Alum Michael Wright ’12 – Associate, Equity Capital Markets at Canaccord Genuity Inc
Name: Michael Wright
Class Year: 2012
Organization Name: Canaccord Genuity (Equity Capital Markets)
In one sentence, what does your job entail?
Advise and execute equity financings for growth focused companies.
What planned and unplanned events connected you to your industry and your first employer after Holy Cross? How did you learn/decide it was a good fit for you?
3 months into my first job out of HC, an HC alumni reached out asking if I would be interested in an analyst position on the Canaccord Equity Capital Markets desk. Despite feeling hesitant given my short time at my first employer, I felt the opportunity to join a small, dynamic team would be too hard to pass up.
What were you involved in when you were on campus?
Football, SGA, Big Brother Big Sister
What was your major and how did it affect your career decisions?
History major. Despite not being a finance related major, it provided me with the ability to analyze multiple pieces of information into narrower concepts/ themes . The skills of reading, analyzing, writing, etc. are crucial skills in any professional setting.
What are one or two skills that you developed at Holy Cross that you use in your work?
Multi-tasking
Information analysis
What advice do you have for students on campus today?
Choose a major that is interesting to you – Holy Cross has a great reputation across all industries, and employers recognize they a hiring hard-working, smart candidates. Unless an industry requires specific credentials, do not force a major to fit a job application.
Make classroom performance #1, but also spend time utilizing the Holy Cross alumni network in your targeted profession(s). While it can be intimidating at first, the majority of alumni are extremely engaging and happy to provide career advice.
