Matthew Leick-Macari
Market Intelligence Strategist at Beck Ag, Inc.
Bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in statistics in 2010
In high school, I loved the CBS show Numbers and liked how Charlie always had a logical and mathematical solution for seemingly every problem. I majored in math because I liked solving problems, and the mental tools and thought processes you learn fit the way my mind works.
Current Position:
Currently, I’m the Market Intelligence Strategist for an agricultural marketing company, Beck Ag, Inc. We work with both large and small companies in agriculture to influence and instruct the marketplace in order to either raise adoption rates or educate the marketplace about new products or services. My day-to-day job functions include ad-hoc reporting and managing the back end of our data processing and analysis pipeline. Beyond that I’m responsible for owning the long-term development and architectural needs of our data warehouse and client marketing databases, and starting up an analytics and decision science center of excellence for both internal and external partners.
Since graduating from Truman, I’ve had a non-typical career path including work in project management, software development and data analytics. My current position is a result of that varied and unique experience that I gained through “on the job” training and self-directed learning.
How I use math in my job:
I use inductive and deductive reasoning pretty much everyday – either solving a business problem or running statistical analysis on a data set that is reported to clients. When you’re dealing with either incomplete or unstructured/messy data, you have to be methodical and build a logically sound argument, which is a proof really.
Advice to Truman students getting ready to hit the job market:
(1) If you’re thinking of hitting the job market after graduation, take some business and economics courses, and
(2) ALWAYS use a planner to keep yourself organized and on track. I interviewed a college student for an internship who admitted to never keeping a planner – this was near the top of the list for reasons why we went with another candidate.
Additionally, I’ve worked with both experienced professionals and new college graduates and what seems to be a common theme is that people who are well-organized and conscious of the opportunity cost/trade-offs of their decisions tend to be the people you WANT to work with rather than the people you HAVE to work with.
Finally, never stop learning, and find ways to keep your math skills sharp.
A note about the photo:
I’m including a photo of my family from this past Christmas. Me, our exchange student Elina (from Germany), my wife Kelsey (also Truman grad), and our 2-year-old daughter Lillian. Helpful hint for students: if you meet a girl who doesn’t know you but sits down to help you solve a calculus problem before school has even started, marry her. Just trust me on this one!