Today

Today you can find Matt working as a Sales Associate at Pegasystems.  Pegasystems is a worldwide software company headquartered across the river in Cambridge Massachusetts.  A quote on the Pega website embodies how their technology works behind the scenes for many of the world’s largest organizations: “If you’ve driven a car, used your credit card, called a company for service, opened an account, applied for a loan, accepted an offer, flown on an airplane, paid a bill, submitted a claim, or countless other things you do in your day…chances are you’ve interacted with Pega.”  Matt had interned with Pega while at BU, making for an easy transition into his full-time role.  Given his operations concentration, it made sense to Matt to go into the technology field, as software is at the core of every company’s operations.

As an Associate, Matt focuses his work on delivering the greatest value to his clients.  As a part of the Sales Associate program, Matt spent his first year learning Pega’s technology, understanding the industries that Pega sells to, and selling with a “challenger” approach to reframe clients’ goals to best position Pega against competitors.  This involves a full analysis of industry trends, client challenges and goals, and tailoring the message to certain audiences.  At the end of the day, Pega is focused on customer success, even if that means they don’t purchase any software.  For instance, Matt worked with one team that at Sprint that was evaluating Robotic automation technology in their retail stores.  Despite the numbers showing a positive return, Pega advised Sprint not to pursue that path, as there simply wasn’t enough volume to maximize the project.

While at BU

While at BU, Matt was heavily involved with both College AppAssist and the BU club volleyball team.  As the president of the club volleyball team, Matt helped lead BU to a NCVF national championship and was named All-American MVP.  Matt also served as the Vice President of Operations for College AppAssist, a non-profit started by fellow HP alum Joseph McNiff. Matt believes that education is the key to reducing the nation’s income gap, and that well-informed discourse will generate creative solutions for many societal issues. On top of both these programs, Matt also took full advantage of the HP opportunities while in college.  Matt felt that the honors program was really a special opportunity where students could explore and study different topics through seminars that otherwise would never be offered.  Additionally, Matt studied abroad in Shanghai, embracing his love of travel and the study of cultures through language.

Advice

Matt suggests that students should always be willing to ask questions while in class.  Often times people shy away from raising their hands because they fear about what other students may think.  However, on many occasions the question on one student’s mind is the same as other students, so it can be mutually beneficial for people to speak up.  At the end of the day, you should be focused on getting the most of your education and approaching each day enthusiastically.

Additionally, in both an educational and professional setting, there is a lot to be gained from social interactions.  When Matt first started at Pega, he often found himself head-down in the books.  Being in sales means you’re often not working a typical 9-5 workday, because meetings pop up and circumstances change at a moment’s notice.  At first, Matt found it strange to put so much work into a client, only to get an unfavorable result as is often the case in sales.  However, once he got accustomed to the role, he was more comfortable taking more time to be social in the office.  By socializing with people across many different departments, Matt was able to better understand different facets of Pega and have a more informed perspective for his clients.  In fact, one of the best connections Matt has made at the company came outside company walls at a local basketball court with some of the engineers.  By developing better internal relationships, you gain a broader perspective and have more people to call on when you need help.

Connect with Matt

mattjlee33@gmail.com