Career Development and Training

Career Development

Working in small teams with senior professionals who provide regular feedback allows our team members to hone their skills and advance more quickly than in other environments. We have several levels are our professionals can advance as their skills develop. We do not have a "lock-step" path:

  • Intern: college or graduate school are hired to work on a temporary basis. Although Interns are paid, Summit Ridge also recognized they are working to gain experience. Summit Ridge generally attempts when feasible, to assign each intern a "project" so they will have a tangible deliverable at the end of their internship.
  • Analyst: Entry-level professionals expected to work on project execution and be flexible, handling other needs of the firm as necessary. Analysts are expected to quickly learn industry and financial skills to be promoted.
  • Associate: Professionals with an MBA or a few years of work experience. Associates are expected to work on projection execution and be flexible, handling other needs of the firm as necessary. Summit Ridge expects associates to quickly learn industry and financial skills to be promoted.
  • Vice President: Experienced project execution professionals with industry expertise who may also oversee the work of junior professionals.
  • Director: Senior-level project execution professionals, who also support business development. Directors are expected to have top-level execution skills and industry expertise and the ability to lead a small team of junior professionals as needed.
  • Managing Director: Oversee project execution, involved in business development activities, and recognized experts in their niches with top-flight valuation skills.
  • Contractor: Summit Ridge uses contractors for a variety of roles at different levels of experience. The role of each contractor may be different based on the contractor's background and the firm's needs.

Training

Professionals at every level are expected to continuously expand and update their professional skills and knowledge. Our training program is a mix of informal "on-the-job" training combined with more formal training programs. Our informal training includes:

  • Working closely with senior professionals on projects.
  • Attending industry conferences, and listening to company presentations including earnings calls, and other events.
  • Conducting industry research outside of client matters to sharpen our industry knowledge and showcase it to prospective clients. Working on these research projects is an excellent way to build industry knowledge and skills.
  • Employees have continuous access to industry periodicals, databases, and analytical tools (CapitalIQ,  Bloomberg, etc.) for client projects and for personal skill development.

Due to our size, Summit Ridge Group largely outsources the formal aspects of our training. Elements of our formal training include:

  • The American Society of Appraisers ("ASA") business valuation curriculum ensures a solid foundation in valuation concepts. The ASA is considered the gold standard valuation credential.
  • The Wall Street Prep course ensures everyone in the firm has consistent financial modeling skills that align with best practices.
  • While not required, our Junior hires are encouraged to enroll in the Chartered Financial Analyst ("CFA") program. The CFA credential is generally considered the most difficult financial credential to obtain.
  • We also support employee participation in other formal training such as the Certified Professional Accountant ("CPA") program, Project Management Professional ("PMP") and others.

If you are interested in joining the Summit Ridge Group team, e-mail your resume and a cover letter to admin@summitridgegroup.com and we will be in touch with you soon.