Written by Caroline Deisley, USC blog contributor 
Name: David Kirtman
Resume: Vice President at J.P. Morgan, Single Stock/Program Sales Trading
Sport at USC: Football
Caroline Deisley (CD): How hard was it be the guy that everyone knew as "Another Touchdown Courtesy of Kirtman" and be a business major in the Marshall School of Business?
David Kirtman (DK): School in general is just very, very difficult when you're expected to perform at such a high level at your sport. We didn't have the luxury of just waking up and going to class. It was hard to focus on school because we were building something special especially my true freshman year. It was kind of our first big Pac-10 win and a BCS bowl berth and win. It became very difficult to prioritize but you have to realize you're at an amazing university. You're getting this amazing opportunity to play for not only a top tier football program but also to be at a top tier school. You really had to bear down and focus if you wanted to take advantage of those opportunities.
CD: Why business? Did you always know that that was what you wanted to study coming in?
DK: I knew I wanted to be in the business school just because it had such a good name, the Marshall School of Business. My father always pushed going into business and learning all the nuances. He always thought that it would take you further than any sport. I definitely focused on that when choosing schools and focused on that when getting into USC. It wasn't a very easy decision to make as far as the work load. There are a few other majors that are less demanding as far as my time and my commitment but when you're given the opportunity to be in the Marshall School of Business I think you need to take it.
CD: What experiences do you remember from your time at 'SC that have helped you get where you are now at J.P. Morgan and helped you succeed?
DK: Other athletes at USC who are highly-recruited 5-star athletes, they came to USC with a very high pedigree. I wouldn't say I was the most recruited high school player or the best football player when I first started out at the university. I spent my first two years really on the practice squad and I didn't get much playing time until really my redshirt sophomore season which is already my junior year of college. I think that helped me as far as being humble and really working at your trade and trying to win in other ways as far as whether it's your knowledge of the game, your work ethic or just the heart that you have. For me, getting into banking, I wasn't necessarily dealt with a difficult hand but I didn't go to an Ivy League school but when I was interviewing with these banks, they were like, 'Look, you don't have an Ivy League school on your resume. We can't even get you past the first round.' That kind of put a chip on my shoulder with them not giving me an opportunity just based on some sort of filter that HR would have. It made me want to work harder and beat everyone else that had that pedigree and would take the opportunity for granted. I think that's what drove me to get into the business and be successful because I was at a disadvantage just because of where I went to school which is a shame because USC was such a great school but so many banks these days have so many applicants that they have to filter it at some level.
CD: A lot of former players have said how much they miss the college game because it was just about football and then once they get to the NFL they really see it for the business that it is. As a business guy, did you feel like you had an understanding of the business aspect of professional football that you could use as an advantage especially when you bounced around from team to team?
DK: I understood and I never took it personality. I didn't have the most illustrious NFL career. I was released four or five times in a matter of four years. The first time I was cut as a rookie, that was the most difficult time. I don't think I had ever been cut by any team in my entire athletic career so that I took personally. I think it's very easy to get caught up in the numbers and the business aspect of the NFL and it's very, very distracting. It can take people's attention away from what's really at hand and that's playing the sport you love and competing at the highest level. I think anyone going into the NFL at first is new to the whole business aspect and new to the fact that they can be in one place one day and another the next. It's a very scary thought for someone who has been so successful in sports their whole life. I understood the business aspect but I don't know if it helped me handle it any better. I think the business aspect is irrelevant in how you should approach the game. I think you have to understand the business in that you could be gone not just because you didn't make the right play but because you're too expensive or they're keeping two tight ends instead of two fullbacks so that's what you need to understand in terms of business. It's still football, it's still a sport and the best player 90 percent of the time does play.
CD: Did you ever consider staying around the NFL, but working on the business side of it?
DK: I really did. I thought about it a lot and thought about coaching as well. I was always a very big student of the game but something really intrigued me about getting into finance. I did the NFL player development program and I interned with Merril Lynch over an offseason. One of my high school buddies was working there at the time which I didn't know and he got me intrigued with stocks and learning about markets. It was something that opened my mind to idea that the markets don't really dictate what the globe is doing but when the world is moving, markets are moving with it so you're just so in tune with what's going on globally. For me, I wasn't happy and I was a football player so it wasn't that I was done, it was just time to try to be successful in something else. I think being the competitive person that I am, I wanted to apply the qualities of my degree into a business situation so I was happy for the challenge. I do miss the game a lot as far as being around it but you can always get into it so maybe that's in the future.Â
CD: So what was that process when you had the realization that you needed to move on? When did you know it was time and what was the transition like? What was that next step?
DK: It was actually very, very quick as far as my decision-making. It was probably a little rash but my fourth season I was released by the Seahawks and no one had called me in six months. It was already late January but during that time I was talking to one of my family members who was actually in Japan and a mentor of mine, my cousin Kalil. He had done the Japan banking thing and said, 'Look it's a really big opportunity if you want to get in the business.' He mentored me and set me up with a few meetings so he put that on my plate. So, this was like in November and I still hadn't gotten a call from an NFL team. I met with my former company, Merril Lynch, and they were like look for an interim new trader. You can try to hang on for a long time and just looking about my path and success, I weighed the probability of me getting another shot of making a team and my eligibility of making a practice squad was already over. So, I went to another opportunity and moved on.Â
CD: And now your years removed from the NFL, how would you say your life has changed? What's been the biggest aspect of that jump or that transition?
DK: There are a lot of changes. I live in Japan so it's so far removed from everything sports-related in the U.S. it's kind of a joke. I guess one change for me on the physical level is the pain I felt in my knees and in my body is gone so that's a huge change. If you're a competitive person, nothing really changes as far as how you approach your work and how you approach your life. I don't think much has changed as far as my attitude goes or my daily thought processes go. It's just a different focus, it's finance versus sports. Â
CD: And, how would you describe your day-to-day life at work? What are some of the things you are focusing on now day-in and day-out?
DK: There's a lot to focus on, I don't know where to start. It's global markets, global events, global information flow just ingesting all of that for the first couple hours of my day. Then, it's becoming creative around how to make money for people on a stock individual level. It's a lot of reading, it's a lot of analyzing, it's a lot of interaction, it's a lot of failures and success which is what makes it so interesting. What makes it so challenging and interesting is that things can go against you very quickly. I think it relates to football a lot in the sense that you could be scoring a touchdown one second and the next you could be on your butt getting flattened by some linebackers. For me, my focus is to keep diving into everything that I can.
CD: We always wrap these up with a question about what's next for you. What are some of your goals, what's on the horizon?
DK: My goal is to maximize my presence here in Asia as a leader in J.P. Morgan in equities as far as my career. I'm just starting and hopefully, eventually in the next five or six years I could transition that into something in the U.S. with my company. Personally, it's fairly simple. I have two children now and so with my family I just want to make an opportunity for them to be successful in their life as well. I think it's important to want to be successful in my business but I do want to raise my children and make their life better so I'll work as hard as I can to make that happen.
