Public bio:
Highly accomplished, strategic Financial Services Executive with over 21 years of global leadership
experience driving organizational transformations, front-to-back operations, and high-stakes platform
modernization across tier-1 financial institutions including State Street, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America. Adept at navigating strictly regulated environments, steering massive post-acquisition integrations, managing comprehensive budget structures, and optimizing client-centric service delivery models. Recognized as an expert mentor and capability builder with deep experience preparing financial professionals and senior cross-functional teams for complex market operations.
Public bio:
CLO / Structured Credit Investor with experience managing a $30bn+ portfolio. Execution-driven, working across US & European markets (BSL & MM), covering underwriting, structuring, and deal execution.
Public bio:
Eric is an investment professional with over 15 years of experience in private equity and entrepreneurship. His passion for investing led him to found ECP, where he focuses on partnering with founders to build on the businesses they’ve created.
At ECP, Eric leads all aspects of the investment process and portfolio management, utilizing his Advisory team for business insights and value creation strategies. With a hands-on approach post-acquisition, he works closely with management teams to accelerate growth.
Public bio:
Victor Sada is an investor at BKR Capital, where he focuses on venture investments, strategic growth initiatives, and portfolio value creation across technology-enabled businesses. He works closely with founders on fundraising, financial strategy, M&A, and operational scaling, with experience spanning fintech, enterprise software, AI, consumer platforms, and climate technology.
Prior to joining BKR Capital, Victor led Corporate Development initiatives at Interswitch Group, where he supported strategic investments, acquisitions, and growth initiatives across African markets. His experience includes evaluating and executing cross-border transactions, building institutional-grade financial models, and advising leadership teams on capital allocation and long-term growth strategy.
Victor is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Master’s degree in International Corporate Finance from the University of Salford. He is particularly passionate about the intersection of capital, technology, and emerging ecosystems, with a focus on supporting high-growth companies building globally relevant solutions.
Public bio:
- Currently an analyst at an investment firm focusing on real assets
- Previously an investment banking analyst for 2+ years
- Completed an internship at one of Canada's biggest banks
Public bio:
Strategic operator and platform builder with experience designing and scaling executive advisory networks, revenue systems and governance-driven operating models. I help organizations convert fragmented communities, founder-led platforms or underutilized professional networks into structured, monetizable and scalable ecosystems. My work sits at the intersection of advisory platforms, alumni and executive communities, CRM-enabled workflows, recurring revenue, governance, capital formation and operating-system design.
Public bio:
Daniel Ung is a senior quantitative investment professional with expertise across asset allocation, ETFs, smart beta, portfolio construction, ESG, climate finance, and financial risk management. He currently serves as Head of Quantitative Research and Analysis for SPDR ETF Model Portfolio Solutions across EMEA and APAC at State Street Investment Management, where his work focuses on multi-asset research, ETF implementation, market regimes, and portfolio strategy.
Daniel has held senior research, strategy, and product roles across leading financial institutions, including State Street, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Barclays, and BNP Paribas Fortis Bank. His experience spans quantitative research, index design, structured products, commodities derivatives, smart beta, and investment product development.
He holds a PhD in Finance and the CFA, CAIA, CQF, and FRM designations. Daniel is also active in investment thought leadership and sustainable finance, including as co-editor of ESG Investing and Analysis: A Practitioner’s Guide.
Public bio:
Tamara Lashchyk is a former Wall Street executive turned career strategist with more than 25 years of experience navigating the high-stakes world of global finance. After decades leading and advising within major financial institutions, she now helps professionals accelerate their careers, command higher compensation, and lead with greater confidence and impact.
As a seasoned negotiator, executive advisor, and business strategist, Tamara has helped countless professionals break through barriers and create bigger opportunities. Her insights and high-impact strategies are rooted in real-world corporate experience and backed by a proven track record of success.
Tamara is the bestselling author of Lose the Gum: A Survival Guide for Women on Wall Street, Main Street, and Every Street in Between. In 2019, she received the Woman of Wall Street Award in recognition of her commitment to advancing women in financial services. Her work and insights have been featured by BBC, NBC, HuffPost, and other major media outlets.
In 2020, Tamara threw her hat into the political arena and ran for State Assembly in New York City’s District 66. While she did not win the election, the experience provided a unique perspective on the intersection of business, finance, economics, and public policy.
Whether coaching executives one-on-one, speaking on podcasts and media platforms, or creating transformational programs such as Empower Her, Master the Art of Salary Negotiations and The Money Mindset Journal, Tamara’s mission remains clear: helping people break beyond limitations, expand what they believe is possible, and create careers and lives aligned with their highest potential.
Public bio:
- Experience spanning corporate & investment banking, family offices, venture capital, and investor relations across Canada, UAE, and India.
- Currently freelance Finance & Investment Professional advising on fundraising, investment research, and financial strategy.
- Previously worked across private equity, infrastructure, and real assets investments at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, supporting $400Mn+ transactions, investment memos, and investment due diligence.
- Worked in Institutional Banking in debt syndication - capital markets focused on credit, underwriting, and risk management for corporate clients.
- Managed multi-asset portfolios exceeding $600Mn for single family offices, including public/private equity, credit, real assets, and fund manager selection.
- CFA Charterholder with an MBA.
- Strong exposure to financial modeling, investment research, fundraising, and institutional investing across global markets.
Public bio:
Mike Strug has worked in commercial real estate for over 27 years. Mike is currently with Vanadium Group, a boutique debt/equity advisor and investor based in NYC.
Mike previously worked at BlackRock within a CMBS analytics team and he has spent most of his career on the debt side of commercial real estate with some stints in acquisitions and asset management.
Mike was a bridge lender for Resource Real Estate Funding financing acquisition of valued added commercial properties nationwide. Previous lending positions for Mike include stints at IDBNY, Assurant and TIAA-CREF.
Mike graduated from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Real Estate and Finance. Mike received a BS degree in Mathematical Economics from Tulane University.
Mike is married with two kids and resides in the NYC/NJ area. However, Mike is a native Texan as he was born and raised in Houston. Before going to business school, Mike worked in commercial real estate for three years in Houston (asset management, research, debt capital markets advisory).
Mike is the ultimate networker! He is Founder and President of the Young Real Estate Professionals of New York (please see www.yrepny.org). He's active in many commercial real estate organizations, and he builds his network every day!
Mike is very passionate about paying it forward and helping college students and young professionals build solid careers. Mike has mentored or spoken to over 1,800 college (undergraduate or graduate) students over the past few years and has been a guest speaker at real estate clubs, finance clubs, business fraternities, social fraternities or classes at over 70 colleges and universities throughout his career.
Mike is on the corporate advisory board for the Goizueta Business School (Emory University). Mike is an Expert-in-Residence with the Tulane University - Freeman School of Business Career Management Center. In addition, Mike has introduced several student athletes to the BL Next Program and has become active with Scholars of Finance.
Mike is an avid athlete and kayaker and is frequently kayaking in the lakes and bays in New Jersey. He previously completed 4 marathons, 15 half marathons and 20 mini (sprint) triathlons. Twice a year, Mike completes a "Kayakathon/triathlon" (kayak/run/bike/swim/paddleboard) to raise money for cancer research.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can’t find an answer? Please send an email to [email protected]
The WSO mentor service runs at a very slight profit (~5-10% net margin) in order to help motivate amazing professionals to provide great (free) advice in the forums (many mentors have green "mentor" buttons next to their usernames) which strengthens the entire WSO community. Luckily, there is a surprising number of elite professionals within the WSO community that love giving back to motivated candidates. We also recently automated the mentor matching with an algo that helps reduce the manual work needed on the backend should a requested mentor not be available. Prices range from as low as $57 up to $997 depending on the package you purchase and the mentor you select. Given the success of our service and the number of repeat clients we have, we know that we can afford to run on thin profit margins and serve thousands of applicants. We also know that many of you will follow the advice of our mentors and invest in additional courses and/or services from WSO.
After checking out, your request will immediately be sent to the mentor you selected. You will be expected to fill our some basic information (location, industry preference, etc) along with upload a Word version of your resume in order to help the mentor decide if they feel like they are a great match. As soon as they accept (usually within ~9-12 hours), an email will be sent making an introduction. Your mentor will introduce him/herself and then proceed to review your current resume and/or offer times when you can connect for a mentor session. Over the following days, you will schedule a time that is mutually convenient for you initial phone call to go over what you need help with (mock interview, career consultation and/or both). If you would like to continue with this mentor, you can schedule more hours anywhere from 1 hour to 3+ hours with him/her over the following weeks & months.
Typically the match happens within 12hrs. If your preferred mentor has not responded within 9 hours or they indicate they can't take you on as a mentor, we will notify other top mentors that have the most in common with the mentor you selected (based on our matching algo). These backup mentors will indicate to you if they are available and you have the choice to move forward with one of them, get a refund or wait longer for your preferred mentor. If for whatever reason we cannot match you in time and/or there are no mentors that are available that you'd like to work with, we will refund your purchase in full, no questions asked.
We have an incredible team of 1,000+ dedicated mentors across top firms all around the world. Our #1 goal is to make sure you are placed in the hands of the most competent and detail-oriented professional in your specific target industry. This coupled with our strict process ensures a smooth and thorough experience. Why do we use actual professionals? The answer is simple: they are the ones ACTUALLY SCREENING APPLICATIONS for their own firms! They know what it takes to make it out of the trash pile and into the interview pile. On top of this, since we have been doing mentor sessions for over a decade across THOUSANDS of clients, we are able to immediately identify a top mentor and feed them more clients to ensure happy customers like you (due to our strict screening process). Our team includes investment bankers at all the top bulge brackets and elite boutique banks as well as private equity, hedge fund and VC professionals at the most prestigious funds. We also have reviewers at the top management consulting firms in the world, elite prop trading firms, top corporate finance roles as well as other related finance careers.
Usually these are all self-limiting beliefs, but if you're unsure if we are a good match for you, please send us a quick email to [email protected] and we can send over some bios if we think there might be a potential good match for you.
Too Young / Too Inexperienced: We do NOT recommend our mentor service until you at least have at least some relevant WORK experience that we can leverage. For the young clients out there, this means an internship, ideally in your target or related industry. If you are still in high school, it is unlikely that you have this experience. The earliest we'd recommend doing a mentor session is early freshman or early sophomore year as you prepare for summer internship recruiting. If you have no relevant experience then it probably doesn't make sense to sign up for the service. Our mentors are amazing, but they aren't magicians. If you tell us you really want to be in Investment Banking or Private Equity (for example) and everything in your background points to law or medicine, it's going to be an uphill battle. On the other hand, if you have unrelated experience but you have started the transition process by taking relevant classes and joining relevant clubs and associations, we'd love to work with you. You may not be the most competitive candidate, but we will highlight the most relevant education and functions at your current job that would translate well across industries.
Too Old / Too Experienced: We DO recommend our mentor service for more experienced professionals that are looking to make a transition or have an interview coming up. We have several very senior mentors that can answer the tough questions and make sure you are up to date on the latest trends in your target industry. However, before you move forward, we encourage you to give yourself an honest assessment. If you are looking to make the transition and have not made any steps outside of considering this mentor program, you probably aren't ready. If you've taken steps (education, new degrees, courses, etc) and feel like you're ready, we're on board and eager to help!
Yes, but if you have a negative attitude you are unlikely to have success. If you think a mentor session is an automatic referral, please don't bother to hire us.
Yes, our mentors often do refer our clients for open positions at their firms (over 20%), however, this should not be asked of our mentors to avoid a conflict of interest and it should not be expected as part of the service. It is up to you to impress the mentor if this is your goal, however, we believe you can gain much more out of the experience by being honest about your weaknesses and concerns with the mentor so there can be an open dialogue on how to improve your chances.
The only discounts are for larger packages and more hours purchased at once. This is an incredibly labor intensive 1-on-1 service using finance professionals that typically make well over $200/hr and are doing this primarily to give back.
This is a personal question and the answer is naturally subjective. If you are serious about landing a job in investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, trading, asset management, management consulting or any other competitive industry, it's more than likely that the answer to that question is a resounding "YES".
Career services advisers at your school are not screening applications for interviews...neither are your classmates. If you do happen to have a friend in the industry, are they going to take the hours necessary to give you a realistic mock interview? Odds are that their time is limited outside the office and if they do give you some guidance, it won't be as thorough as our expert mentors. If you look at the competitive nature of recruiting nowadays, why would leave your application up to chance when many of these jobs pay well over $100,000?
Join the 1,000+ candidates just like you who have already used the WSO Mentor Service
If you’re reading this, you’re here for a reason: because you want to be one of the very few who gets an an elite job and because you need help doing it. The choice really is yours. And your opportunity really is limited.
or Want to Sign up with your social account?