Mili Shah Esq, Lawyer, Banker, Hotelier
Mili Shah hails from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. After graduating from New York University, she pursued her JD/MBA degrees at The University of Tennessee.
Podcast
Overview
Today’s episode of The Brand Called You brings you a very diversely accomplished leader, Mili Shah Esq. Mili dons the hat of a hotelier, banker, and lawyer. With this diverse unique skillset of the three specialisations, Mili takes us through the intricacies of each and how they are intertwined.
Tune in to listen to the episode.
About Mili Shah Esq.
Mili Shah Esq is an accomplished and multifaceted banker, lawyer, and hotelier in the USA. Trained as a lawyer and a banker, she assists her clients in funding and legal aspects. When asked if she would choose one specialism over another, that would be a very difficult choice.
In this episode of TBCY, Mili elaborates on the interrelatedness of the three fields. She further discusses her learnings in her highly diverse career and what keeps her going to achieve greater heights.
DISCUSSION
Mili was brought up in a hotelier family and is well versed in the functioning of hotels. As a hotelier, she is quite upbeat on the prospects of the small and medium-sized hotels which seem to have prospered in the pandemic. The large hotels are the ones that have been impacted and for these, Mili believes that more time will be needed for recovery. She has also been working on mergers and acquisitions in the hotel business.
Challenges and Learnings in Hospitality
Milli stresses the importance of good relationships with your banker and legal teams, which comes into play especially in unprecedented times like the pandemic. She says that everyone must have the phone numbers of their lawyers and accountants on “speed dial” on their mobile phones!
Thriving Small Hotels
Mili explains how the new generation is moving more towards boutique hotels instead of franchise hotels as it allows them the freedom to devise their policies. The large hotels that depend on conventions and business travels might have to dig into the cash reserves.
“It is all transient business. Passing through the town! It may be a little bit of leisure. It’s people that just want to get away for a road trip. They don’t want to fly anywhere.”
Digitisation & Banking in the USA
On the matter of banking, she believes that, unlike Asia where financial inclusion has reached every citizen using digital technology, customers in the USA still prefer to go to their bank branch to transact their banking business. Mili states that it is largely because people enjoy human interaction & the ratio of the bank as per the population is comparatively much higher in the USA than in Asian countries like India.
Inspiration & Learnings
Mili’s father, who was an immigrant in the USA is her biggest inspiration, and she unintentionally followed his footsteps to become a diverse leader. She defines success as constant learning & thriving.
“I feel I am successful if I am truly happy at what I am doing. My biggest learning is always being adaptable.”
She ends the conversation by stating how one is always a student in his/her life and with that mantra, anyone can achieve anything and be successful.
Profile
Mili Shah hails from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. After graduating from New York University, she pursued her JD/MBA degrees at The University of Tennessee. She practiced commercial real estate law, representing lenders, borrowers, purchasers, and sellers in the acquisition and development of real estate and businesses. Her experience as an attorney helped her pursue a career in banking, where she served as a lending director of one of USA’s largest community banks. She also develops multifamily projects, hotels, and retail assets on the side. She now balances three different careers in hotels, law, and banking.
