Skip to main content
  • Programs
    Graduate At a Glance
    • M.S. in Accounting
    • M.S. in Business Analytics
    • M.S. in Commerce
    • M.S. in Global Commerce
    • M.S. in Management of IT
    Undergraduate At a Glance
    • B.S. in Commerce
    • Entrepreneurship Minor
    • General Business Minor
    • Leadership Minor
    • Real Estate Minor
    Non-Degree
    • Commerce Essentials
    Back
    Programs at McIntire

    McIntire’s innovative specialized business graduate degrees and its hallmark undergraduate program are designed to create a wealth of opportunities for students. Immersive, hands-on courses offer transformative educational experiences that provide immediate value. Our faculty-led programs provide key business skills and fluency in many business areas.

  • Faculty & Research
    Faculty
    • Meet Our Faculty
    Initiatives
    • Research@McIntire
    • AI@McIntire
    • Housing & Urban Finance Lab
    Research Centers
    • Center for Business Analytics
    • Center for Global Commerce
    • Center for Investors and Financial Markets
    • Center for Real Estate
    • Center for the Management of IT
    • Galant Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
    • PwC Center for Innovation in Professional Services
    Back
    Faculty & Research

    McIntire faculty inspire students to lead with integrity and purpose when confronting today’s grand challenges in business. Our bold and brilliant professors are also committed scholars who conduct cutting-edge research through seven active centers that serve as the School's nexus of collaboration and interdisciplinary exploration.

  • The Experience
    About the School
    • Who We Are
    • Meet the Dean
    • Visit McIntire
    • Directory
    The Student Experience
    • Career Support
    • Global Opportunities
    • Student Services
    Back
    It's more than an education.

    In addition to the lifelong benefits that come from an innovative McIntire business education, Commerce School students enjoy an enhanced UVA experience on Grounds and around the globe. From insightful student services that help connect you with your passion to specialized career support that provides real-world employment opportunities, there are countless ways to make the most of your present while investing in your future.

  • MyMcIntire
  • Give
Rick-Gerson_dw2MwvRL

Rick Gerson

Chairman and Co-Founder, Alpha Wave Global

Rick is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Alpha Wave Global. Alpha Wave is an alternative investment manager with four main verticals: private equity, private credit, public markets, and insurance. Alpha Wave has 11 offices in eight countries.

Before founding Alpha Wave, Rick was a Founding Member and Managing Director of Blue Ridge Capital, a global investment firm established in 1996, where he spent 15 years from inception.

Rick sits on the board of Aman Group, one of the world's leading luxury resort and residential operators. Rick is also a board member of Beast Industries (parent company of MrBeast), gamma (a music company), Athletic Greens (AG1), and The h.wood Group (a leading global hospitality platform).

Rick serves on the board of 2PointZero, an Abu Dhabi-listed investment holding company that is a unit of IHC, the largest listed company on the Abu Dhabi Exchange. He is also on the board of Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, a joint venture between Mubadala and Alpha Wave.

He is a board member of the 92nd Street Y, is a member of the Belfer Center's International Council at the Harvard Kennedy School, and previously served on the Cleveland Clinic International Leadership Board.

Rick is a board member of African Mission Healthcare, which supports mission hospitals across Africa and provides lifesaving care to communities that otherwise lack access to essential medical services.

Rick graduated from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce with a B.S. in Commerce, concentrating in Finance. Rick and his wife, Ashley, live in Miami.