Ryan Conrad arrived at UVA from Baltimore, MD, with three things on his mind: studying at the McIntire School, securing the chance to compete at the highest level of collegiate lacrosse, and the opportunity to find a career path that matched his competitive spirit. Today, Conrad is a Principal at global investment firm KKR, and he credits McIntire’s education, the UVA community, and lessons in leadership with shaping his career and life.
The Power of Networking, Mentorship, and the UVA Community
Conrad’s path to KKR began with an early connection to Doug Brody (A&S ‘06), a fellow lacrosse player he met when, as a second-year student, Conrad joined a finance trek to KKR, where Brody was with the firm. “I was very young and didn’t know what I wanted to do, but knew it was something related to finance,” he recalls. “I met with Doug and spoke about potential options—essentially just trying to figure out how I could not limit myself to find an opportunity to grow.”
That first meeting turned into an informal mentorship. “I would ping him emails, articles I’ve seen, interesting things I’m reading about, how the season’s going, et cetera, call every quarter or so, just to stay in touch,” he says. Years later, when Conrad explored another role at KKR, Brody, now a Partner at the firm, was actually hiring for the Capital Markets team. “After going through the rigorous interview process, I was at my desk at KKR.”
For Conrad, the story underscores both the UVA network’s strength and the importance of fostering connections. “Don’t necessarily follow the name brand, and don’t necessarily follow the specific role that you’re stepping into,” he says. “Try to follow the people and someone you really want to learn from.”
Career Growth, Skill Development, and Professional Balance
At McIntire, Conrad concentrated in Finance and thrived in the Integrated Core (ICE) curriculum. “Our professors do an incredible job of building the coursework to applicable things in the working world,” he says. “ICE is group work, it is collaboration, and that’s how the working world works.” He points to its project-based structure as excellent preparation: “Having those big projects that you’re working on, building to a solution, and presenting—it is super important to be ready to go to the next step.”
At KKR, Conrad found the balance he wanted between technical analysis and client engagement. “My role does the perfect job of filling that gap. We operate as an extension of the investment teams, working hand in hand. They focus on the sourcing and vetting of deals, building out the models and memos, and our role is to understand the businesses, the risks, returns, and what’s really driving these businesses so that we can ultimately present that on calls to clients,” he says.
The brisk transaction-driven pace keeps him sharp and offers him a challenging environment in which to thrive. “I’m an athlete, so I love working to the end of the game and winning it. Those are tight windows that I’m working on—six to eight weeks. And then I move to the next opportunity. But every one that I do, I get better and better at because I’m building those reps,” he says.
That athletic drive has also fueled his professional lacrosse career. Conrad has played with the Premier Lacrosse League’s Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club, balancing the rigors of finance with pro competition. “It was a lot of early mornings and late nights to make sure that I’m getting everything done while preparing for whatever game we have that upcoming weekend.” A meniscus injury required surgery, sidelining him for the season. He remains grateful for the experiences in lacrosse and the opportunity KKR has provided: “I’ve really enjoyed my experience in the PLL and am extremely lucky for KKR to be as supportive as they are of me playing lacrosse while doing the job. Not many firms would do that.”
Leadership, Service, and Giving Back
While he finds himself in a growing leadership role at KKR, Conrad’s two-time captaincy of UVA Lacrosse was instrumental in shaping his leadership style. “When I was a third-year voted as a captain, it was somewhat difficult,” he says, pointing out the unusual dynamic of leading some teammates who were older. “I also tore my ACL the third game into the season.” That setback forced him to adapt. “I was the kind of person who would lead by example, so I had to find the right way to connect with my peers so that they knew I was going to add value regardless of if I was on the field.”
By his fourth year, he combined vocal leadership with on-field presence. “I had that ability to mix both, being a vocal leader on the field, which I think was a nice way for me to evolve as a person.” That same philosophy now guides his work. “You don’t necessarily need to be a leader to have leadership skills. When you’re working on those projects, it’s not that one person is always the lead, but you all want to provide value.”
Service also remains central to him. Conrad has helped grow Harlem Lacrosse into a KKR-supported partnership. “It was a very fortuitous timeline because we were revamping our corporate citizenship program globally,” he explains. “And that was my exact pitch of doing a mentorship program with the students and building relationships with our employees.” His long-term hope? “My end goal would be to have a Harlem Lacrosse student eventually join KKR; that would be incredible.”
Closer to McIntire, Conrad has spearheaded events linking students to KKR. “The question was about how we can build that network and how we build those connections,” he says. “We want to give more exposure to the various roles within KKR, because there’s just so much that we do. We’re not just a private equity firm anymore. We truly are a global alternatives manager across every strategy.”
Recent receptions have drawn more than 50 students and over a dozen KKR professionals. “Maybe someone’s applying right now for a job that they currently have open,” he says. “We’re trying to find ways to start building those connections.”
Looking ahead, he remains optimistic that the relationship between McIntire and KKR will expand even further. And with Conrad staying engaged with the Comm School and the University, that winning partnership is poised to grow.
