An important contributor to the MSBA program is local entrepreneur, Bill Neill of Carex Consulting Group. Bill sponsored a spring 2023 consulting project team and served on a panel last February, sharing his valuable insights with students interested in pursuing careers in consulting.
Bill attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with a start on the finance track. After deciding that wasn’t for him, he took a job in IT consulting to gain experience. He loved that IT consulting was an intellectual challenge that allowed him to work with customers, travel, and explore new systems and processes. Bill consulted at Epic and at Nordic Consulting before founding his own firm (Carex) to serve the larger IT space in Madison. In only seven years after founding Carex, he now has over 100 staff members and employees in 10 different states!
Busy, Yet Balanced
Bill’s typical workday starts around 9:00 am after he gets his six kids off to school and handed to the nanny. He then works with leaders in his firm to advance their goals around production, company brand building, sales targets, and strategic partnerships. Bill says that “no two days are the same but usually about half the day is meeting and half is networking, heads down work, and impromptu jam session.” After wrapping up around 4:30, he relieves the nanny and can start playing with his kids! In his free time, Bill enjoys seeing his family, watching YouTube Tools channel, video gaming, and “pretending to be a farmer” on his 12 acres.
Mentoring
For Bill, the best part about mentoring students has been their intelligence and energy. “It’s so fun to be part of a group of highly motivated, smart, and cutting-edge people who unselfishly advance the group goals. I wish all work could be like that!”
Advice for the Next Generation
For graduates going forward as they navigate their careers, Bill advises to “have fun while working! You spend about one-third of your life sleeping (eight hours per day) about one-third of your life working and the rest of the time doing other things. Since work represents most of your waking hours, you gotta enjoy the ride. Success will come if you’re doing the right things and having fun doing it!”
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