Home Region
Manassas, VA
Undergrad Education
Northwestern University
Previous Experience
Linden Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley, The Joffrey Ballet
HBS Activities
Christian Fellowship, Crimson Parents Club, Health Care Club, Outdoors Club, VCPE Club
“The case method conditions my mind the way daily ballet practice conditioned my body.”
Instead of going directly to college, Mark Giragosian followed high school by going to Chicago – to dance with the Joffrey Ballet. During his eight-year tenure with the dance company, Mark not only fulfilled principal dance roles, but also completed his undergraduate degree at Harold Washington College and Northwestern University, including internships in consulting and investment banking.
Upon retiring from the Joffrey, Mark worked at Morgan Stanley. “I wanted to have another career, not just another job. I looked for opportunities to learn about business and gain exposure to a broad range of industries.” After Morgan Stanley, Mark moved to PE firm Linden Capital Partners where he concentrated on health care investments. “I love health care specifically because there are so many unique problems worth spending time on.”
Making a case for building business strengths
For Mark, a key attraction of HBS is its application of the case study method. “One of my weaknesses was that I did not always speak up as quickly as I should have in business settings. The case method strengthens my ability to analyze and interpret information quickly, and articulate conclusions in front of large groups.”
“As a ballet dancer, I had developed ways of improving myself through deliberate practice and honing my skills over time. Since coming to HBS, I’ve made a lot of progress in terms of the way I think about business problems. I find that the routine and repetition of the case method – sifting through facts and synthesizing them to formulate a plan of action – conditions my mind the way daily ballet practice conditioned my body. I warm up every day by taking a few minutes to reread my case notes from the day before; I exchange questions with a study group partner to get our minds moving before class. Because I’m prepared, I’m better able to simply listen and respond in real time.”
Yet academics are balanced with other commitments. Mark arrived on campus with his wife, Alexis Giragosian, and their two children, ages two and four. “I feel like there is a larger community of families here than in other schools I’ve visited,” says Mark. “I can choose my priorities: I can go home for lunch, participate in various activities on campus, go to Bible study with my wife, and spend time with my family in the evenings.”
This summer, Mark is interning at PathAI, Inc., a venture-backed health care firm focused on artificial intelligence-powered diagnostic products. He is also working with a mentor on continuing his career in health care investing after graduation. In the meantime, he continues to maintain his connections to the dance world by serving on the Joffrey’s board of directors and organizing a section trip to the Boston Ballet.