Evolving with finance
Using financial and technical skills developed at the Quinlan School of Business, Busango is helping to optimize Walgreens’ financial operations.
When Saleh Busango (MBA ’25) left his home country of Burundi to continue his studies, he had a big decision to make. He had been accepted to graduate business programs at multiple Chicago schools and needed to make his final selection.
In the end, he chose the Quinlan School of Business as it provided him swift assistance, attention, and a scholarship. He made Quinlan his new home and found the education and support he needed to launch his career.
Building a foundation
Starting school on a new continent proved a difficult change. Initially, Busango loaded his schedule, taking four courses in one quarter. The pace was brutal, and forced him to re-assess how he handled his academic workload. Working with Quinlan academic advisors, he found a balance that would stick for the rest of his program.
“This was my first time studying in the U.S. I didn’t perform well because I didn’t know how to adjust,” Busango said. “I scheduled meetings with professors and advisors. Once I adjusted my workload, I started doing well and my academic performance improved significantly.”
Busango settled into his classes, including his Advanced Corporate Finance capstone course with Professor Abol Jalilvand, which Busango found particularly impactful.
The course challenged students to conduct research throughout the quarter, ending with a class presentation. Busango, using a combination of valuation modeling techniques, developed recommendations for Walgreens and Sycamore Partners. Many predictions made in this capstone have been reflected in public disclosures of Sycamore’s real-world restructuring approach.
“All the instruction we learned and implemented in the report is exactly what’s happening,” Busango said. “Abol was one of the best professors I had at Quinlan.”
Applying education
After earning his MBA, Busango was accepted into his current position in Walgreens’ Finance and Accounting rotational program. Over two years, he is being trained in corporate financial strategy and stewardship with Walgreens’ financial planning, modeling, risk and control, and more.
“All the things I learned in my corporate finance classes helped a lot,” Busango said. He points out that using coding languages like Python, which he learned at Quinlan, has helped him keep pace and even shine in an industry continuously finding quicker ways to glean answers and accomplish tasks. As one example, Busango is showing co-workers and supervisors efficient ways to automate tasks using coded programs from Python instead of traditional solutions like Excel.
“It’s helping the entire company work more efficiently, and it’s an important takeaway from Quinlan,” Busango said.
High aspirations
Busango is about halfway through his two-year rotation. He carries with him both high opportunity and high aspirations for his career.
“My long-term goal is to pursue leadership opportunities across corporate development, finance, and investment management," Busango said.
Equipped with analytical skills learned at Quinlan, he feels confident he will continue to be a productive leader as the world of finance continues to evolve.
“The world of finance is changing,” Busango said. “Professionals need to understand how tools such as Python and APIs can improve financial modeling, automation, and decision-making.”