Kai Blache, B.B.A.'03

From WMU to NYC

A vice president at Fortius Bank/BNP Paribus in New York City at age 28. It reads like a headline. It IS a headline! At a young age, Kai Blache has achieved what many current Haworth College of Business students aspire to do – play a key role in the finance industry and travel the world in the process. An expert in not only finance but also in the oil, gas, offshore and oilfield services industry, Blache has had the opportunity to make site visits to oil barges onshore and offshore all over the world.  

When asked how the Haworth experience has contributed to his success, Blache points to several things, including his corporate finance and modeling courses, the opportunity to work in real-world contexts, and his business writing courses, all of which gave him the competitive edge he needed to thrive in a work environment where most peers graduated from Ivy League schools.

Blache’s advice to students and young alumni about how to achieve in trying economic times is simply this, “Network. Network and utilize the connections of everyone you know however possible. You never know where or from whom your lucky break will come from. You always have to be willing to take chances.”