My name is Aakash Shah and I am happy to say that I have been a part of MIBAR since the start of 2019. Since I am so new to MIBAR, I would like to take this post to briefly introduce myself and share how I ended up here.
I suppose the only place to start with a post like this is from the beginning – I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI where my parents have lived for about 35 years. Having moved to New York pretty recently, I still get a good laugh out of people’s reactions to me saying that I am from Wisconsin. It’s not just farms and cows roaming everywhere! I have not lived in Milwaukee since my high school days, but it is most definitely still my home base.
After high school I went on to study civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Now, you may be wondering how I ended up in IT consulting with a degree in civil engineering. After dedicating nearly five years to the industry, I decided about two weeks before graduation that I did not want to be a civil engineer. I knew it would not be the right fit for my long-term career goals so I needed to find an alternative in which I could still apply the quantitative and problem-solving skills I developed through my engineering education. I did my research and was able to speak with some people with deep knowledge of the industry who introduced me to the world of IT consulting.
I was lucky enough to land a job in Houston, TX at a global IT consulting firm right out of college. I was assigned to this firm’s NetSuite business unit, where I had the opportunity of implementing NetSuite for several clients in the both the manufacturing and wholesale distribution spaces. I also was able to receive my SuiteFoundations Certification and SuiteSuccess Wholesale Distribution Authorization during this time.
I received a lot of great experience with my previous employer, but I knew I ultimately wanted to work for a smaller firm with a wider variety of responsibilities. Oh, I also really wanted to live in New York City. If you add all of these factors up, you can see why I feel so grateful to be working for MIBAR. I would just like to conclude by saying that I am truly looking forward to growing within the company and contributing on a high level while gaining exposure to things I may not have been able to elsewhere.
To give you another insight as to who I am, here are some fun facts from a Q/A session:
What do you like to do in your spare time outside of work?
Right now I would say that I have been spending a lot of time just hopping around to different parts of the city since it is still pretty new to me. I get bad cabin fever so I try to stay out of my apartment as much as possible.
Do you have a favorite sports team?
I’m a die-hard Milwaukee Bucks fan. I think I have the same level of affection for Giannis Antetokounmpo as I do for my own family.
How do we feel about Bucky’s chances in the tournament this year?
Honestly, I’ve been a pretty bad Badger fan after graduating. I was lucky to be going to school at Wisconsin for the Final Four and National Championship runs so I figured we must have peaked then. I don’t know what the Badgers chances are in March, but I’d happily and unapologetically hop back on the bandwagon if things started looking good.
Are you reading anything good right now? If so, what?
Right now I am reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. It isn’t the most riveting read but I am definitely getting a lot of good insight.
What’s the last TV show you watched?
Succession – but like everyone else I am just waiting for Game of Thrones
