Fiona T.
Break into Top Master's Programs in Quant Finance/Data Science/Tech
Studied at San Francisco State University
Works at QuantMinds
Admissions Committee
Available Monday at 4:00 PM UTC
Usually responds within 1 hour
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Fiona's Coaching Offerings
Comprehensive Master's Application Package — Land Your Dream Program
End-to-end support for your Master’s program applications
Starting at $5,00020h+ of coaching
Craft Powerful Admissions Essays
Craft winning Master's essays through brainstorming, drafting, and editing
Starting at $1,2605h+ of coaching
Nail the Admissions Interview
Practice realistic mock Master's interviews with a trained expert
Starting at $7653h+ of coaching
Custom hourly
Get help with Financial Aid & Scholarships, Editing, and .
Fiona’s Master’s Programs Qualifications
Coaches professionally
100+ people coached for Master’s Programs
Fiona Taft is a highly experienced career and admissions coach for Master’s programs, with over a decade of demonstrated success in top-tier academic institutions such as UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. At Berkeley’s Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) Program, she has consistently achieved outstanding student placement outcomes, designed and implemented strategic employer relations initiatives, and provided tailored coaching in quantitative finance career pathways, networking, and interview preparation. In her prior role at Stanford, she led executive education programs and coached high-level professionals through career transitions and academic admissions processes. Fiona’s extensive background in admissions strategy, career development programming, and industry engagement—combined with her strong analytical and communication skills—positions her as a trusted guide for aspiring graduate students navigating the competitive admissions and recruitment landscape.
Fiona can help with:
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Editing
Interviews
Waitlist Strategy
School Selection
Secondary Review
Application Strategy
Essays
Resume
Letters of Recommendation
Fiona also coaches for Quantitative Finance, Capital Markets & Trading, Leadership Coaching, Career Coaching, and Investment Banking. View all.
About Fiona
I started my career in finance being a controller for start-up organizations. But I found my true passion was coaching through my many experiences in Higher Education. I began my Higher Education career at Stanford Graduate School Business in Leadership Development. I learned many techniques and business acumen through my experience in the classroom at Stanford GSB. In not so many words I have my MBA from Stanford with the amount of sessions I facilitated and supported during my 8 years running Executive Leadership programs. In the next phase of my career I found myself at UC Berkeley Haas Business school in the Master of Quantitative Finance Program, first in Admissions, then as the Director of Career Development and then as the Executive Director of the program. But again I found my true passion was coaching students and Alumni and celebrating their outcomes in getting a full time job at their dream firm and promotions within big banks, hedge funds and Fintechs! Now I have my own coaching and career development firm!
Why do I coach?
I became passionate about coaching during my time at Stanford University when I was developing leadership programs and reviewing applications for Executive Leadership programs. Many applicants were struggling in their careers to get to the next level in organizations like Google, Meta, Amazon and other tech organizations. I found myself coaching many different levels of leaders in their career. Many of my program participants often told me I wish I had this content and insight earlier in my career. I had an epiphany for my passion for coaching and mentoring other. Fast Forward to my time at UC Berkeley Haas when I was coaching Master students and Alumni on their career strategy and trajectory. I found that many alumni didn't know how to level up their career once they entered at the associate level, how could they get promoted to a PM, Manager or a VP. I found I really enjoyed sharing leadership strategies, coaching techniques and mentoring with people at all levels of their career. When I started to move farther away from coaching in my career as Executive Director I didn't find as much fufillment and happiness in my career. "You have to do what you love" This lead me to start my own company so I could focus on coaching and career development full time. I truly enjoy coaching individuals in all careers paths but especially on Women's leadership, Finance and Quant Finance.
Work Experience
Chief Executive Officer
QuantMinds
November 2024 - Present
Hiring Manager
At QuantMinds we aim to build a thriving global community of quantitative finance professionals, fostering growth through education, networking, and innovation. We are a Quantitative Finance community and offer career services in Career Coaching/Mentoring, resume, cover letter and Linkedin reviews, Admissions coaching and strategic career planning.
Executive Director, Masters of Financial Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
February 2024 - October 2024
Admissions Committee
Evaluated the life-cycle of the admissions process, made final decisions on admissions, establish high level relationships with Faculty, firms and Alumni, Advised students on job opportunities, internships and salary negotiations.
Director of Career Development, Employer and Alumni Relations at MFE
University of California, Berkeley
December 2021 - June 2024
Admissions Committee
Reviewed Admissions applications, essays and profiles and gave recommendations for admission. Coached students on career readiness, resume optimization and strategic job search with Finance and Quantitative Finance firms. Established strategic relationships, career events and bespoke hiring opportunities with top finance firms, hedgefunds and FinTech firms and MFE Alumni. Created Career workshops in Strategic Job Search, Resume Optimization, Linkedin & Networking Strategies, Behavioral Interviewing, Business Etiquette, Job Market Updates, Mock Interviewing and Salary Negotiation Coached and Advised students and alumni on job search strategy, resumes strategy, salary negotiation and networking strategy.
Senior Associate Director of Marketing & Admissions for MFE
University of California, Berkeley
July 2021 - December 2022
Admissions Committee
Reviewed applicants for Admission to the Master of Financial Engineering Program and was a part of the Admissions Committee. Evaluated application and career readiness.
Assistant Director, Executive Education
Stanford University Graduate School of Business
January 2016 - November 2020
Created and Managed Executive Leadership programs for Fortune 500 companies and individuals. Coached individuals on how to become leaders, managers and accelerate to the C-Suite
Presidential Associate - Accelerated Development Program
Stanford University Graduate School of Business
September 2018 - March 2019
Partnered with organizations to build Execute Leadership programs for C-suite Executives, Managers, High Potential Leaders and DEI.
Program Manager
Stanford University Graduate School of Business
April 2013 - January 2016
Special Events Manager
Stanford University
August 2011 - September 2012
Controller
Jupiter
May 2000 - June 2007
Managed financial P&L and balance sheet of Jupiter Hosting, Inc (1120S DE Corp). Responsible for reconciling the accounting records. Tracked business expenses, cash flow, and all other financial related activities through first round of financing (Angel). Managed payroll (ADP), and benefits program. Managed all banking relationships (Silicon Valley Bank and Bank of America).
Fiona was also given offers to work at
UCLA Anderson
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Education
San Francisco State University
Bachelors, Economics
1995 - 2000