Spring 2025 Site Visit Program: San Francisco

S&P Global

S&P Global is one of the most influential companies in the financial sphere, known for providing essential data, analytics, and insights across industries. The site visit was hosted by Alán Bonilla GS ‘03 (Director at S&P Global Ratings, Sustainable Finance) and featured a panel with Bonilla, Christian Arellano (Senior Manager, Sales, S&P Global Market Intelligence), and Chris Frank (Director, S&P Global Ratings, Corporate Technology). 

Employer Insights

Bonilla and Frank spoke candidly about their nonlinear career paths. Frank discussed the difficulties of job seeking during the 2008 financial crisis and what he learned from working jobs he didn’t like. Bonilla reflected on his experience coming to Columbia after community college and studying history, his unexpected road into finance, and how his experience as a social impact investor convinced him to seek out work he believed could affect positive social change.

The panelists discussed trends in the industry, especially recommending that students continue to learn how they can use AI to make themselves smarter and savvier candidates. They also all emphasized the importance of storytelling — of developing your story, putting yourself out there, and embracing what makes you interesting. As Bonilla said, “When I’m interviewing someone I want to know about who that person is, the whole person you bring to the workplace.” 

The panelists also encouraged students to seek experiences beyond the expected steps and to embrace your twenties as a time to explore and take risks in your career. Frank recommended building a “robust information gathering routine” to keep informed and interested in your industry of choice.

Student Takeaways

• “Our visit to S&P Global introduced me to the world of finance in a more data-driven and analytical way. Observing how professionals analyze markets, assess risk, and influence global economic decisions gave me a fresh appreciation for the finance sector and helped me connect it to the kind of work I might enjoy in the future.” — Naser CC ’28
• “The thread of storytelling was first shared by Chris [Frank], and from then on emerged in the majority of our conversations in the remainder of the week. I am closely intrigued with the learning and human-ness of storytelling […] but only recently realized the power storytelling holds in the spaces of career aspirations, running a business, and networking.” — Lucie SEAS ’27

Bain Capital Ventures

As the venture capital arm of Bain Capital, Bain Capital Ventures invests in startups and companies from inception until the company is acquired or goes public. BCV has completed almost 300 investments, with 93 successful exits, focusing on companies in the commerce, financial technology, app, and infrastructure spaces. Our visit to Bain Capital Ventures was hosted by Kevin Zhang CC ’14 (Partner) and Angela Liu CC ’21 (Investor). 

Employer Insights

Zhang and Liu discussed different career paths that can lead to venture capital, including working in investment banking or private equity and consulting prior to moving into VC. Zhang urged students to gain as much experience as possible in college, learning through this experience what makes a business great; and to take the time to connect with fellow students, as peer-to-peer relationships will pay off down the line. Liu discussed the benefits of working for a consulting or private equity firm to learn about standardized systems and to familiarize yourself with an industry before moving into VC or your industry of interest directly. She also encouraged students to look to young alumni who have recently completed recruitment processes as resources.

Student Takeaways

• “Angela and Kevin’s personal stories, both starting their careers in finance, then consulting, and finally landing in venture capital showed me that I do not have to pick one career. Kevin’s valuable advice that a career is a lifetime of exploration further solidified these observations.” — Izzy CC ’27
• “Kevin’s question, ‘What is the good life?’ — echoing themes from our Contemporary Civilization classes — really stuck with me. I found myself asking this to the alumni I met […]. Their answers typically revolved around three themes: happiness, legacy, and impact. Interestingly, as people grew older or gained more experience, happiness tended to take center stage. These conversations reminded me that career decisions don’t exist in a vacuum — they’re deeply tied to our evolving sense of purpose, and fuels us to go above and beyond.” — Tanush CC ’27

Kikoff

Kikoff is a financial technology startup founded to make building credit easier. The open floor plan of Kikoff’s first floor office space was a testament to the collaborative, non-hierarchical values of the company. Kikoff currently is supported by 120 team members, but the startup is always hiring recent graduate engineers and currently has job openings in marketing. 

The site visit was hosted by Cynthia Chen CC ’04 (Kikoff Co-Founder and CEO) and featured short presentations by:

• Jane Fan BC ’11 (Head of Finance)
• Matthew Cheng SEAS ’22 (Product Manager)
• Varalika Mahanjan GSAS ‘23 (Data Scientist, Analytics)
• Sen Lin SEAS ‘15 (Senior Software Engineer)
• Hayley Karsting (Recruiting Manager)

Employer Insights

Several speakers mentioned the difference between working for a startup (like Kikoff) and a larger, more established tech company. Cheng emphasized that, as a product manager at a startup, he is able to take direct ownership of projects and affect larger changes. Lin echoed this sentiment: while a big tech company can offer standardized processes and good work-life balance, your impact will often be much narrower, and any changes will take much longer to implement. Employees at startups, on the other hand, must manage various projects, actively define their roles, and take ownership of changes that can have major consequences for the company. Fan spoke to the specificity of working at a startup from the finance side, noting how managing so many kinds of finance work enables her to keep learning and to see her work having direct impact.

Varalika discussed how working as a data scientist combines the skills of a software engineer, a statistics & analytics professional, and product manager in ways she finds exciting. She recommended that students take courses from professors who are also working professionals in the industry, and to consider marketing data science or other marketing roles if you’re interested in tech but don’t have that many technical skills.

Student Takeaways

• “I particularly enjoyed the visit to Kikoff — it is the first time I was able to truly experience the startup culture and hear directly from the CEO. […] I was able to understand the real day-to-day difficulties of beginning a company, from finding a co-founder, to pitching to VCs, to actually bringing the product to market and expanding.” — Riju SEAS ’26
• “The site visits helped me realize that my interests align more closely with smaller to mid-sized companies where I can have broader impact across different functions. The startup environment at Kikoff, where team members contributed to strategy discussions regardless of their specific role, resonated with my desire for varied work experiences.” — Carl CC ’26

Alation 

On Tuesday, we traveled to Redwood City to visit Alation’s offices. Alation is a global leader in data cataloguing and intelligence, helping enterprises find, understand, and trust data. The site visit was hosted by Satyen Sangari CC ’97 (CEO and Co-Founder of Alation). Midway through the visit, Satyen was joined by Jake Magner (Senior Director of Product) and Greg Sands (Founding & Managing Partner, Costanoa Ventures; Alation’s first investor).

Employer Insights

Satyen described the challenging process of founding a startup, including meeting with over 70 engineers before finding his co-founder, raising money with no product, and problem-solving for over two years before bringing Alation to market. Satyen said even over a decade later, problem-solving is still at the core of how he learns and how Alation grows. The full panel discussed how their career paths have not been linear or expected; at the same time, they have gradually moved into jobs that align more and more with their interests. The group emphasized building meaningful relationships, cultivating what makes you distinctive, and viewing your career journey as an opportunity for growth and development rather than a direct path to one destination.

Student Takeaways

• “One of the most memorable parts of the trip was meeting the CEOs of Alation and Kikoff. Hearing directly from these leaders about their journeys — how they built their companies, faced setbacks, and ultimately found success — was incredibly motivating. Their candid insights reminded me of the importance of adaptability, perseverance, and a clear sense of mission in any career path.” — Naser CC ’28
• “I related to [Sangani’s] feeling of not knowing what to do after college, and was inspired that with enough hard work and pursuing what you enjoy that eventually it would all work out. I also liked hearing about how his prior experiences in finance and at Oracle came back to help him when he founded his own company, and instilled in to keep a sense of open-mindedness and willingness to do something non-traditional, since you never know what information or skills will come in useful in the future.” — Riju SEAS ’26

Intuit

Tuesday afternoon took us to Intuit’s sprawling tech campus in Mountain View. Intuit is a multinational company specializing in financial software. The visit began with a panel discussion led by Manny Duenas (Senior University Recruiter) and featuring: 

• Laky Li (Staff Product Manager)
• Emma Wang (Product Manager 2)
• Tianyi Zhang (Software Engineer 1)
• Mariah Turner (Staff Communications Manager)
• Geli Chan (Marketing Manager 2)

After the panel and a networking session, Tim Jiang (Software Engineer 2) gave us an office tour, showing the group several buildings on the campus including a cafe, gym, tennis courts, and more.

Employer Insights

Li and Wang discussed how no one day is the same when working as a Product Manager, as you’re often managing a series of different projects and working across teams. Chan mentioned the importance of building a narrative in order to pitch and market a product and of communicating effectively about complex problems. Even Zhang, who spends much of her time as a software engineer coding, remarked that, rather than just a secondary “soft skill,” concise and persuasive communication is crucial to the work as you’re so rarely working on a project entirely alone. The panel also discussed how they are incorporating AI into their work, including as a way to mock up products and speed up processes.

Student Takeaways

• “Talking to employers at Kikoff, Alation, and Intuit, I realized that ownership over my daily work attracted me more than repeated daily tasks. With this revelation, I realized that roles like Software Engineer, Product Manager, and even Startup Founder were roles I want to strive for.” — Isabella Lasarov CC ’28
• “I was delighted by the breadth of product managers that we spoke with, from Matthew at Kikoff, to Emma and Laky at Intuit, and Annie at Google. Seeing how their work varies in intensity and focus with different types of tech product and companies at different sizes and stages, as well as their choices and recommendations to lead to product was insightful, as I am excited to pursue product recruiting for internships and beyond.” — Lucie SEAS ’27

Google

Our final site visit took us to Google’s San Francisco satellite office where we met up with Annie Ma-Weaver CC ’09 (Group Product Manager, Google Cloud) and James Lam (Head of Services Partnerships). Over a casual tour of the office space and lunch from Google’s canteen, students were able to ask Ma-Weaver and Lam questions about breaking into tech, managing products for such a large company, and work-life balance.

Student Insights

• “I was particularly impressed by Google’s incredible office environment as it truly embodied the innovation and creativity the company is known for.” — Annie CC ’27
• “One surprising moment came during the Google visit, where the alumni shared that they had come from a consulting and finance background before joining the big tech. Initially, this seemed counterintuitive—Google is often associated with engineers and computer scientists—but hearing how they translated skills from seemingly unrelated fields into their current role helped me better understand the dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of the tech ecosystem. It reminded me that career paths aren’t linear, and that a wide range of experiences can feed into success in a tech environment.” — Jack GS ’28

Chronicle Books

Chronicle Books is an independent publisher based in San Francisco. They specialize in books with unique visual elements, including children’s books, cookbooks, games, and, more, working with independent artists and designers as well as with companies such as LEGO, Disney, Marvel, and Studio Ghibli on licensed products. Our site visit consisted of a designer presentation and an office tour.

Employer Insights

The designers identified three main values in their work: joy, irreverence, and craft. They also discussed how collaboration is core to so much of their work. Whether liaising with outside artists to develop a new idea for a children’s book or managing a relationship with a major company like LucasFilm, communication, teamwork, and project management are essential to bring a product to completion. 

Student Takeaways

• “My biggest takeaway is that I personally don’t think an intensely corporate office life is for me. I preferred the Chronicle Books visit because the creative energy and more casual company culture appealed to me the most.” — Julie CC ’28
• “My time at Chronicle Books made me curious about the creative side of product marketing, like how design and user experience play such a big role in a product’s success. It made me realize that I need to think about the bigger picture when it comes to product development.” — Vanessa CC ’27 

West Coast Honors

This year, the cohort was invited to attend West Coast Honors, an awards ceremony recognizing exceptional Columbia College alumni for their professional achievements and service to the College. The 2025 San Francisco ceremony recognized Satyen Sangani CC ’97, Co-Founder and CEO at Alation, with the Spirit of Creativity & Innovation Award and Wanda M. Holland Greene CC ’89, TC ’91, TC ’21, Head of School at The Hamlin School, with the Trailblazer Award. The cohort attended the ceremony and networked with the awardees and other West Coast-based alumni.

• “My various conversations with alumni engaged in a plethora of industries during the West Coast Honors event also confirmed that my present choices will not define my entire career, but are rather a small step in a journey of exploration.” — Izzy CC ’27
• “The West Coast Honors event stood out as a highlight; in the past, also familiar and comfortable with 1:1 coffee chats and public speaking, I had found the exercise of organic networking slightly daunting, and felt myself surprised at how I hesitated at alumni networking events. However, that evening, along with the rest of the programming, broke the ice for me, because even though I was in an environment with several new faces, the prior site visits had built my confidence and fluency in engaging in these interactions.” — Lucie SEAS ’27
• “There’s a unique energy on the West Coast—especially in the Bay Area—that’s hard to put into words. It’s fast-paced, optimistic, and full of people building things that matter. I especially felt this at the West Coast Honors Event, where I met many young alumni who are already making a mark in the tech and entrepreneurship space. Their energy, drive, and humility made a strong impression on me.” — Tanush CC ’27

Cohort Connections

Beyond the site visits themselves, students bonded as a cohort. The program officially began with a welcome dinner on Sunday evening, and group dinners in the evenings provided space for students to reflect and relax together. The cohort took advantage of their freetime, especially an extended free period built into Thursday’s schedule, to explore San Francisco for themselves, visiting the Golden Gate bridge and walking along the beach. 

Many students identify the cohort experience as one of the most meaningful parts of the SVP.

• “While we left San Francisco and returned to NYC, the program did not end for me there. I will stay in touch with the cohort, particularly my peers; in fact, we have already shared a few lunches together, and it is simply pleasant to run into a familiar person when on campus.” — Anna GS ’26
• “I cannot imagine a better way to have explored San Francisco for the first time other than through this CCE Site Visit Program. My uncertainty about my experience in a new city vanished after the first dinner with the cohort, because I felt a sense of community. […] The daily dinners together fostered mingling, while the different cuisines spiced up the moments and catalyzed appreciation of cultures.” — Lucky CC ’28