Great careers are made with good people, and better questions.
This week I spoke with Matt Fickel, 2020 UVA grad who’s now The Risk Management Lead for the U.S. Navy’s Foreign Investment Review.
The Rundown:
COLD OPEN: Finance bro → U.S. Navy
BREAKDOWN: What does a Risk Management Lead in the Navy actually do?
STEAL THIS: What would your TED talk be about?
INDUSTRY INSIDER: Government VC / PE firms and
IF I WERE YOU: Realize that your first job doesn’t make or break your career
COLD OPEN
How Did You Get Your Start?
I attended community college for 2 years, then transferred into McIntire. I was a pure finance bro, infatuated with that culture, and thought “duh, I’m going to work at Goldman or Morgan Stanley.”
I was getting rolled in my finance classes 4th year spring.
I realized my desire to work in finance was only for the prestige, title, and social pressures. I thought I was supposed to work in finance.
I took a data analytics class, fell in love, and took a data analyst job at a mortgage company. I only stayed for 9 months – I didn’t like the location, especially since my contact said I’d be working elsewhere.
I moved back to Virginia Beach, unemployed. One day, someone from our church emailed my mom that the Navy command worked for was hiring. My parents said, this is all you got, you’re working for the government. Reluctantly, I accepted.
I was not thrilled. Typical government job, 80 year old building, not lots of young people – I was in a slump. 1 ½ years in, I met the Director of Policy and Contracting. She told me that working in the government can be really prestigious. You can go very high, very far, and do some really cool and impactful work.
2 years later, she forwarded me an email about a Program Analyst position in the Pentagon. The description was:
Responsible for overall planning, direction, and success or key agency programs
Develop processes and policies for effectively identifying risk from foreign investment
Manage and develop metrics for the portfolio
I applied and got the job. So, now, I’m the risk management lead for the Navy’s Foreign Investment review team.
PRESENTED BY THE FOUNDRY
When I first thought of Hoo You Know, The Foundry — UVA’s free startup space above Coupes — helped me figure out what to do next.
They offer advising from seasoned founders, resources, and mentorship whether you have a 3 a.m. idea or are scaling a business. They helped get me started — and they can help you too.
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BREAKDOWN
Explain Your Job, Simply.
If a foreign company wants to buy a U.S. company, there’s a government-wide review process called CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in The United States).
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) submits one risk report on behalf of the entire DOD. It’s a consolidation of separate reports from the Navy, Army, Airforce, Marine Corps and others. I’m responsible for the Navy’s portion.
If Ryan’s Bakery in Charlottesville is being bought by Matt’s LLC (UK), we probably aren’t concerned. However, if a company that does business with the Navy, or develops specific Navy tech is being purchased, we take a deeper look at that.
If the company works on sonar, submarine tech, or radar systems, or produces airplane parts, the Navy could be affected — so our job is to identify and assess the significance of any risks to the Navy posed by that foreign acquisition.
We look at financials, filing materials explaining the intent of the buyer, and what stakeholders within the Navy may be impacted from the transaction. If a company that manufactures airplane components is acquired and the new owners decide to stop selling those components to the Navy, that could become problematic. My team identifies what departments/organizations within the Navy use those airplane components and we work with them to determine what the effect might be. If we can’t get components from them anymore, can we get them from someone else? How long would it take to change sources? Would it cost more? Are the components only made by them or can you buy them anywhere? How quickly could we start getting them from a new source? Would there be a lapse where we aren’t able to get them? Stuff like that.
It feels as close as I can get to IB and Consulting within the Navy.
STEAL THIS
What’s A Question You Love To Be Asked (Or Asking)?
“If you could give a Ted talk on anything, what would it be about?”
I got asked this for a McIntire club interview, and it stuck.
INDUSTRY INSIDER
What Do People Misunderstand About The Department of Defense?
With the Department of Defense, and the government broadly, there’s so much that goes on that people don’t realize.
I found out there’s a ton of venture capital & private equity type firms inside the DOD. In my department, we do supply chain risk, foreign capital risk management and broadly, economic statecraft.
It’s pretty insane. In my first few months, a transaction we reviewed made its way to the president who took our recommendation.
So, for one, if you're a finance guy, you can do that within the government.
Lastly, I will say the pay is a bit less, but the intangibles make up for it. I have friends who don’t take PTO or go on vacations because they’re worried about performance reviews. If I wanted a 3 day weekend, done, no questions asked. It’s 40 hour work weeks on the dot – lots of folks come in early so they can leave at 3:30 every day. The benefits are great, health insurance is cheap, the retirement/pension plan is great. You sacrifice a little in salary that you get back in quality of life and work/life balance. I wasn’t a fan at first, but I’ve come to really enjoy it.
IF I WERE YOU
Do You Have Any Advice For Students?
There’s a delusion among UVA students, especially McIntire, that your first job is make-or-break.
I was under the impression that if you're not at a top 10 bank in NYC as a 22 year old it's over, and that's just not true.
Brand name, position, and experience matter, but there is a lot more fluidity than I was made to believe.
Your career is what you make of it, and that's the best piece of advice I’ve ever received.
JOB OPPORTUNITY
The Ember Fellowship
The Ember Fellowship connects recent grads with vetted startup roles in Birmingham, Atlanta, and Detroit. Fellows get hands-on training in startup fundamentals and AI, plus access to a 1,600+ alumni network. Join the virtual info session (Fri 11/14, 12:30 PM ET) (Fri 11/14, 12:30 PM ET) or apply for the 2026 cohort.
CLOSING TIME
What To Do Next
Reading is great — but putting yourself out there, meeting new people, and finding new opportunities is what this is all about.
Heres 3 things you should do right now:
Find a UVA alum here and send them a cold message. (Click here for ideas on what to say).
Follow up in a week if they don’t respond.
Explore an new industry:
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