Molly McGinty Steele ('04)

After her graduation from W&L as a Mathematics-French double major, Molly spent a year in New Zealand. She then returned to Florida, her home state, and earned a master's degree in financial mathematics from Florida State. During her time at Florida State, she received full financial support and worked as a teaching assistant.

Molly is currently working for the Gap, Inc. Her first position with the company was Distribution Analyst. She reports, "There were several math-related components in that job. I focused on optimizing inventory levels for the fleet as well as each individual store. I decided how many sizes and how much inventory each store had based on sales performance, promotional activity, size selling and capacity issues. Each week I would adjust inventory levels in an attempt to get 'the right merchandise to the right store at the right time,' as the Gap likes to say. 

"The Gap also has unique contracts with a specific set of international vendors who produce goods that we carry year round. We receive a shipment of these goods each week. As a Distribution Analyst, I was in charge of forecasting sales and inventory receipts from these vendors."

After working for about a year as a Distribution Analyst, Molly entered and completed an executive training program for the Gap. She now works as a buyer for Gap Canada. "My main focus now is building a product assortment and utilizing financial forecasts from my team members to build investment strategies based on product, visual, and budget constraints."