A Peek Into Work-Life at Salesforce (Tableau)

Zach Charat (MSBA, Class of 2021) at the UW campus.

Foster MSBA alum and Double Dawg, Zach Charat, recently shared his industry insights with our students as part of the Business Analytics’ Leader Series (BUS AN 550). The 3-credit course is designed to connect students with business analytics leaders for a peek into the field.

Zach pursued his Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance and graduated from Foster in 2011. With 10 years of professional experience in several positions at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he came back to his alma mater for a Master of Science in Business Analytics.  

He is now working with Salesforce, as a Data Strategy Consultant, a job he got through the capstone project he did with Salesforce’s Tableau team during his time as a Foster MSBA student.  

The 5 P’s at Tableau, Salesforce  

Zach’s presentation complemented our students’ in-class learnings with the current events at Tableau. He gave real examples from his organization on the 5 P’s of product, price, promotion, place, and people.  

“We are data people,” Zach described his community at Tableau. “Everyone is passionate about and engaged with everything data related.” 

Our students were introduced to several facets of Tableau’s acquisition by Salesforce and how it has exposed Tableau to a massive pool of resources and collaboration opportunities with practicing experts.  

Everyday Skills in the Field 

A candid Q&A session followed Zach’s presentation, in which he shared some of the technical as well as soft skills he uses as an industry professional on the daily.  

“Communication definitely has a huge role in this discipline,” Zach said. “It is the strong ability to tell a story using data visualization and uniquely presenting the numbers that goes a long way for us business analysts.” 

Having been in this industry for such a long time, Zach gave our students a glimpse of the technical skills that have come especially handy. R is a common language he uses. Additionally, a strong grasp of t-tests, ANCOVA tests, and logistic regression models has proven valuable for him as he grows as a leader. 

Many professionals like Zach visit Foster MSBA classrooms regularly. Seminars and projects in BUS AN 550 acquaint our students with the practical implications of their in-class learnings and contribute to their holistic development at Foster.  

Learn more about the Foster MSBA curriculum and how you can gain skills in boosting business value through data-driven decision making.