Conor Burns says his fascination with the business side of healthcare emerged from his initial ambition to become a doctor. But that’s long since changed.
“A lot of what interests me about the healthcare space was not actually the medicine,” he admits. “It was the operations and business behind it.” That curiosity led him from East London in the UK, where he studied a range of business areas holistically during his first year, to UVA and McIntire. It led him to concentrate in Management while completing the Entrepreneurship Track.
Acclimating to a new environment on Grounds, the academic culture, grading system, and competitive atmosphere at UVA proved challenging at first. “I had no idea how my work compared to others. That was a huge barrier,” he recalls. “It wasn’t discouraging me from applying to McIntire; it just felt like I was climbing a huge hill.”
Burns credits the incredible support from his professors in providing the encouragement and guidance necessary to overcome any hurdles he initially encountered. “I leaned on several UVA faculty, especially Professor Jill Mitchell, who teaches Accounting and who is the nicest person I’ve ever met at UVA. Getting support from faculty was the main thing for me,” he asserts, acknowledging the crucial role educators played in his transition.
Additionally, his commitment to education is evident in his two-year role as Head Teaching Assistant for COMM 1800: Foundations of Commerce—a position he describes as “almost a part-time job.” In this role, he manages over 800 students, leads a full TA team, and helps oversee course administration. The course underwent major changes this year, including a new admissions process, new faculty, new TAs, and a significant increase in enrollment. Burns played a key role in supporting this transition to improve both the student experience and the administrative workload. With the demands of the role, he’s gained invaluable lessons in education, leadership, and student development.
Burns cultivated a strong connection with Professor Dorothy Leidner during her Ethics of Artificial Intelligence class. “I really enjoyed the course from the practical angle of talking about what real companies would be doing with AI,” he says. Leidner’s course opened Burns’s eyes to the multifaceted implications of AI beyond surface-level applications, and her dedication to the subject matter encouraged Burns and his fellow students to engage thoroughly with the material, making the class an indelible part of his learning experience at McIntire.
The friendships he forged with professors like Leidner and his peers provided a support system that became crucial to his success. These relationships, along with his keen focus on communication, teamwork, and collaboration, have proven fundamental to his readiness for whatever professional demands he’ll face in the future. “I’ve already made a thousand presentations. I’ve already worked in teams. I’ve already sent out memos,” Burns recounts, pointing out how essential these skills will be in his career.
Substantial professional exposure through internships across multiple sectors has also been pivotal. Following an internship at a beverage company called Path, he worked in sales and marketing at an augmented reality startup called Enklu. Yet it was a summer internship at Santa Monica-based private equity firm Enhanced Healthcare Partners that truly solidified his eagerness to delve into the business of healthcare. Enhanced Healthcare Partners is a private equity firm focused on investing in lower middle-market healthcare businesses that are driving innovation and improving patient outcomes across the U.S. healthcare system.
He’ll return to the organization in a post-graduation role, as a Private Equity Analyst. “The healthcare space is something I’ve always been interested in, so I’m excited to be combining my interest of business and healthcare after I graduate,” he says.
As he begins a new chapter after walking the Lawn, Burns anticipates a summer brimming with exploration and leisure. He is set to embark on a European trip, visiting Spain, Greece, and Italy with his parents—a well-deserved break before stepping into his career at Enhance. Taking the time to reconnect with his family underscores the importance of sustaining meaningful relationships, a theme that has resonated throughout his time at McIntire.
“I learned in business, and in general, having people in your corner makes all the difference,” he says. “That’s something I’m going to carry forward.” It’s a principle that he intends to rely on as he builds a supportive network in the business of healthcare and beyond it.
