Robert F. Smith’s Motivation for Earning an MBA as an Engineer

In this fireside chat with Harold L. Martin Sr., Ph.D., Chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Robert F. Smith, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners (Vista) shared the motivation behind his decision to earn his MBA from Columbia Business School after working as a chemical engineer.
Smith began the chat by sharing his motivation early on in his career. He thought there was no more noble pursuit than becoming an inventor and using his chemical engineering skills to solve problems. But joining a book club with those interested in finance and investing stoked his curiosity in Wall Street.
After that, Smith began to understand labor and capital in a way that created a paradigm shift in his career. He realized that the world placed value on a set of skills he did not possess at the time.
Smith also shared the story of meeting John Utendahl, who was the keynote speaker at a Columbia Business School event. He talked to Smith about investment banking and showed him the power of networking. These events put Smith on the path to mergers and acquisitions, which became his passion in the investment field and ultimately led him to Goldman Sachs.
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More Robert F. Smith videos:
Robert F. Smith on learning how capital works: youtube/8O-fkHqNl7g?si=AsthplF48zDMSzCH
Robert F. Smith Speaking at the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington: youtube/xxIb4_0qyk0?si=3qzrSHnSTKklk8mY
Robert F. Smith pays off student debt for Morehouse class of 2019:
youtube/-P1CcRphVnM?si=WSrJaMbhdnlSJywI
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Robert F. Smith is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, who is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista. Smith is committed to solving issues of racial and gender inequality, reforming the education system and eradicating systemic racism. To learn more about Smith, visit robertsmith.com/.
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