Tom Malone Takes Inquisitive Mind to Infinitive Insights

Tom Malone job report:  Always good natured Tom Malone has landed a dream job (he does a lot of dreaming when his mind shuts down long enough to sleep) at Infinitive Insights;  Proud of you Tom-Prof. McHie

Fast forward from a phone call and an application, and here I am a year later in the role of  Analyst in Risk Management with Infinitive Insights.  Our team aids companies with their risk management protocols and procedures.  My duties include data mining and working with clients on site.  There is no amount of gratitude I can give back that can equal what the MSBA program, and my MSBA mentor, Denis McFarlane, Chairman and CEO of Infinitive, have done for me.

Growing up, I would have to say the hardest thing in the world for me was finding practical and efficient solutions to problems. 

The irony: I have loved puzzles as long as I can remember.

From high school algebra, to advanced calculus in college, even simply planning out a weekly budget, I always had a tough time finding a solution that could work the first time

Tom in red shirt puzzling over an
exercise during MSBA orientation

around, or even one that would require little alteration. Despite this constant setback in my thought process, I couldn’t give up; I personally found the problems too intriguing to simply stop trying. I attribute this to my parents, who understanding me through and through, taught me to work hard no matter what the task.

 Given my Type-B, “cloud-gazing” mind, I thought that I would always be in the realm of theory, teaching others great ideas from history, with my only participation in our country’s development being the forming of younger minds. While for the longest time I had found this academic calling my vocation, when it became the time to actively pursue it, I had second thoughts. I wanted to do more for the people around me. I wanted to teach and to serve. 

What astounded me about the MSBA program was their dual strategy they had for their

students. First, that every problem had a grey area. There was no such thing as a problem that had no solution or only a bad one, the only problem that exists is how we approach it. Through classes, lectures, and multiple team exercises, I was able to see this analytical process firsthand and acquire it for myself.

The second, and perhaps most important, was that I was taught that ethics does not exist along side business: it exists in it. The true business man understands that a successful business and a healthy economy are only the results of men and women operating for the good of society. When I first heard this about the program, I thought it was simply a nice sentimental selling point. Now I cannot see any business decision I will ever make under any other light.

For me, puzzles no longer present the hardships they once did. Before I saw obstacles, and now I see opportunities to be a part of something magnificent. 

Tom Malone

MSBA Class of 2013