Gregor McKenzie

Lipscomb University College of Business

“I am a British golfer in Nashville majoring in Finance.”

Fun fact about yourself: I am a huge Scotland Rugby fan

Hometown: Oxford, England

High School: Magdalen College School, Oxford

Major: Finance

Minor: N/A

Favorite Business Course: Investment Banking

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:
> Dean’s List every semester
> FEI Nashville Scholarship 2022
> Volunteer at Operation Stand Down Tennessee

> Student-Athlete Advisory Council member
> Lipscomb College of Business Credible Award Winner 2022
> Outstanding Undergraduate Presentation at 2021 Student Scholars’ Symposium
> Starter on an NCAA DI golf team

Where have you interned during your college career?
> UBS Wealth Management; Franklin, TN; Wealth Management Intern
> Ernst & Young; Nashville, TN; Financial Services (FSO) Assurance Intern
> LFM Capital; Nashville, TN; Private Equity Intern

Where will you be working after graduation? Masters in Financial Analysis at London Business School

Who is your favorite business professor? Dr. Jeff Jewell – I enjoyed the content of his classes and think his knowledge of the subjects he teaches is impeccable. He always has an answer to even the most difficult conceptual questions in corporate finance.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? It was the importance of preparation – being prepared for meetings, presentations, and assignments is vital to success.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Be open to trying new things. Look into different subject areas, go to networking events and meet with people, and try and be proactive about what you want to do with your career.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? It was how important things outside of the classroom are to the experience. Internships and networking have arguably contributed as much to my time at Lipscomb as classroom learning.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? Try and have my career goals narrowed down much earlier. This is a tough thing to do when you’re 18/19 though, and experiencing many different things has its advantages too.

What business leader do you admire most? Mark Carney has done so many interesting things and has had a career path I would love to emulate. The work he is doing to incorporate climate initiatives into our existing market infrastructure is particularly interesting. However, he is best known for his work as a central banker/ A more classic business leader who I admire is Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates. He has recently released a great deal of writing covering everything from how to improve yourself day-to-day to describing in great detail all of the large debt crises in history. I have started to read through his work and think this decision to share a lifetime of knowledge is fascinating and hugely insightful.  

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? Probably getting into graduate school at London Business School. Coming to the US for golf meant that I was set on getting my Masters if I decided not to pursue professional sports and being accepted to LBS was a huge boost for my career prospects in Investment Banking back home.

Which classmate do you most admire? Alexander (Ajacks) Green. Ajacks is an incredible student and one of my closest friends. He is someone who I believe embodies the saying “you can achieve anything you put your mind to.” Ajacks was on the golf team with me at Lipscomb for our first 3 years, but left the team for his final year. Watching him work hard to maintain his 4.0, make the most of his internship in private equity and find a real passion for something besides golf has been hugely inspiring. With his work ethic, he will be phenomenally successful in everything he applies himself to and I am sure we will stay close for a long time to come.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My Dad. I really appreciate all of the values he has instilled in me and the opportunities I have been afforded as a result of his support. A lot of the ways I think about different aspects of life come from him and his perspectives.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
Run my own Private Equity firm with operations in the US and London
Start my career in Investment Banking in London

What are your hobbies? Playing golf, watching rugby and cricket, reading, and volunteering

What made Gregor such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2023?

“I first became aware of Gregor two years ago, when some of my colleagues were discussing the “outstanding young student from England.” Since then, I have been following his academic and professional career. This semester, I have had the pleasure of teaching Gregor in my Corporate Finance class and I look forward to teaching him in my Investment Banking class next semester.

I have been an academic for over thirty years. Gregor is easily in the top 5% of students I have had over that period. He is exceptionally bright, a quick learner, an excellent communicator, very personable, and is well liked by his peers. Gregor has earned a perfect 4.0 GPA so far in his academic career. He has consistently been the top student in his finance classes, even though there are many other strong students.

The finance curriculum at Lipscomb is quite rigorous, requiring students to master fundamental analysis, financial and cash flow forecasting, valuation, and financial modeling among other challenging material. The curriculum also requires students to be able to communicate effectively, both in writing and through oral presentations. So far, Gregor has excelled in all areas. Last year he even won a university-wide award for oral presentations at our Student Scholars Symposium.

Last year our finance and accounting faculty unanimously voted to award Gregor the Financial Executives International Scholarship, which is given to our top junior finance student. This year the College of Business leadership team unanimously voted to award Gregor our Credible Award, which is given to the undergraduate business student who most displays confidence, competence, and trustworthiness. We have not held the vote yet, but I fully expect Gregor to win our Outstanding Finance Graduate Award in the spring.

Gregor has accomplished all this while holding internships at UBS and Ernst & Young and being a member of the University’s golf team. This combination of achievements requires high levels of discipline and time management skills. Despite all the demands on his time, Gregor has never missed an academic deadline or requested an extension on an assignment.”

Jeff Jewell, PhD and CFA
Professor of Finance
Chair, Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics

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