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Laird Strauss 3209 IH-35 South,
#1031 Austin, TX
78741 (512)
417-8146 |
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Education: |
The University of Texas, McCombs School of
Business (Austin,
TX) Master of Business
Administration Concentration in Finance, Specialization in Energy
Finance, GMAT 720, GPA 3.80 Emily Isbell Blunk Endowed Scholarship in Finance,
Jack G. Taylor Memorial Scholarship |
May
2003 |
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Relevant Coursework: |
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Financial
Risk Management (for energy)
(comprehensive study of energy derivatives/risk management tools including
VAR, CVAR; modeling and risk simulations such as Monte Carlo simulations;
use of risk management and option pricing software including @Risk and
Derivagem) ·
Financial
Strategies (for energy)
(all-inclusive study of energy industry-specific corporate finance; Study
of issues involved in energy asset valuation including real options,
impact of hedging on asset value) | |
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Tufts University (Medford, MA)
February 1997 B.A. in Spanish, Minor in Latin American
Studies Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, Dean’s Prize, GPA
3.86
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Experience: |
3M (Santa Cruz,
Bolivia)
Summer 2002 Oil Absorbent Strategy
Consultant ·
Arranged and
led meetings with executives from Shell, British Petroleum, and
Repsol-YPF, to assess their oil absorbent needs and discuss 3M’s product
offerings. Helped boost 3M oil absorbent sales by 100% during second half
of year. ·
Analyzed
financial viability of plan to create shared oil absorbent repository for
major oil firms ·
Created
action plan for project execution supported by quantitative and
qualitative analysis and presented to 3M senior management.
Recommendations led 3M to avoid costly unilateral project
implementation | |
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Petroleum Argus (Houston, TX)
July 1998
– July 2001 Industry Analyst/U.S. Products Editor
(8/00-7/01) Industry Analyst/Market Reporter
(7/98-7/00) ·
Held sole
responsibility for generating residual fuel oil price index tied to
long-term contracts worth $3,000,000-$5,000,000 on a daily basis.
Principal private and state-owned oil companies, traders, and utilities
including Florida Power & Light, Con Edison, Ecopetrol, and El Paso
Energy linked contracts to index ·
Provided
refined oil product inventory forecasts to industry decision-makers. One
of the first to warn industry of regionalized gasoline price spikes of
third quarter 2000 ·
Led
four-person team on US Products Report modernization projects including
drive to update report methodology to fit new level of market
liquidity ·
Designed and
launched “BTU Bottom Line” sub-report, providing traders with spark spread
comparison for residual fuel oil, distillates, natural gas, and
coal | |
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News Review (Santiago, Chile)
June 1997 – February 1998 Political Correspondent ·
Produced over
ten news features on Chilean politics every week ·
Managed work
of junior reporter. Set work priorities, delegated tasks, and provided
performance feedback. | |
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Duarte Vivas
& Asociados Commodities Trading
(Caracas, Venezuela)
Summer 1996 Cocoa Department Intern ·
Launched
spreadsheet system to track cocoa purchases by office and grade of cocoa,
leading to improved subsidiary office performance
tracking ·
Implemented
client invoice system, including itemizing and documenting, checking, and
recording subcontractor service fees | |
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Additional: |
McCombs Business School ·
Energy
Finance Group ·
“Global
Quotient” competition, second place 2002, 2003 Professional ·
WB39
Television News (Houston), appearance as gasoline industry
analyst |
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