MARIO RIVERA

Assistant Market Head, UBS

Heritage: Puerto Rican

Age: 27

 

Recognitions:                                             

• Outstanding Service and Commitment to the Community, Cornell University, 2011

• National Residence Hall Honorary Member, Cornell University, 2011

• Daniel Mahoney Scholarship Award, Cornell University

 

By: Frank Morris

                                                                       
Mario Rivera just keeps moving on up in the world of finance, and he doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.

"I set the bar at CEO. That is what I see at the top, that is where I see successful people. One day I will figure out what it takes to get there,” the 27-year-old Cambridge resident said.

The New Jersey native is the assistant market head at the private wealth management office of UBS in Boston. It’s a position he was promoted to at age 25, making him the youngest person to ever fill that role at UBS in Boston.

“I support financial advisors to help them grow and run their business,” Rivera explained of his job. “My key responsibilities are to help with their day-to-day challenges,” such as investment issues, transitions, mortgage challenges, helping with liquidity and providing resources. “I try to identify what will help them with their business,” he said.

As a student at Cornell University, Rivera founded the first ever undergraduate Ivy League chapter of ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals For America), and served as its first president.

"We really needed a voice on campus where Latino business students can work together and obtain the opportunities that are out there. This was a way to really bring us all together — all the Latino talent together — and put it in front of companies,” he said.

Upon graduating, Rivera joined the ALPFA New Jersey Board, serving as its director of corporate relations. After relocating to Massachusetts last year, he joined the ALPFA Boston Board as its vice president of partnership development.

“Moving to Boston has really opened my eyes outside of New York and New Jersey in terms of what opportunities are available,” he said. “A lot of the venture capital money is moving here just because of the opportunities, which makes this a ripe city. I get to be a part of that and see the way it's developing.”
                                                                                         

Rivera started his professional career in the two-year UBS Graduate Talent Program, rotating between various departments at the firm. He then applied for and landed a role in the banking group before being promoted to his current position.

"I’m pretty ambitious. I feel confident about myself and capabilities and skills,” he said. “So I’m always thinking what's the next role that will help me advance my career, always being challenged, always doing something new. I look at the opportunities I can learn from and that’s what keeps me motivated.”

But it’s his family that inspires him, Rivera said. “My dad went to Cornell and really set the path originally and worked his way up to VP of another company. My mother is a teacher [and] impacting the lives of other people is really exciting. If there were any two paths I could lead, it would probably be those two.”