team to analyze European confectionery markets and build a targeted distribution plan for Europe. This past summer, she worked at AMCOL International in the Marketing department and worked at Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals in Sales and Marketing in previous summers.
Yung-der (David) Lee, Senior Manager
David is an undergraduate senior in the College of Business majoring in Accountancy. He joined IBC in January 2011 and has worked on four projects ranging from compiling a white-paper document regarding cloud-computing technology for a telecommunications company to market entry analysis for the Indian market. Outside of IBC, David serves as the President of Beta Alpha Psi Honor Society and is a member of the Illini Badminton Intercollegiate Sports Club. He has interned at VisEra Technologies in their accounting department and at PwC Taiwan in the assurance services department.
Jarett Messing, Internal Manager
Jarett is a senior at the University of Illinois dual majoring in Finance and Accountancy. His past experience includes an internship in private wealth management, an internship in corporate finance, and success in national case competitions. Jarett has been with IBC since January 2010, and has worked on projects for domestic companies in the nanotechnology and insurance industries, as well as for an international non-profit organization.
David Nolan, Senior Manager
David is an undergraduate senior in the College of Business pursuing a dual-degree in Finance and Accountancy. David has been involved in IBC since the January 2011 working on one project as a Consultant and one as a Project Manager. His experience ranges from market and financial analysis for established organizations to strategic business development for start-ups. As an undergraduate, David is also involved in Finance Academy and Delta Upsilon Fraternity. David interned as an investment banking summer analyst with Houlihan Lokey this past summer and will be starting as a full time analyst in their healthcare group upon graduation.
Jake Panek, Senior Manager
Jake received his Bachelor’s in Accounting and Management Information Systems from the University of Delaware in 2006 where he was a member of the soccer team. He is currently in his second year of the Illinois MBA program and he is concentrating in Finance and IT Management. Prior to joining the Illinois MBA program, Jake worked for three years at Ernst & Young in their Technology and Security Risk Services Practice in Baltimore, MD. He also worked for two years at Transaction Network Services in Reston, VA performing IT Compliance and Security work. During the summer of 2012 he worked for Allstate Financial as a Training Consultant. Jake has been with IBC since August 2011 and has held positions as Consultant, Project Manager and most recently Senior Manager.
Dongyi Wang, Senior Manager
Dongyi is a graduate student in College of Business studying accounting with a minor in finance. He joined IBC in January 2011 and completed two projects as a consultant and two projects as a project manager. Dongyi has worked with clients including pension funds, education institution, agriculture exporter, and auto manufacturer. Dongyi's experience includes marketing, legislation analysis, financial planning and projection, statistical/mathematical modeling and profit optimization. Dongyi has interned at Bank of China and KeXin accounting firm. Dongyi is excited to pursue a future career in consulting.
Ryan Whittsitt, Senior Manager
Ryan graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2007 with a B.B.A., double majoring in Finance and Management. Currently, Ryan is pursuing an MBA with concentrations in Strategic Management and Finance. During his undergraduate years he was a member of the GVSU Lakers Varsity Swim Team, as well as graduating from the Honor’s College. Between academic pursuits, Ryan worked for four years at two different investment consulting firms, most recently Towers Watson Investment Services. Ryan recently completed a summer internship at United Stationers, working in the Supply Finance and Margin Management group. Ryan has been with IBC since August 2011.
Adam Yala, Senior Manager
Adam is an undergraduate senior in the College of Agricultural and Consumer Economics and joined IBC in the August 2010. As a Project Manager, Adam led his team in developing a road map for future mediums of vehicular power. Adam’s project experience has focused largely on the agricultural industry. Adam has interned in software development, advertising and marketing, financial auditing, and tax consulting.
Maria Zyskind, Senior Manager
Maria is an undergraduate senior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, double majoring in Political Science and Philosophy. She joined IBC in August 2011 as a Consultant, where her first project was streamlining a regional bank’s commercial loan process. As Project Manager, Maria led a team in creating a business plan for an emerging non-profit focused on entrepreneurship and technology. Outside of IBC, Maria is involved in Pre-Law Club as the editor-in-chief of its newspaper, The Gavel. She is also a writing tutor at the University’s Writers Workshop and started the first Krav Maga Club on campus. Maria interned at Oasis Legal Finance in the summer of 2012. After graduation, Maria plans to attend law school.
Testimonials
Blair Dial
Marketing Director
ILMO Products Company
