Corporate
Culture Scholarship

When we communicate with our visitors or audience, we seek to teach them fundamental truths and ideas to make quality and thoughtful decisions. We seek to make our listeners more effective, efficient, and happy. The finance culture is often a rude and greedy place. Confusion is encouraged to protect profits. The Investor’s Podcast Network creates the exact opposite culture and community. When people listen to the podcast or visit any TIP Network webpage, they know it’s unbiased and putting the listener first.

THE 2023 CORPORATE CULTURE SCHOLAR

Egor Purlats is a graduate student from the University of Calgary, specializing in the field of petroleum engineering. He is deeply committed to personal development, engaging in seminars, master classes, and educational reading. Likewise, he finds fulfillment in sharing his knowledge by working as a Teaching Assistant, and volunteering to teach his native language to undergraduate students and those in need. His passion for innovative activities is also evident through his involvement in co-founding startups and creativity development programs, grant writing, and pitch competitions.

For him, an organization’s corporate culture is defined by the individuals within the company, highlighting the importance of bringing one’s best self, supporting colleagues, and contributing positively to the team’s development. Egor believes that a strong team is built on shared beliefs, discipline, and collective determination, creating a solid corporate spirit.

PREVIOUS CORPORATE CULTURE SCHOLARS

2022: LUKE

Luke has been an avid listener of We Study Billionaires since 2017 which propelled his interest in pursuing a career in investing. Fast forward to May 2021, he graduated Magna Cum Laude (3.95/4.0 GPA) from Penn State University with a degree in Finance and African Studies. He has also recently been accepted for Master of Computer Science program at The University of Pennsylvania. He is currently working at JMP Securities in New York City as an Equity Research Associate.

For Luke, the ideal work environment is one that encourages innovation, individuality, and camaraderie. With this in mind, he ultimately prefers to work for a smaller company down the line. He believes that smaller companies tend to be more like family – relationships are more genuine and everyone shares the same vision. Furthermore, they openly embrace creativity, accept employee differences, and create meaningful relationships alongside operating efficiently and generating profits to build a successful business together.

2021: CINDY CHEN

Cindy Chen is a full-time student of the Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences (QMSS) Master of Arts degree program at Columbia University. Alongside her studies, she continues to be a fervent advocate for women’s advancement. She currently serves as a Youth Committee Member of the Board of Directors of hEr VOLUTION, a non-profit that creates coding and leadership training for young women and girls in underserved communities of Toronto. In addition, she is also a part-time research assistant at the Western University’s Centre for Research and Education in Violence Against Women and Children (CREVAWC).

Having been involved in volunteer work for several years, Cindy’s ideal workplace culture is one that emphasizes a collaborative and collegial atmosphere. The organization should also enthusiastically embrace its employees’ professional and personal development, thereby creating a nurturing and positive work environment.

2020: EMILY RAMDHANY

Emily is a diligent working student. She is taking up her Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Columbia University, and at the same time working as a Graduate Analyst at BTS. In her free time, she volunteers at organizations like enCourage Kids and Sloan Kettering concerned with cancer research, a cause close to her heart as multiple family members have passed away due to the deadly disease. She also mentors undergraduate students in the organizational psychology space with career advice, hosting career panels, and networking opportunities, trying to pay it forward as many of her mentors did for her.

Her ideal firm is a small, mid-sized management consultancy where the culture of collaboration and openness can be fostered. This is apparent in her extracurricular activities at work, where she leads a program designed to teach new, young professionals through multiple, educational breakout groups, the basics of behavior change, change management, and the methodologies around facilitating this at work. Knowing that she may have helped make someone’s experience at work or school become an ounce calmer, more energizing, and less daunting means the world to her. Helping others is a bigger activity of hers that has been at the core of everything she does.

2019: RACHAEL SUDDS

Rachael Sudds was our 2019 Corporate Culture Scholar. She grew up in Belleville, Ontario, an area with one of the highest urban child poverty rate in Canada. At a young age of 12, she was very much aware of their financial situation and resolved to become self-reliant to ease the burden in the family. She did her best to support herself, even if it meant temporarily taking time off school to find employment in order to pay for her secondary education.

With hard work and perseverance, Rachael is now a fourth-year commerce student at Queen’s University. She is the Head Manager of Oil Thigh Designs, a student-run non-profit organization whose proceeds are donated to their chosen charities every year. Alongside her studies and extra-curricular activities, she is also a Partnership Coordinator for a tech start-up, DocuPet. As a student employee, she believes that having a corporate vision, encouraging connectedness, communication and diversity among employees, in addition to providing employees perceived control and progress, are the key factors for a successful corporate culture.

2018: KAVITA KADIAMADA

Kavita Kadiamada was our 2018 Corporate Culture Scholar. She was a Senior at the University of the Pacific, taking up a degree in Biological Sciences. Before entering the university, Kavita has spent her summers shadowing and assisting doctors in Mexico and India, where her parents are from. Having been exposed to the healthcare system in different countries, she now aspires to be a physician who can treat patients in need with utmost care and competence in the future.

She works as a part-time tutor to local high school students, and a scribe in their local hospital, as her way of financing her education. Her ideal work culture is focusing on the employees’ happiness, positivity, motivation, and holistic health that will in turn manifest in the proper treatment and recovery of their hospital patients.

2017: ROSLYN

Roslyn was our 2017 Corporate Culture Scholar. She lives in Vancouver, Canada. Her passion lies in studying businesses, entrepreneurs, and the securities markets. When she’s not focused on writing brilliant academic papers and insightful analyses, Roslyn takes time off to check out the episodes of The Investors Podcast Network.

She particularly enjoys the episodes featuring Hari Ramachandra and Monish Pabrai. Roslyn also admires the teamwork of Stig and Preston as well as their efforts to foster a culturally diverse work environment.