Dillon Weisberg

Tulane University, AB Freeman School of Business

“Amazingly Adaptable; Captivatingly Charismatic; Crazy Competitive; Dizzyingly Disciplined; Incredibly Insightful; Laudably Loyal; Resoundingly Resilient.”

Fun fact about yourself: Novice coffee roaster – developed a series of hand-roasted blends with beans from the following regions: Africa, Central/South America, and Southeastern Asia

Hometown: Westport, Connecticut

High School: Staples High School

Major: Finance

Minor: Management

Favorite Business Course: My favorite business course is the Aaron Selber Jr. Course on Distressed Debt. This course presents students with an experiential learning environment where we can develop and showcase our unique distressed debt investment theses. Additionally, Professor Yest is exceptionally engaging and knowledgeable about the field, while the mentorship component adds further depth to the course.

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

School Honors

• Dean’s List: Fall 2019 – Fall 2020 – Spring 2021 – Fall 2021 – Spring 2022 – Fall 2022

Community Work & Leadership Roles

• Independent Study (in-progress)
  • Developing an EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) module centered around financial literacy for implementation in Freeman finance curriculum
  • Integrating, in partnership with Freeman service learning, a program to promote financial literacy throughout the New Orleans charter school system
• Tulane Chapter President of First Generation Investors
• Vice President of Mentorship for the Green Bull Investment Banking Club

Extracurricular Activities

• Member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity

Where have you interned during your college career?

• The Private Wealth Partners (Fall 2018 – Summer 2019)
  • Darien, Connecticut
  • Rotational Intern
• UBS (Summer 2020)
  • New York City, NY
  • Private Wealth Intern
• ProShares (Summer 2021)
  • New York City, NY
  • Investment Strategy Intern
• Abbott Capital Management (Summer 2022)
  • New York City, NY
  • Investment Intern

Where will you be working after graduation?

• Abbott Capital Management
  • Investment Analyst

Who is your favorite business professor? My favorite business professor is Professor Mara Baumgarten-Force. In addition to serving as a mentor, Professor Baumgarten-Force has continuously driven me to challenge myself. Professor Baumgarten-Force has proven her dedication to her students and their success, whether motivating me to conduct an independent study on financial literacy in New Orleans; providing guidance and resources as a faculty advisor for The Green Bull Investment Banking Club; or encouraging me to develop a uniquely positioned hedge fund in her Aaron Selber Jr. Course on Hedge Funds class,

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? Do not let the opinions of others dissuade you from achieving your goals.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? My advice to a student looking to major in a business-related field is the following: diversify your knowledge and skillsets, gain exposure to as many different areas of business as possible; select the field you are most passionate in, trust your instinct and go with your heart; determine what it will take to get where you want to go within your passion and strive for it; never give up or get dissuaded by others; and network, network, network.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? What surprised me the most about majoring in business is that, irrespective of the vast community, it is a small world. Through networking and prior internships, I have discovered that everyone within the financial services industry is connected in some respect. This has shown me the emphasis on communication skills and, most importantly, first impressions.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? Looking back over my experience, I would not do anything differently in business school. I believe that all my missteps, for better or worse, have shaped me into the person I am today.

What business leader do you admire most? The business leader I admire most is Satya Nadella, the CEO and Executive Chairman of Microsoft. Nadella has integrated a transformational culture within Microsoft, where clear lines of communication, positive reinforcement, and a collective spirit are profoundly valued. As a result, his empathetic and vision-oriented leadership style has enabled Microsoft to excel in relation to their peers.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I am most proud of the independent study I am currently conducting. Education, specifically financial literacy, has been a passion of mine for several years. I am fortunate to serve as President of the Tulane Chapter of First Generation Investors (FGI), which allows me to merge my enthusiasm for education and fascination with financial services. The independent study will further examine financial literacy in the greater New Orleans area and aim to provide A.B. Freeman School of Business students with an experiential service learning opportunity – to tutor New Orleans charter high school students in topics including personal finance and investing fundamentals. Additionally, the study will explore the historical ramifications of financial literacy barriers in New Orleans. In doing so, we aim to implement a course module centered around our findings to provide historical context for Freeman students. I believe this study will provide long-term value to both the Freeman and New Orleans communities in allowing the university to expand its outreach to those who can benefit from it.

Which classmate do you most admire? The classmate I most admire is Matthew Greenberg. Matthew has an incredibly profound work ethic and knowledge of the financial services industry. He consistently pushes me to challenge myself and motivates me to achieve more personally and professionally. Furthermore, he is an exemplary team player and aims to uplift his peers at every opportunity.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I want to thank both of my parents for my success, particularly my mother for her unconditional love, support, and guidance, all of which have enabled me to overcome adversity in my life. She continually motivates me to be the strongest version of myself – her selflessness and caring nature have illustrated to me the importance of respect and understanding of other peoples’ perspectives and world views. I also want to thank my father, for the invaluable professional skillset he imparted on me from a young age. From the time I was a child, he has encouraged me to discover my passions and excel to the best of my ability within them. During my elementary school years, we would take daily walks with our dog and proceed to discuss the FLD (financial lesson of the day), where he would explain topics like options trading and fixed-income instruments. He always preached the value of a strong work ethic and followed up with, “while hard work is not a guarantee for success, it is typically a pre-requisite.” He has always wanted his children to exceed him in every aspect and has provided me with every available opportunity to do so.

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

• Develop a school/organization that provides underserved communities with access to educational and professional resources
• Found a Parkinson’s research foundation. For personal reasons, this is a cause that I deeply care about as people close to me have been affected by the disease

What are your hobbies?

• Playing golf and basketball
• Watching football (I am a Dallas Cowboys fan)
• Going skiing
• Watching movies (I have seen over 680 movies)

What made Dillon such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2023?

“Dillon is the embodiment of an ideal Tulane student. Not only is he a talented student, but he is passionate about giving back. He runs a financial literacy program for First Generation Investors for local high school students in addition to mentoring underclassmen at Tulane as part of our investment banking development program. He is an active force for good at Tulane and beyond.”

Peter Ricchiuti
Senior Professor of Practice
Founder and Director of the Burkenroad Reports

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