Mark Romarate

Manager

The people I work with are very intelligent and motivated, the work is interesting with the ability to work internationally.

I grew up in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, NSW. I attended high school at Marist College North Shore and completed my Undergraduate and Post-Graduate studies at SCU.

What does your employer do?

KPMG Strategy is the strategy consulting arm of KPMG Australia focusing on Growth Strategy, Operations & Cost Strategy, Enterprise Strategy, Deal Strategy & Digital Strategy. Globally it is part of KPMG's Global Strategy Group.

What are your areas of responsibility?

I work within our M&A Deal Advisory, specializing in integration and separation. My role involves advising clients on acquisitions, carve-outs, joint ventures and divestitures.

Some of the key elements of my role are:

M&A Integration/Separation Due Diligence
Synergy and Cost assessments
Day-1 Planning and Deal Execution
Post-Close Implementation and Transformation
Change Management and Performance Tracking

Can you describe a typical work day?

A typical work day can vary from project to project, but as a general rule of thumb, when you are on a project you can expect a number of internal and external (client) meetings during the day, some of these meetings may be longer workshops looking to understand a business, function or deal. In between these, you may be working on presentations, analysing data, or conducting research. Outside of this, you can expect to be supported with pitches and presentations for other pieces of work.

What sort of person succeeds in your career?

Someone who can operate confidently in ambiguity and can confidently lead projects and deal with a number of stakeholders.

What are the career prospects with your job?

Internally you can progress through the firm to become an equity partner, outside of this consultants tend to move to the industry and regularly take on roles working directly for some of their previous clients. There is also the ability to grow your career internationally as the skills are transferrable globally.

What do you love the most about your job?

The people I work with are very intelligent and motivated, the work is interesting with the ability to work internationally.

What do you like least about your job?

Work-life balance can be challenging at certain peak times.

What three pieces of advice would you give to a current university student?

Don't leave things to the last minute if you don't have to
Proof read your work twice (I'm still working on this)
Make sure you balance some fun in with all the study!

Southern Cross University acknowledges and pays respect to the ancestors, Elders and descendants of the Lands upon which we meet and study. We are mindful that within and without the concrete and steel of buildings these Lands always were and always will be Aboriginal Land.