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What she does:
- Whitney Browne is a Finance Associate in the Leadership Development Program for the Maritime Systems and Sensors (MS2) division of Lockheed Martin, located in Syracuse, New York. The Leadership Development program consists of rotational assignments, in-house technical development curriculum, leadership development conferences, and the pursuit of a Masters-level degree. Whitney has been with the corporation for one year and worked as an intern in program finance prior to graduation. She is currently in her first rotation, where she has been assisting in the implementation of a new financial accounting system, SAP.
Math on the job:
- As a member of the SAP conversion team, Whitney’s current position requires her to draw on her broad knowledge base of mathematics, economics, and statistics. It is the team’s responsibility to transfer all of the data from the legacy accounting system to SAP. Her duties include preparing account reconciliations and testing, validating and analyzing historical qualitative and cost data. Whitney’s responsibilities also entail tracking cost and progress, for which regression analysis is used to predict the likelihood of under or overrunning budget or schedule. In addition to her regular rotational assignments, per direction from the President of MS2-Syracuse, Whitney conducted a study on the attrition rate at Syracuse. She notes, “From the design and implementation of the survey to the analysis of the data, my knowledge of statistics was crucial to the successful completion of this project.”
Whitney's background:
- Whitney has a B.S. degree from St. Lawrence University with a combined major in Mathematics & Economics and a minor in Applied Statistics. She is currently pursuing an MBA in Finance at the Simon School of Business where she finds that her sound mathematical background has allowed her to excel. Her current position requires Whitney to use statistical methods frequently, including sampling, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis. Most of her work is done using the computer and an advanced knowledge of spreadsheet applications is helpful.
Advice for students:
- When she started looking for a job, Whitney knew that she wanted to work in business but was unsure of exactly what she wanted to do within the field. She was looking for something where she would be able to use her mathematical skills in a competitive environment with lots of options. “The combination of rotational assignments, leadership conferences and the MBA courses has helped in my transition from an academic environment to the corporate world, allowing me to experience multiple roles in business management while expanding my finance knowledge, all within a few years of graduating.”