Alumnus Mateo Andres Perezrodriguez, MA ’11, Economics
Isaac Reeser, Assistant Director, Development and Alumni Relations, spoke with Alumnus Mateo Andres Perezrodriguez, MA ’11, Economics this spring. In this story, you will learn about Mateo’s journey to Vanderbilt and how his experiences in the commodore community have influenced his life and work.
Our newest GRE Advisory board member, Mateo Andres Perezrodriguez, grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, the first few years on a Ranch a few hours south of the city in Aramberri, later in a blue-collar neighborhood in San Nicolas. Mateo currently lives in Miami, FL working as a Strategy and Operations Adviser on investment ventures, operating businesses for private equity, and advising clients to conduct financial, operational, and commercial due diligence on the buying, selling, and integration of their companies. He has an extensive network in the Fintech community across the Americas and is a huge fan of SEC football, MLS (and soccer around the globe), and saying the Rosary.
When asked what led him to Vanderbilt, Mateo begins his story with his upbringing as a Catholic kid in Monterrey, “Discipline and faith were always important in my upbringing and remain so to this date. Upon these pillars, I built an interest in applied mathematics and human behavior.” These interests eventually led him to study economics at a famous think tank in Mexico City (CIDE) and do an exchange program at the University of Chicago with Professor Roger B. Myerson, who won a Nobel Prize for Economics in 2007, then eventually to an internship as an economist at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland and then afterward at the Central Bank of Mexico.
He describes his academic pursuits as a desire to make an impact: “My intellectual pursuit has always been accompanied by an interest to be the best I can, to develop what I lack but is useful to achieve my goals. Hence, a degree from a top American school made sense, but I also needed a full ride and a place where I could remain Catholic.” Luckily for everyone involved, Vanderbilt met all those requirements and more.
Mateo was impressed by VU’s intellectual rigor and lively student life, but more than that he knew as soon as he stepped on campus that he was going to feel at home in the commodore community. He “was very involved in Vandy catholic (now University Catholic) as well as with different social justice associations.” Vanderbilt also afforded him the chance to do world-class research with well-known scholars like Professor Ronald Masulis (Owen Graduate School of Management), Joel Rodrigue, and Christopher Bennett (now a partner at Bates White).
He also mentions that he has been well served by the Vanderbilt alumni network since graduation. Miller Wiliams, then a partner at Ernst & Young, interviewed him on Vanderbilt’s campus in the fall of 2010. “He got me my first break in my professional life.” Mateo credits the Vanderbilt Foundation for “all the things I have accomplished in the US as an immigrant. EY gave me my work visa which I used then as a building block to become a naturalized citizen in Texas in 2021, build wealth, and be where I am today” We are thrilled to have Mateo’s experience and expertise on our advisory board helping us continue to dare to grow during his tenure.