Michael Battat

Emory University, Goizueta Business School

“NJB who laughs at his own jokes and eats way too much ice cream.”

Fun fact about yourself: I won a silver medal as a member of the USA Track and Field team at the 2017 Maccabiah Games.

Hometown: Woodbridge, CT

High School: Amity Regional High School

Major: Finance

Favorite Business Courses: Entrepreneurial Private Equity, Business Law, Global Macroeconomic Perspectives

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

Activities

• Goizueta Finance Group, President
• Goizueta Investment Management Group, President
• Sophomore Finance Academy, Co-Director
• Career Management Center, Lead Coach
• Emory Student Ambassadors, Tour Guide & Orientation Leader
• Teaching Assistant (Financial Statement Analysis, Global Macroeconomic Perspectives, Corporate Finance, Venture Capital & Private Equity, Business Economics)
• Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Member

Honors

• 100 Senior Honorary
• Dean’s List
• Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society
• Phi Eta Sigma First-Year Honor Society

Where have you interned during your college career?

• Perella Weinberg Partners (New York, NY), Investment Banking Summer Analyst
• Invesco (Atlanta, GA), Alternatives & Institutional Strategy Summer Analyst
• Heritage Capital (Woodbridge, CT), Summer Analyst

Where will you be working after graduation? After graduation, I am very excited to return to Perella Weinberg Partners as an analyst.

What company do you admire the most? The company I most admire is Traveland, a full-service travel company owned by my dad and his two brothers. In its 42 years of existence, Traveland has demonstrated how siblings can harmoniously work together in business and succeed. It has been able to thrive in an extremely competitive market by reinventing itself multiple times over the years to meet the demands of today’s travelers. Growing up alongside Traveland and watching my dad’s devotion taught me a lot about the importance of relationships and inspired my strong work ethic.

Who is your favorite professor? I have had many fantastic professors at Emory, but often our relationships exist solely within the classroom. Dr. Jeffrey Rosensweig is an exception, taking an invested interest in his students by cultivating out-of-class relationships and dialogue. Seemingly in everyone’s braintrust, Dr. Rosensweig is well connected and has shared with me opportunities to hear from and engage with leaders in environmental activism, international trade, and the C-suite.

What did you enjoy most about your business school? A great paradox exists at Goizueta. Our courses are graded on a curve such that only a finite number of students can achieve each letter grade; however, I have found the culture to be one that champions collaboration versus competitiveness. Disclaimer: this is not an advertisement for Goizueta — rather, it is my candid experience and I believe it would be echoed by many of my peers. Goizueta’s collaborative ethos is encapsulated by the little things that students do not think twice about, such as creating study guides together and mock interviewing one another. Our culture is what I most enjoyed and appreciated.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? Relationships are integral. I have learned from studying business the link between the ways in which we interact, motivate, and respect each other and an organization’s success. I think it is vital to recognize that hard skills can only get you so far. It is equally as important to maintain strong relationships and to treat others with respect as it is to be proficient in Excel.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Business underscores everything: whether one’s passion is nonprofit work, pharmaceuticals, or government, there exists an intersection with business. I am fortunate to graduate with a BBA while maintaining a firm foundation in the liberal arts due to Emory’s requirement of two years of undergraduate liberal arts study. Not only do Goizueta students participate in a rigorous business curriculum, but they get to survey multiple disciplines that give them inspiration for ways in which they can apply it.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? Ironically, I was surprised to learn in my first year at Emory that investment banking does not have much to do with investing or cashing checks. Funny how that worked out.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? My portfolio of articles on Seeking Alpha. I think you technically have to be 18 to write, but I started at 17 (shh). I still remember running downstairs with excitement to show my parents my first published article. 47 articles later, it is rewarding to see improvement both linguistically and in the depth of my analysis. As an investment banking analyst, I can no longer write for Seeking Alpha, but I look forward to continually honing my communication and analytical skills at Perella Weinberg Partners.

Which classmate do you most admire? I admire all my classmates who are studious and involved in the Emory community, yet lighthearted and humble. Josh Papson is characterized by each of the previous, which is why I respect him so much. He also appreciates a good finance meme, which is what I look for in a friend.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I have two amazing parents for whom I am extraordinarily thankful. While my definition of success is rather amorphous and I am not sure if I will ever be able to crystallize it, I know my life has been shaped in large part by my parents. They offer mountains of support and have afforded me more opportunities than I probably deserve. And when I think about my work ethic, temperament and values, I realize the apple does not fall far from the tree.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

• Work in another country
• Take my own company public

What are your hobbies?

• I enjoy traveling, a good cup of coffee, watching SNL, cooking and getting shouted at while taking a Peloton class.

What made Michael such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2020?

“Michael Battat is the living embodiment of the qualities we hope to find in a BBA student. He is a serious scholar who stands in the top 5% of the class, a dedicated leader who serves as President of the largest club in the School, and a consummate professional who has made the most of every opportunity while simultaneously adding enormous value to the organizations he serves.  As a lead career coach, he readily devotes enormous time and energy into sharing financial services recruiting insights so that others may follow in his path.  During his tenure heading up the Goizueta Finance Group, he augmented our Banking Academy, enhanced junior summer IB preparation, and created partnerships with other clubs across the school. Michael pairs his accomplishments with a quick wit, an easy camaraderie, and a willingness to pitch in whenever needed that has earned him the respect of not only his peers but also our faculty and staff.

In the words of his favorite professor, Jeff Rosensweig, “I have taught at Emory, and briefly at MIT and Yale, for 32 years.   Michael Battat is the first BBA I have chosen as my TA.  Why?  He has truly exceptional IQ and EQ, exhibiting technical brilliance, teamwork, integrity, maturity, communication skill, and a can-do spirit.”

Andrea Hershatter
Sr. Associate Dean and BBA Program Director

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