Mohammed Lawal '15

Alumni Office (AO):  Can you introduce yourself?

Mohammed Lawal (ML): My name is Mohammad Lawal. Everyone at Breck knew me as “Mo,” and I am Breck Class of 2015.

AO: Mohammed, can you share where life has taken you since Breck?

ML: After Breck, I studied at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, where I concentrated on finance. I began my professional career as an analyst at a company called Harrison Street, a real estate private equity firm based in Chicago. After two years, I moved to Boston and started as an associate at Bain Capital, a private investment firm that spun out of the large consulting firm Bain & Company. After three years at Bain, I moved to New York and started as a vice president at Oaktree Capital Management, a private investment firm founded by another Wharton alum, Howard Marks. I’m involved in the sourcing execution, asset management, and analysis of investments for the company’s real estate strategies.

AO: That's awesome. Mohammed! Thanks for sharing. As we look at your career path, how have you pursued your growth over the years?

ML: So, going back to high school, I was always interested in the intersection of business and real estate. My dad is a career architect, so I spent a lot of my childhood in or around interesting real estate projects in the Twin Cities metro area. When I got into UPenn, I knew I wanted to focus on finance, and I also took some elective classes in real estate specifically. During my summers, I would have internships ranging from technology and operations at a large commercial bank to real estate investment banking in New York. I also had the opportunity to be a teaching assistant for a corporate finance class during my senior year of college, which was very helpful in deepening my understanding of the industry.

Since starting my first full-time job, I’ve been intentional about the types of projects I get exposure to and the different skills I need to develop. Traveling, attending conferences, and networking have been important because the real estate and finance industries are close-knit and relationship-driven. So, learning, meeting new people who are experienced in the space, and being intentional about where I want to be and how I get exposure to the skills necessary to succeed have been key for me.

AO: As you think about Breck students who are looking at a May Program coming up or what they want to do their freshman year in college, do you have any words of advice for them?

ML: My suggestion would be to actively engage with your faculty, professors, classmates, and the community at large around you. I enjoyed my four years of college at UPenn, but if I could rewind and start over again, I would spend a little more time with the professors and the faculty. You’ll meet so many amazing people in college; your professors, faculty, and classmates are some of the brightest minds you’ll be exposed to. Mine were motivated, smart, and interesting people. So, make sure you connect and expand your horizons. Don’t put yourself in a bubble.

AO: Can you share about your study abroad program when you were at the Wharton School?

ML: I spent a semester of my junior year in London at Queen Mary. Penn didn’t have a direct affiliation with Queen Mary. So, while I was there, I mostly took elective classes I found interesting that were outside of my concentration in finance. It was a great opportunity for me to meet new people, learn about new cultures, and be in London and Europe. I was also able to travel around and see a lot of interesting countries and cities that I’d never been to before. It was a really great experience.

AO: What was your favorite country to visit?

ML: My favorite country to visit is Spain — specifically the city of Madrid. I was an even year at Breck, so I learned Spanish throughout my time there. My travels to Madrid were a great opportunity for me to put my Spanish to the test. Spain also has a great combination of good food and a rich cultural history. You also have beaches on the coast, in Barcelona, and in the south of Spain. And you can’t forget the incredibly nice people. 

AO: As you think about your time at Breck, what was a memorable lesson or a few memorable lessons that you'd like to share?

ML: The biggest impact Breck had on me was the environment it created. It was a great place to learn time management and prioritization skills that I still carry with me. Sports were also a very integral part of my experience at Breck. I played basketball throughout high school and then football my senior year. I was always juggling practices, games, and training with schoolwork. When I got to college, it was less structured than high school, so while I had a lot of extra free time, I wasn’t exactly sure how to spend it at first; my experience at Breck allowed me to feel confident in pursuing several different extracurricular activities, which was very valuable for my academic and personal success. Fast forward to my professional career, I spend a large portion of my time on more self-directed work and top-down research. Knowing how to take larger tasks or goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces, a key skill I learned at Breck, has been immensely helpful for me.

AO: As you think about your work now, are there any moments that stand out as great accomplishments that you are proud of?

ML: One of the memorable projects I enjoyed working on and am proud of is an investment I helped close while at Harrison Street. During COVID, there was a large dislocation in the capital markets, which led to an interesting buying opportunity from a public real estate company looking for short-term liquidity. The deal structure was unlike anything I’d worked on up to that point and was the first of its kind at the company. We worked on a very tight timeline, and while there were a few wrinkles along the way, we managed to receive approval from our investment committee and ultimately closed the deal.