2013 40 Under Forty: Derek Mohamed

Mohamed

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Title: Senior Vice President, Wealth Advisor, UBS Financial Services

Company location: Wellesley

Residence: Westborough

Favorite movie: “Miracle”

Favorite book: Hard to choose one, but a few recent ones I enjoyed are: “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell; “Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner” by Dean Karnazes, and “Live a Thousand Years: Have the Time of Your Life” by Giovanni Livera.

Career highlights: More important to me than any firm or industry accolades or awards is the sincere appreciation expressed by the families I have helped over the years. Having a meaningful impact on the successful outcome of their financial futures is what I’m most passionate about.

Community involvement: Shortly after moving to Westborough about a year ago, my wife Nicole and I helped establish a before-school fitness program for kids called BOKS (Build Our Kids’ Success) in two elementary schools. By the end of the school year, there were almost 100 kids going through the program each week, and we have heard fantastic stories about not only how much their academic work has improved, but also how the program has helped with self-confidence and motivation inside and outside the classroom.

Biggest success: My biggest success has been building a simple and elegant wealth management process and a world-class team from the ground up. Today we’re able to simplify and organize our clients’ financial lives, acting as their personal chief financial officer, so they can make informed decisions and have confidence in their ability to reach their long-term goals.

Biggest challenge: My biggest challenge has been realizing that while the work we do is critical, I don’t have the capacity to take on an unlimited number of clients.

Mentors: My best mentor was my father. Although he passed away early in life — at age 53, when I was 19 — the lessons I learned by watching how he lived his life — about work ethic, perseverance, positive thinking and integrity — had an incredible impact.

Hidden talents: For the last five years, I have been competing in the sport of Crossfit, which is growing exponentially worldwide. I’m the only man in the world to have competed in every team competition at the world Crossfit Games (2009-2013), and was part of Team Crossfit New England, which won the world championship in 2011 and took the silver in 2013.

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