Donor Profile: James Profestas EMPA ’14

James Profestas EMPA ’14 is head of special situations at Alta Fox Capital Management. Previously he worked at various investment funds, including Verition Fund Management, Junson Capital, Litespeed Partners, and Huff Asset Management, as well as in the Portfolio Management Group at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and in Morgan Stanley’s Fixed Income Division.

He received a BA in economics from Boston University, a diploma of credit analysis from New York University, an MBA in finance from Cornell University, and an EMPA in international finance and economic policy from SIPA.

Profestas serves as a mentor for SIPA students and as a member of the Columbia Alumni Global Sustainability Network and the Columbia University Club of New York’s Board of Governors. He previously served on SIPA’s Alumni Association Board and cochaired its Admissions Ambassadors Committee, and was a member of the Career and Mentoring Committee and Columbia’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing.

The following conversation with SIPA Magazine has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Why did you decide to attend SIPA, having already completed your MBA?

I felt, especially going back to the Great Recession and the various sovereign debt crises, that many global markets were increasingly driven by government actors. To be a good underwriter of companies and their businesses, you need to understand how governments act and the macroeconomic drivers, and there was no better place to learn that than SIPA, a global powerhouse and leading economics and global policy school. I was also really drawn to the School because of its amazing economics faculty and coursework, as well as being part of the broader Columbia University network.

How did your SIPA education inform the work that you went into after graduation?

I worked within the hedge fund industry both during SIPA and after, but SIPA helped me take a more global view when I think about investing. SIPA also taught me to appreciate drivers behind companies’ actions beyond the financial, such as social drivers that push companies to make decisions not purely on financial merit but also because of reputational impacts.

Interpreting government and political drivers is also crucial. We’re seeing that today—that many of the actions of the government are having direct implications on the private markets. Understanding and forecasting this makes anyone who’s gone through the SIPA program a better investor.

You’ve been very involved as an alumnus, including extensive mentoring work. What advice are you giving students in today’s challenging environment?

My suggestion is to be focused. Have an idea of what you want to do, the different roles that interest you, what best suits your background, and then what training you can take at SIPA to build on that. It’s a very competitive environment—any job posted through SIPA will be highly selective. Columbia opens the door, but you must train yourself to interview well, discuss technical aspects, and impress interviewers to get offers.

The employer also wants to hear that you want to work for them, you want to work within their particular group, and you have the skills to do the job and to learn to do the job even better.

The sooner you have a concrete plan the better, especially in this job environment. You need to target a lot of firms and speak with alumni.

Why would you encourage other alumni to stay involved with SIPA?

There’s a host of reasons. It’s great to give back and keep this flywheel going, where you perpetually help the system grow.

I also view it as a symbiotic relationship—helping students and staying involved gives me the opportunity to continue learning, support the School, and strengthen my network. The students I’ve advised have placed into great jobs and stay in touch. I also stay involved to continue coming to campus and learning.

Alumni Day provides opportunities to hear from amazing faculty and industry leaders. To be a successful professional, you need to continuously improve and learn, and SIPA provides that through Alumni Day, the Institute of Global Politics’ programming and webcasts, and other events throughout the year. Being part of the conversation with industry leaders makes you better prepared to navigate your career.