Career Path Of An Associate At Aurora Capital Partners
Brandon's career path was "a bit of an untraditional" journey, starting with pre-med, transitioning through tech sales at Oracle and strategy consulting/BioMarin, then leveraging a business school education at UCLA Anderson to pivot into investment banking at Moelis & Company before securing a role at Aurora Capital Partners as an Associate. The path highlights the importance of networking and mentorship, as evidenced by the mentorship which led to business school and ultimately, the current role at Aurora.
Career Pivoting, Finance Career Path, Networking and Mentorship, Business School, Investment Banking
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Brandon Priest
Associate
Aurora Capital Partners
UC Santa Barbara
UCLA Anderson School of Management, MBA
Biology & Related Sciences
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Brandon's career path highlights a non-traditional route into finance, starting with pre-med and transitioning through sales, strategy consulting, and biotech before pursuing an MBA and private equity.
2. His experience showcases the value of transferable skills, demonstrating how skills gained in sales and consulting (like presentation and communication skills) are highly valuable in finance.
3. Networking and mentorship played a crucial role in his career progression, emphasizing the importance of building relationships and seeking advice from experienced professionals.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? What internships or jobs did you have before your current role?
I had a somewhat untraditional career path, especially for someone in finance. I started in pre-med at UC Santa Barbara.
I realized I didn't want to go to medical school, which was a good decision as I would still be doing my residency today. I was trying to figure out my career and got an opportunity in the tech industry that led me to the Bay Area. I spent about two years at Oracle in sales, which was a great learning experience.
However, I wanted to move into something more strategic and finance-related. I leveraged my pre-med background to pivot into strategy. I worked in strategy consulting and then in-house at a biotech firm called BioMarin.
This was a great learning opportunity. I went from sales, just talking to people all day, to working in Excel and PowerPoint. I needed to really own those skills, as they are immensely important. It's table stakes to be able to work quickly on a presentation and communicate your ideas in written and spoken formats.
Along the way, I had great mentors. My boss at BioMarin encouraged me to go to business school. I thought of investing as a career path that was perhaps a pipe dream, but I was going to take my shot. He advised that business school was the best way to do it.
I ended up applying to UCLA Anderson. Los Angeles is where I'm from, and my family is still based there. My wife and I were about to have our first child. When considering the best school option, it was close to home. Fortunately, I got into UCLA.
Then, I tried to pursue a career in finance. If you haven't done banking before business school, you typically can't go directly into private equity. You need at least one or two years of banking experience. So, in business school, I dove into investment banking recruiting.
I ended up getting an offer to join Moelis full-time in LA after graduation. During my second year, I was fortunate enough through networking to get an internship with Aurora Capital, where I am now. I built relationships with the firm and developed goodwill.
About six months after graduation, the team at Aurora called and asked if I wanted to come back. I told them I would be happy to rejoin the firm at my one-year mark. For the last 12 months, I've been at Aurora as an investment associate, working on middle-market transactions.