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Feb 26, 2024

Exploratory Networking in Prague, Czech Republic – The Intersection of Finance, Healthcare, and Business: Collaboration Throughout 

Will Ballenger, Class of 2025

I initially thought of networking with professionals across sectors as no more than “extra” for my trip to Prague, Czech Republic, the week of February 12th. I was eagerly awaiting an experimental finance conference, but upon unforeseen cancellation, outreach quickly became my focus. I utilized the contacts I made prior along with Kenan-Flagler’s intranet to secure ten coffee chats during my stay. Feeling as if the majority of my previous networking efforts as a college student revolved around internship recruiting, I knew that this was my chance to seize the perfect experiential opportunity, characterized by three main tenets: 

  1. Knowing that I am not recruiting anymore, treat every conversation as a valuable experience that fosters learning and open-mindedness, not as transactional 
  1. Relatedly, take initiative to meet with professionals in unfamiliar fields, not only to gain new perspectives, but to embody the overarching theme of the LHS program: cross-sector collaboration (CSC) 
  1. Get outside of my comfort zone by immersing myself in a brand-new culture 

Kristyna Hermanovak: UNC alumnus, Biomedical Engineering Major. Kristyna brought up an exemplary example of CSC in her field (healthcare); from her, I learned that proton therapy has a big business/economic debate around it, as it is an advanced form of radiotherapy with several advantages over classic photon radiotherapy, but is expensive. In the Czech Republic, it is paid for by public healthcare, so there is no difference for patients economically. So far, patient division happens fairly organically. However, a more centralized division of patients and resources would be beneficial. The Health Technology Assessment helps European insurance companies assess if newly available health technology warrants payment by public funds. 

Crossing over to finance, I met with Frantisek Cech: PhD in Financial Econometrics at Charles University. Frantisek impressed me with his genuineness. As a current educator, his biggest goal is to be straightforward with his students. Frantisek’s decertation was on commodity asset prices and using state of the art quantile regression techniques for the stock market, looking at government futures, etc., with the bottom line being risk modeling. Frantisek has won the National Bank of Slovakia Governor Award twice, has several journal publications, and plans to continue working at the intersection of research/academia. 

My most marketing-esque, public-to-private sector coffee chat was with Maren Brown: UNC alumnus. Maren works for Bell Flight. She first wanted to be an international lawyer, which transformed over time, leading to her diplomatic liaison-like role. Maren taught me about the procurement process across countries for helicopters with public tender and proposals, ministry vs. high-profile customers, and evolving sanctions. Maren’s example of CSC was militaries like the US being key customers, and admirable joint-initiatives with nonprofits, like the Ukraine government contracting Bell for search-and-rescue helicopters. 

Unfortunately, I did not have space to highlight all of my coffee chats. Thus, I picked those that seemed most comprehensive. However, I will conclude with an overview, and my full notes are available by request via me or LHS. 

From this experience, my biggest takeaway was realizing the power of embracing diversity in perspectives and career paths. Every coffee chat offered a unique lens into different industries, reinforcing the importance of CSC in navigating today’s complex business environment. As we continue to shape our professional journeys, let’s remain open to new opportunities, recognizing that true innovation often arises at the intersection of diverse disciplines – I might say now that it’s never too late to pivot. In closing, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to embark on this enriching journey. I extend my sincere thanks to the LHS program for their funding and support. 

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