Alydaar Rangwala ’11 Investing around the globe

Alydaar Ranwala’s connection to The Albany Academy has been a long one, a connection that began when he was just five and entered kindergarten. Alydaar is what we call a “lifer,” a graduate who spent his entire K-12 school career at The Albany Academy before graduating in 2011. Next, Alydaar earned a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics at Harvard. His connection with the school remains strong and he currently serves on the Institutional Advancement Committee. We sat down with him to talk about the paths he has taken since earning that degree.

What came after your graduation from Harvard?

After graduation I wanted to find a job that would provide me with a great learning opportunity to work as part of a team on a variety of projects. My interest in learning about the world and what it would look like in the future led me to the field of investing because I understood that investing involves trying to predict what a company or the world will look like in two, three, or five years. I found a summer internship at Bain Capital, a big investment firm that provided a structured training ground and then became a full-time employee for the next two years.

I had a great experience at Bain but eventually I looked for a job where I could utilize the apprenticeship model that existed there and apply it to a more entrepreneurial environment and small team approach. I moved to Perry Creek Capital, where I still work five years later. At Perry Creek we invest in many different industries and companies around the world and so I could expand on the experience I gained at Bain, where I focused on oil and gas only. I wanted to make sure I had a skill set that allowed me to think about the world and how businesses across many different industries would evolve.

Did Academy have any influence your small team and entrepreneurial mindset?

I remember as an Academy student having many opportunities to take leadership roles, such as declamations in Middle School — getting up in front of the whole school was slightly terrifying but also gave me confidence in myself and an opportunity to take risks that maybe I wouldn’t normally take. In the Upper School, I had the chance to start a student organization, be involved with the student council, and conduct independent research that took me away from school for hours doing a project I was really interested in for four years. All of those elements and flexibilities, and the small school environment, were critical in building my confidence and pushing me to take risks and to think more independently about what I wanted and believed in. In a larger company or school, it's easy to get lost and not know what you want. I learned to navigate that and figure out what I wanted because of Academy.

What challenges did you face entering the workforce?

I needed to develop an appreciation for the fact that life is long and you don’t have to get where you are going tomorrow. When you are in college and right after college, it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race of what others are doing, and what people expect you to be doing. Everyone's path is different and the independence and flexibility I had at Academy helped me realize it’s okay to be different and not follow what everyone else is doing. That independence helped push me to pursue internships on campus and think about ways to get experience through entrepreneurial opportunities.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were graduating from high school?

There is a lot of discussion in high school and college about what you want to do for the rest of your life. What are you interested in? What is your career path? I definitely thought about things I wanted to do, which industries I wanted to work in. But I also thought about what I enjoy doing and less about what was the right career path for me. I believe you learn to love what you do. Be open minded and don’t feel like you have to plot your career path when you are 18 years old.

What advice would you give to a senior here at the Academies?

Take a chance in college to explore career paths that you might not have thought about or even knew about before entering college. Take risks; try something different. Be open minded, try lots of new things; it’s never too late to switch your path or major.

What has changed in the mindset of younger alums since the COVID pandemic? Do they approach work differently?

The concept of work has broadened. Remote work has resulted in a mingling of our work and personal lives. With more flexibility, people now prioritize work time differently; there is a shift to create a lifestyle that incorporates a work/ life balance. I encourage young professionals to work hard while they are young and still have the flexibility, the energy, and the drive to try new things. Be open minded and make self-development a priority.

What are some things we can do to actively engage our young alums?

Younger alums are more tied to engagement; they are living more in the now. Create engagement and touch points to interact with their piers from the Academies. Starting with local gatherings, the Academies should try to build community at the geographic level, with an ultimate goal that they begin to happen organically. Engagement is a primary way to drive people to want to be involved and want to give back. It helps them remember their experiences at the Academies. Also, helping students have more access to alums will not only set the example and expectation for seniors after they graduate, but also gives alums a chance to give back with their time and talents.

How can we get alums more interested in philanthropy?

You could create a pledge for seniors, maybe a five-year pledge associated with their class year, so graduates of 2023 would give $20.23 for the next five years. That would result in creating a habit of giving so when they do have more resources to give they’ll not only know how but will be more willing to do so (it’s like a muscle that needs to be worked out to get stronger). Developing a habit of giving at an early age, having tangible reasons to give, and establishing a connection with current students help alums feel their donations make a difference. Once giving is a part of their routine, it establishes a two-way relationship with the school. Being more present helps foster this relationship. Donors love thank you letters from students; that touchpoint is important.

Another thing that can help is including profiles of teachers and staff in the Happenings newsletter. Articles highlighting teachers, staff, and coaches tap into the personal aspect of the school. Faculty and the community were a big part of the experience for many alums, and relationships are strong at our school.

What are your thoughts on the future of the school?

All institutions need to adapt or die; that’s the way the world works. A school doesn’t make it 200 years without making changes along the way. It’s always hard to verbalize culture, but the small classroom setting and the small, close-knit community open the doors to opportunities to create your own experience that doesn’t exist at other schools at the high school level. The next 30-plus years will be very computer science/technology driven and the school needs to be prepared for that environment and to prepare our students for the world to come. The school needs to dedicate resources towards this initiative because this is where the future is heading.

Richard Ward ’85 Bytes of advice

Richard Ward ’85 has had a long and successful career at Microsoft for nearly 35 years now, beginning soon after his graduation from Williams College. He recently shared some thoughts about his time at The Albany Academy and what the education he received means to him.

What do you value most about your education at The Albany Academy?

The way Academy treated us as almost-adults rather than barely constrained troublemakers turned out to pay dividends. The Academy gave us authority and agency, balanced with responsibility and, while we didn’t always recognize it at the time, that trust deeply engrained lessons of responsibility.

Is there a specific teacher who stands out for you from your time as a student at Academy?

There were so many memorable teachers, from math teachers like Robert Olcott and Peter Wells, to art teacher Jim Reed who taught me how to use a camera, to Robert Leach, the first computer science teacher, back when the Academy was an early adopter of the AP Computer Science program. But Frank “Raven” Schmertz was the single most influential teacher. He taught English and prepared us uniquely well to succeed at the college level by making us think outside the “normal” five paragraph model. He really pushed our boundaries regarding how to think broadly about both what we were reading and how we were composing our papers.

What specific skills did you learn at Academy that helped you be successful in college and in your professional career?

The leadership opportunities afforded by the Academy were profoundly useful. We were given plenty of free rein to create our own results, certainly within the cadet battalion back in the day but, more importantly, through all sorts of other activities. Figuring out how to get all the groups scheduled for photographs in the Cue, for example, gave me a lot of practice and skills for driving projects later in college. Being responsible and accountable for anything sharpens one’s ability to plan better for the next thing, either in college or in a career. The Academy was always more than willing to give me the freedom to make something happen, and left it up to me to figure out how.

Tell us about your career path. When I was finishing college, I wanted to stay in the Northeast, but there was a tech downturn around Boston at the time. So I ended up taking a job on the other side of the country in Seattle, with a pre-dotcom-boom Microsoft. Instead of the twoor three-year stint I’d planned, I stayed and found incredible opportunities at Microsoft during a sustained period of growth and innovation. I started as a typical developer hired out of college, working on a team with several others, typing into a computer late into the evening. A few years in, I led a team, and at various stages I’ve led teams of hundreds, as well as dropping all management and serving in an individual architect role. When things slow down, I shift roles and technology areas, but the breadth of the field always keeps me connected to the company.

Were there challenges along the way? If so, how did you overcome them?

If there aren’t challenges, then you likely haven’t selected the right path. My first big challenge was settling into a completely new city where I knew no one. If you can do that, you’re well on your way to meeting whatever life throws at you. With career challenges, most technical or business issues end up being straightforward; I have found mentors along the way who gave me the guidance to look at the problem in a new way and find a solution. People and relationship challenges are far more involved and nuanced; learning to listen with empathy helped me understand peoples’ concerns more completely.

What advice do you have for future students?

You have more in common with the people around you than you have differences; don’t be afraid to open up and talk more. You’ll know more about yourself the more you talk to others.

What do you like to do for fun?

Travel gives the best opportunity for growth, through experiencing a new place, new culture, new sights. And it gives me a chance to break out the camera.