McIntire alum Matthew C. Meade has written a new book for a new career moment. Five years after penning his first title, Wisdom on the Way to Wall Street, which aims to equip early career professionals with a practical entry plan, he’s offering a follow-up, a field guide for sustaining momentum, leading others, and finding purpose in the thick of their professional journeys: The Deep Dive: 7 Life Rafts to Survive Career Currents.
The idea for the book was a product of his personal experiences and our times, focused with the perspective that defined his recent years in finance and technology as Head of Fixed Income Exchange & Contributed Pricing Product Management at Bloomberg LP, a position he began in tumultuous 2020.
“Over the past five years, I’ve been inspired by the resilience I’ve seen in colleagues, mentors, and even in myself as we navigated turbulent markets, rapid digital transformation, and the uncertainty of global crises,” he says. “These experiences reminded me that growth often comes in the most challenging seasons. The return-to-office shifts, investment headwinds, and the constant push to reskill with new technology weren’t just obstacles—they became motivation to adapt, lead with empathy, and double down on purpose. Those moments shaped the ‘life rafts’ [strategies in The Deep Dive] because they proved that success isn’t just about surviving change; it’s about using it as fuel to reinvent yourself and inspire others to keep going.”
That theme of reinvention traces back to his Comm School experience and the arc of his own identity on Wall Street. “As an analyst, I was focused on technical skills modeling, transactions, and execution. Over time, my identity evolved from ‘individual contributor’ to ‘builder of people and strategies.’ Now I think less about the deal itself and more about how to build sustainable teams, scalable products, and meaningful legacies.”
That shift isn’t about abandoning earlier chapters of life so much as integrating them: “At first, I interpreted it as freedom to pivot, moving between roles in capital markets, enterprise risk management, innovation, consulting, and product. Today, I see reinvention less as leaving something behind and more as layering on. Reinvention now means refining, deepening, and aligning my professional life with purpose, legacy, and well-being.”
Staying Afloat in Rough Seas
Meade says that The Deep Dive also reflects a different kind of writing process than he employed in his debut book. “Wisdom was a roadmap, 22 principles I had distilled from breaking into and surviving Wall Street. The Deep Dive came from a different place: mid-career reflection,” says the executive who calls South Orange, NJ, home. “Writing it was less about sharing what got me in the door and more about how to stay afloat and maintain excellence. The process was more structured, research-driven, and personal, blending professional lessons with life experiences.”
The discipline, he notes, matched the rigor of product leadership. “I treated writing like a project, early mornings, late evenings, weekends. I also leveraged the same frameworks I used throughout my career, such as SMART goals, milestone tracking, and accountability partners. Writing became less of a side project and more of a practice that energized me for my day job.”
Readers will recognize the connective tissue to his first book, as the new volume builds on that foundation of self-leadership and widens the aperture to include the responsibilities that come with influence: sustaining excellence, stewarding teams, and modeling resilience.
The seven “life rafts” at the heart of The Deep Dive are designed for professionals who feel they’ve moved from the shore to the open ocean. Yet Meade believes that in this quickly changing age, in which graduates will enter a world where AI, automation, and shifting industries challenge traditional career ladders, the chapter called “Know Your Worth” is the most urgent bit of advice that younger soon-to-be professionals should heed. “They must learn early to quantify their impact, communicate their value, and protect their well-being. Negotiation, brand-building, and self-advocacy aren’t optional—they’re career lifelines,” he insists.
Life Lessons for Many Lines of Work
Importantly, Meade feels that The Deep Dive is applicable to industries beyond finance. “The book isn’t just about Wall Street—it’s about life. Whether you’re in healthcare, tech, education, or entrepreneurship, everyone faces career currents. The lessons such as checking blind spots, pivoting with courage, and leading through ambiguity apply universally. At its core, it’s about resilience and intentional growth.” That universality also shapes his hope for how Commerce students—and alumni at every stage—can apply lessons from both of his books. “When Wisdom came out, I wanted first-year professionals to feel empowered to enter the industry with confidence and integrity. Now, I hope students see both books as a continuum: first, how to launch with courage, and second, how to sustain and reinvent themselves to navigate the deep blue sea during the mid and executive career levels.”
For a school that prizes principled leadership, analytical rigor, and the human skills required to drive impact, Meade’s newest work reads like a companion to the McIntire experience—an invitation to turn technical fluency into durable influence, and ambition into legacy. And if there’s one message he wants emerging leaders to keep close amid the churn of modern work, it’s this: “Don’t rush. Success is not a sprint; it’s an endurance game. The pressure to achieve quickly can blind you to experiences that shape character. Trust the process, build relationships deeply, and remember that the most meaningful milestones come when purpose aligns with performance.”
