INTERN SPOTLIGHT

Tobi Adewodu, a first year at Duke – Fuqua and member of our Winter 2024 cohort, has been working alongside EIR Javier Gomez.

Tobi Adewodu

Duke University – Fuqua School of Business
MBA ’25

Can you describe your background and how it led to your pursuit of an internship at NGP?

My background is in finance and nonprofit leadership. In my most recent professional role, I was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley in Lending and before joining Morgan Stanley, I was a Workforce Development Director in the nonprofit sector. Having seen the power of small and medium-sized businesses to create jobs and personal or generational wealth, entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized business acquisitions is an area I knew I wanted to explore during my time in business school.

Can you tell us a bit about the work you’ve done so far, and any interesting learnings?

I have learned to see the search process from the ground up! From a tech stack to industry analysis, reviewing CIMs, and helping my EIR prep for calls with business owners, it’s been an invaluable internship experience.

What is your team dynamic like?

I talk to my EIR regularly, we have weekly calls and deliverables. I love working with my fellow interns. Working with a talented team and learning from others is key in professional development and accelerates your growth.

What have you most enjoyed thus far?

I have enjoyed bringing the learning to life. It’s one thing to read a Stanford Primer about ETA or take an ETA course, but it’s another thing to experience it. This has given me just a little bit of a taste of what it would be like to dive into ETA.

Any skills you’ve gained or unique takeaways? Pre-existing skills you’re building upon?

Developing a skill set is all about exposure and repetition. Through NGP, I have been able to gain reps and learn the fundamentals of industry research, deal sourcing, and the due diligence process.

What stands out to you about NGP’s process that you’ve gotten to see first-hand?

NGP has developed a robust system around the best practices for search and ETA. I have enjoyed the weekly Lunch and Learn, access to resources, and the vast network.

What do you envision yourself doing in the future, and how is interning with NGP building upon that?

The great thing about business school is you get to explore. I’m not sure what the future holds, but what I do know is that I thrive in roles that allow me to be entrepreneurial and do business development, I love small and medium-sized businesses, and the ETA space has been one of my favorite spaces during business school. Interning with NGP has been a great experience and I’m excited for what’s next!