Mihir Shroff

University of Richmond, Robins School of Business

“Mihir and me here to get the job done!”

Fun fact about yourself: I used to run multiple YouTube channels when I was a kid relating to the videos games I played. My most viewed video has over 50,000 views.

Hometown: Shawnee, Kansas

High School: Shawnee Mission Northwest High School

Major: Business Administration major with a concentration in Finance and Marketing

Minor: N/A

Favorite Business Course: Professional Selling with Professor Bergman

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

• Richmond Scholar – Oldham Scholar Designation
• University of Richmond Board of Trustees – Business Management Committee, Planning and Priorities Committee
• President and Treasurer of Gateway Capital Management
• Class Senator of Richmond College Student Government Association
• Treasurer and VP of Alumni Relations of Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity
• Ambassador in 2022 Annual Q Camp
• Research and Teaching Assistant of Professor Mitch Conover’s International Financial Management Course
• Orientation Advisor and Multicultural Preorientation Advisor
• Dean’s List all semesters
• Robins Business Alumni Scholarship Recipient
• Dominion Energy Diversity Scholarship Recipient
• Player on University of Richmond’s Spikeball Team
• Player for Intramural Volleyball 2021-2022
  • Team Performance: 1st Place
• Player for Intramural Soccer 2021-2022
  • Team Performance: 2nd Place
• University team leader for the IU Kelley National Diversity Case Competition
  • Team Performance: 8th place of 37 teams

Where have you interned during your college career?

• Freshman Internship: Finance Intern at Dominion Energy’s Gas Infrastructure Group
  • Richmond, Virginia
• Sophomore Internship: CFO Summer Analyst at Dominion Energy Corporate Finance
  • Richmond, Virginia (Virtual)
• Junior Internship #1: Investment Banking Bootcamp Analyst at Harris Williams
  • Richmond, Virginia (Hybrid)
• Junior Internship #2: Investment Banking Summer Analyst at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (Perella Weinberg Partners)
  • Houston, Texas

Where will you be working after graduation? Investment Banking Analyst at Harris Williams – Richmond, Virginia

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? It does not matter what job you do or what field you want to pursue. All that matters is that you be the best at it.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? If your school offers any sort of business programming, whether it be a guest speaker, networking event or something else, sign up for it! You never know who you will meet at those events, and they will certainly help you narrow in on what exactly you want to do with your degree.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? Business gets a reputation of being analytical and overly numbers-based, but creativity is crucial in business as well. After taking my first introduction to marketing course, I realized that there was a whole depth to business beyond just the numbers, and this depth compelled me to add on a marketing concentration. In order to be successful in business, I have learned that it is important to strike a balance between skills related to analytics and skills related to creativity. New ideas are the center of business innovation, and I am beyond thrilled to have studied both sides in some capacity.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? As a first semester freshman, I was intimidated every time I stepped into the business school or had conversations with upperclassmen who knew more than me. Although I did a good job breaking down those barriers eventually, I wish that from day one I could tell myself that it is okay to make mistakes or say something that was not factually correct. Business school is a time to learn and soak in all the information you can, and mistakes are just a part of that overall learning process.

What business executive do you admire most? Although I see many business executives doing many admirable things in the news all the time, one business executive I was able to understand more intimately was the late Thomas Farrell, former CEO of Dominion Energy. This past decade has certainly been tumultuous for the energy industry, and Farrell’s leadership has led Dominion Energy to continue being in the forefront of power and utilities. His ambitious sustainability goals skyrocketed; it set an industry example for the trajectory for how they will adapt to the more demanding needs of the planet while continuing to supply dependable power for Americans. Furthermore, he pioneered the “safety-first” approach in the company. From business meetings to plant visits, employees representing Dominion would always preach about the importance of safety. Farrell truly knew how to put the employee first, and having experienced such a great culture, I have come to admire just how important that is.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I would say that my proudest achievement was during my term as the president of our school’s Wall Street club, Gateway Capital Management. Recruiting was on a downhill trajectory after the first COVID-impacted recruiting cycle, which was my year. Even though I was proud of my placement, our school had not placed as well as it had in previous years. Over my winter break, I crafted a syllabus essentially for a 1-unit class. during the Spring semester of 2021, I met with the new members of the club (mostly sophomores) for multiple hours each week to teach them the fundamentals of investment banking, sales & trading, and equity research (as well as prepare them for the challenging recruiting cycle ahead of them.) Through their hard work and dedication, as well as the school’s hard-working finance department, we were able to achieve arguably the best placement we have had in over a decade. Reflecting on this achievement, I am extremely happy about it, but what makes me the happiest is that I was able to successfully pass on all that I have learned from the upperclassmen mentors in my life who look the time to change my life in a sizable, positive manner. I am proud of each and every single person I thought, and my only hope for them is that they will pass on their knowledge to future Spiders.

Which classmate do you most admire? I most admire my classmate, Alexander Mtimet. Not only do I view him as a lifelong friend, but I also view him as a teacher of sorts. This is interesting to say because he is a school year just below me, and I am traditionally viewed as his mentor. However, he has taught me so much over the past four years I have known him. I have never seen anyone with such raw intelligence and such great desire to learn, no matter the topic. Xander has taught me that learning for learning’s sake is life-changing because it is important to be well-rounded in all aspects of life, not just academics. Xander’s inherent and intense curiosity makes him a person I always find myself wanting to be around. I wish I could tell him this more, but he is studying abroad at Oxford for the entire school year.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My dad is my biggest role model. Nothing feels the same or gives me more happiness than when he tells me that he is proud of me. Everything I ever do is to make sure I can make him the happiest father in the world. This is because he has always been there for me. From taking me to all my school events as a child to driving me to multiple cities across the nation for my internships to being someone I can always talk to, my dad is the foundation for my life’s success. Dad, if you are reading this, I love you so much, and I am so appreciative of everything you worked to afford me in life.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. Be in a position to mentor others, especially those traditionally underrepresented in business
2. Executive produce a hit song

What are your hobbies? In my free time, I love producing music. Ever since I was in middle school, I was trying to create new songs for my family to listen to. Over the years, I have gotten better at producing and mastered my production software. I was awarded a grant by the university during my senior year which enabled me to essentially build a recording studio in my room. I have my music published on all major streaming services. Besides that, I collect, invest, and resell popular shoes. I also love working out and pursuing fitness.

What made Mihir such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2022?

“Mihir Shroff thrives in the Robins School of Business learning community that combines rigorous business academics with access to equally challenging liberal arts courses on the University of Richmond campus. He takes as much pride in his A+ grades in Basics of Acting and Fundamentals of Music as he does with his perfect scores in Finance and Marketing courses.

Mihir has been a student in three of my upper-level marketing courses over the past year and a half. I consider him more a colleague than a student. He approaches complicated business problems from such a unique perspective that his solutions are many times dazzling. Mihir’s class contributions are rarely from a single point of view. He has a special ability to draw on his business and fine arts interests and then links them with his own cultural experiences. His comments and insights almost always steer the class conversation in a more meaningful direction.

Mihir moves at the speed of someone who grew up in a large northeastern city. However, he is a Midwesterner, who blends his Kansas values with a strong intellect. He is a popular leader on campus that others seek out and admire. In January, he was the senior captain of the Robins School team that competed in the 2022 National Diversity Case Competition sponsored by Indiana University’s Kelley School. As the team coach, I watched Mihir work with and inspire his sophomore and junior team members, leading them to a strong finish in the competition.

While maintaining an impressive 3.95 average over four years, Mihir has also been president of Gateway Capital Management (the student management investment fund), an executive board member of Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity, a member of student government, and a university orientation advisor. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Oldham Scholarship that is awarded to only seven incoming freshmen each year.

Many students had their routines disrupted by the pandemic, but Mihir never seemed to lose a step. He was just as vibrant in my online Zoom class as he is today during an in-person class. Very little can slow down Mihir’s thirst for knowledge on a wide range of subjects. If the future of business leadership requires diverse skills and experiences to approach complex problems, then Mihir Shroff will most likely be in a c-suite position sometime soon.”

Bill Bergman
Robins Teaching Fellow & Instructor of Marketing

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