Robert Anthony Perez

University of Miami, Herbert Business School

“I am always ready to help, with a deep love for my family and friends.”

Fun fact about yourself: I am an avid camper, and I own a pet hen and rooster.

Hometown: Miami, Florida

High School: John A. Ferguson Senior High

Major: Finance and Legal Studies

Favorite Business Course: BUS300 – Critical Thinking and Persuasion

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

Extracurricular

I joined the TAMID Group at University of Miami, which examines financial statements and equity research to develop discounted cash flow and comparable company models to achieve a valuation for a publicly-traded company. I have served as an Industry Leader within the organization for three semesters. In this role, I lead teams of analysts, developed investment theses, and managed pitch creation. I am currently the Director of Fund, overseeing the operations of the fund group and organizing stock pitch logistics. During my time in TAMID, I have participated in four stock pitches that earned 3rd (Spring 2024), 3rd (Fall 2024), 4th (Fall 2024), and 2nd (Fall 2025) place respectively in the TAMID national competition against colleges such as Northwestern University, Cornell University, and Columbia University.

I was a Professional Development Student Leader for BUS211 for four semesters, where I helped students create strong resumes, professional LinkedIn profiles, and practice interview skills with mock interviews.

I was a mentor for the Target Canes Wall Street Club for four semesters. As a mentor, I helped students perform outreach to current analysts or associates at investment banks and assisted with technical interview preparation.

I was a Team Leader for MGT100 Managing for Success in the Global Environment for one semester, after which I was promoted to Executive Team Leader, ensuring Team Leaders know which topics to cover every week and assisting them with project logistics and inquiries. I was in this ETL role for four semesters.

I had the privilege of speaking on a panel for incoming business school freshmen during orientation week, answering various questions and speaking on my experience at University of Miami Hebert Business School.

Honors and Awards

During college I was selected to become a Bermont-Carlin Scholar. I traveled to New York City to visit several investment banks and network with current analysts, associates, vice presidents, and managing directors.

Isaac Bashevis Singer Scholar

Foote Fellow Honors Program

President’s Honor Roll every semester

Community Work

I volunteer at the Miami Greek Festival every year while in college and participate in toy drives, orphanage charities, and book fundraisers, at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church.

I recently joined the Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity and am planning to run the Dolphins Cancer Challenge 5K in February 2026.

I volunteered with the Beta Alpha Psi Accounting club.

I volunteered as a judge for a Taekwondo tournament for students ages 5 to 18 since I have the rank of a second-degree black belt.

Where have you interned during your college career?

Bank of America, New York City, NY – Latin American Investment Banking Summer Analyst

City National Bank of Florida, Coral Gables, FL – Commercial Real Estate Credit Risk Intern Analyst

Where will you be working after graduation? I will be working at Bank of America as a Latin American Advisory Investment Banking Analyst.

Who is your favorite business professor? My favorite business professor is Professor Mark Shapiro. Professor Shapiro is fantastic in the classroom, always engaging students and making complicated topics easier to understand. During my time in college, his classes always had the most student engagement. Every single student asks questions and participates in discussions. He is a master of his craft and made law extremely interesting. This led me to pursue Legal Studies as a second major, an interest I did not know I had.

Professor Shapiro also goes above-and-beyond when it comes to helping students outside of the classroom, especially in their career search. Since day one of my career search, he has offered immense support and direction. I did not even know what investment banking was until I began discussing my interests with him and asking for his advice. He broadened my horizons and showed me a world of finance that I did not know existed. Whenever I need help, I always know I can count on him. Not only is he my favorite professor, but he has been my greatest mentor, encouraging me to leave my comfort zone and challenge myself.

He has also helped me make an impact on campus by coaching students with their career searches as well. He has spent countless hours with me, offering continual support, and has connected me with various organizations, students, and alumni. Professor Shapiro has been paramount to my college experience, and I am extremely grateful for his guidance, and excited to make him proud when I join the workforce upon graduation.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? The lessons I learned from studying business are both professional and personal. In terms of business content, I learned that cash flow is the most important variable when it comes to growing and valuing a company. In a more personal sense, the biggest lesson I gained is that promises are of no purpose if they do not generate results, and results are in vain if they are obtained unethically.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Seek advice and mentorship, be ready to learn every single day, and work as hard as you can. Remember that nothing is guaranteed. Everyone has his or her own story, so always treat others with respect and as you would want to be treated.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? Looking back, one thing I would do differently in business school is to try to form as many relationships as possible. As a commuter student, I was always very busy in school and focused on maintaining a competitive GPA while securing internships, mentoring students, and managing going back-and-forth between home and school. It was after I secured my internship and full-time job offer that I began to be more active in clubs and organizations on campus. I have met so many incredible hard-working students at the Herbert Business School and the University of Miami as a whole, and I often wonder how many more friends I would know if I had done this earlier in college. In my experience, it is difficult to make a meaningful impact by yourself, whether it is in the community or in business. This is why I am a strong advocate for forming strong relationships with others and working as a team, being ready to help whenever possible.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? Apart from offering a minor in Artificial Intelligence for Business Technology, the University of Miami Herbert Business School integrates AI within its coursework mainly in the form of projects. For instance, in my Principals of Microeconomics class, I was assigned a project to discuss and analyze petroleum supply and demand trends. Being allowed to use artificial intelligence, I was able to quickly collect and synthesize data in a condensed manner, a task that would have taken me hours to do without the capabilities of AI. After verifying the validity of the data, I was able to work on my project efficiently and draw data-driven conclusions, considering insights that I may never have found without the use of AI tools.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? The achievement I am most proud of is being received into the Orthodox Church. The Parable of the Prodigal Son states, “This brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So, it is when joining the Church. Before joining, I was floating through life, relying on myself for everything, and being frustrated when my plans failed. However, there are some things in life that are too much for one to bear alone, and one needs help. Being a part of the Church is a sobering everyday experience, remembering who you truly are, and becoming who you are called to be. This is my life’s purpose. At the same time, it reveals freedom to me that I never knew – the freedom from anxiety, the knowing that I am never alone, a strange peace and hope in every moment. The Church is truly a haven of peace.

This excerpt from the Akathist of Thanksgiving perfectly expresses the joy in my heart:

“Glory to Thee for calling me into being

Glory to Thee, showing me the beauty of the universe

Glory to Thee, spreading out before me heaven and earth

Like the pages in a book of eternal wisdom

Glory to Thee for Thine eternity in this fleeting world

Glory to Thee for Thy mercies, seen and unseen

Glory to Thee through every sigh of my sorrow

Glory to Thee for every step of my life’s journey

For every moment of glory

Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age.”

Which classmate do you most admire? The classmate I admire most is Kaitlyn Salvi Cruz. When deciding between attending University of Miami and other schools that I was accepted to, Kaitlyn helped me make the decision to come to University of Miami Hebert Business School. I trusted her advice because she is one of the most hard-working people I have ever met. Kaitlyn was the only person I knew when I came to college. She helped me join organizations and always assisted me with advice regarding classes or extracurriculars on campus.

I have seen her grow and develop professionally at school, being a TA with her for many semesters. I see the impact she makes on campus helping students and always being happy to do so. In the many classes we took together, we pushed one another to achieve academic success. I have seen her work at incredible internships and study hard for her LSAT. She is always active and participates in class, sharing great insights and ideas. Kaitlyn showed me that success is to be earned through patience and discipline.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I would most like to thank my mother, Annarella Alfonso Perez, and my father, Roberto Perez, for my success. It is impossible to pick one, since they both perfectly complete one another, are inseparable, and have both played such an active role in my life.

My mother always instilled the value of education within me. I remember spending many summers with her studying mathematics and reading, doing multiplication flash cards to be ready for the upcoming school year. Even until my senior year of high school, she wanted me to study in the summer to be prepared for what was to come. I was always frustrated at this since I wanted to play with friends, go to the pool, play video games, and do literally anything that was not math or reading during the summer. In hindsight, I am grateful that she pushed me how she did. I can confidently say that I would have not achieved my goals without her guidance and constant help. My mother taught me that preparation and sacrifice is necessary in life, and to always invest in my future self. She showed me that if someone is going to do something, he must do it properly, with full effort. The older I get, the more I realize that my mom was right about many things, and it would have done me good to have listened to her earlier.

My father, on the other hand, taught me how to be a man. For years, I saw my father leave home at midnight because he was on call to fix and maintain underground county pump stations as an electrician. At times, he would be gone for multiple days, working in high voltage environments. He works on weekends – even to this day – and he never complains. My father is the hardest-working man I have ever met, and most likely, that I will ever meet. He taught me that there are no excuses. Character is not determined by what you have, but by who you are. He is my hero.

My parents sacrificed so much for my sister and I, leaving their country to start a new life in the United States so that we could have the opportunities that they did not. Everything they did was for us. Without them, I would not have any of the successes that I have today. I thank them for their patience with me, all they have taught me, and above all, their endless love.

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

Mentor as many students as possible from University of Miami Hebert Business School who are considering pursuing a job in investment banking.

Build a strong network across various fields.

What made Robert such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Robert Perez has been one of the defining contributors to the Class of 2026. I had the opportunity to teach him in both BUS 300 (Critical Thinking & Persuasion) and White Collar Crime, and in each setting he emerged as the intellectual pace-setter in the room. In BUS 300, where students must break down complex business problems using structured consulting frameworks, Robert produced analyses with a level of depth and precision that exceeded what I routinely see from many graduate students. In White Collar Crime, he served as the lead Assistant U.S. Attorney in an opioid diversion indictment simulation and delivered a press conference announcing the charges that completely commanded the room — rigorous, poised, and persuasive in equal measure. Just as important as his individual performance was his impact on others: Robert consistently raised the standard of preparation, thinking, and execution for his peers. The Class of 2026 is stronger because he was part of it.

Professor Don Donelson
Senior Lecturer
Miami Herbert Business School

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