Daniel Brener

Columbia Business School

“Finance professional turned tech entrepreneur, driven by family, passion for soccer, and global perspectives.”

Hometown: Recife, Brazil (Born)

Fun Fact About Yourself: I speak five languages, hold three passports, and am working on a fourth one (Italian).

Undergraduate School and Major: Brigham Young University – Business Management with a concentration in Finance and Marketing

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: InvestPRO – Founder and CEO of a venture-backed fintech startup creating solutions for wealth managers.

What makes New York City such a great place to earn an MBA? New York and CBS form the nexus of finance, technology, and innovation, making it a great place to learn, network in, and be in the forefront of the future of finance.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Columbia Business School’s MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The Global Family Enterprise Program. My wife’s family runs a global shrimp farming and export business where continuity is key. The insights from this program and the Family Business Club will help me propel our family business to exponential and transgenerational growth. The curriculum includes classes such as Family Business Management and Managing Conflict in the Family Business.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Columbia Business School? I’m particularly inspired by Professor Wright’s Strategy class, analyzing how companies like Walmart, Apple, and Samsung build and sustain their competitive advantage. I also appreciate the openness of my classmates in recognizing their strengths and actively leveraging CBS’s resources and fellow classmates to build on them. Columbia’s environment fosters skill development and collaboration. I’m also the Finance Associate Vice President for the Technology Club, which is one of Columbia’s largest and most active clubs supporting students from industry expertise to career placement and events.

Looking at your recruitment, what was the moment when you realized Columbia Business School was the right program for you? Why? After speaking with 10 CBS students or alumni, I felt a strong alignment with CBS’s culture and community.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Balancing the demands of preparing for MBA admissions tests while managing two businesses with a team of 50 people, a newborn, and a two-year-old daughter.

What do you hope to do after graduation? I aim to leverage my financial, operational, and technological skills in a large financial firm, applying my entrepreneurial experience to make a broader impact.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Columbia Business School’s MBA program?

1 – Define where you want to go and how CBS can uniquely help you get there.

2 – Think about how you’ll contribute beyond being just a student—bring something distinct to the CBS community.

DON’T MISS: MEET COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2026