This summer I had the opportunity to intern at Stanton Chase, a global executive search and
leadership consulting firm, in its Washington, D.C. office led by alumnus Jeff Perkins (’89). I worked as a Business Development Associate alongside two fellow interns, Luke Purichia and Konner Chase. Our work supported the firm’s business development and gave me exposure to industries including pharmaceuticals and life sciences, hospitals and health systems, financial services, technology, and nonprofit organizations.
Much of my summer went into client prep briefs. Before a managing director met with a prospective client, I researched the organization’s leadership team, board, recent news, and open executive roles, then turned that research into a five-page brief. To speed up that process, I wrote an AI prompt that consultants now run on their own, cutting brief preparation from one to two hours down to 10 to 20 minutes. I also sourced and graded candidates for three active searches and relaunched the firm’s newsletter to more than 700 clients and candidates after three years dormant.
Our capstone project as interns was a presentation to the D.C. office evaluating AI tools for business development. We recommended Granola and Metaview along with the client prep prompt I had written.
The most important lesson I learned this summer was how much the research matters before a search ever begins. Finding information is the easy part. The real skill is understanding what it means: whether a company is likely to need outside help and what a managing director should lead with.
Through the Center of Innovation, Business, and Entrepreneurship at Wabash College, I was able to extend my time with Stanton Chase and continue to gain real-world experience with Stanton Chase.
Through this, I now hold my own office hours for consultants to join whenever they need any help throughout the week.
I am grateful to Jeff Perkins (’89), Abbey Conner, the Stanton Chase D.C. team, and Wabash for making this experience possible. This summer gave me a clearer picture of the direction I want to take my career.
