The managed services firm Mirador LLC, whose motto is “We Serve Those Who Serve Wealth,” is moving its headquarters to Stamford. Currently headquartered in Darien, the bulk of the 90-person team will relocate to a new office space currently under construction at 850 Canal Street, which shares a parking lot with The Village, an upscale waterfront office community at 4 Star Point.
An April 25 press conference at the company’s currently bare future offices featured input from Gov. Ned Lamont, Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, Mirador Founder and Managing Partner Joe Larizza, and Peter Denious, the CEO of the nonprofit AdvanceCT.
Denious began the press conference by thanking all of the teams involved with making the move happen and praising Mirador as “a phenomenal financial services company.”
“We’re obviously just thrilled that they chose Stamford,” Denious said. “This company is growing explosively, they have plans to add 250 jobs in the coming years — that’s taking their headcount, up by eight or nine times.”
Larizza took the podium after Denious and praised the openness and availability of the government teams that worked to bring his company to the space.
“We’ve met with the governor three times now and we’re not even in our space,” he observed to the laughter of those in attendance.
Larizza recalled that when he launched the company in 2015 after 18 years at firms like Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, his boss at the time told him that it was impossible to make money in financial reporting. His first office was 350 square feet in what is now the future site of the Corbin District in downtown Darien.
“I signed a few more clients and realized I needed some help,” Larizza said remembering those early days. “So, I did what every good entrepreneur does: I put an ad on Craigslist.”
That meeting introduced him to his current partner, Jeremy Langlois.
“Now we’re six years later and we’re hiring at a very rapid rate. We’re lucky to be able to get incredible talent because of where we are,” Larizza continued. “We’re hiring across the 42 schools here in Connecticut, we’re getting people from top universities who want to come here and live in Fairfield County, and we’re even getting people from other countries.
“Whoever says that Fairfield County is not a place to draw people completely has it wrong with what’s going on here in Stamford,” he addd. “l look forward to filling this space and really having a dynamic work environment to continue on for the next 10 years.”
Mayor Simmons also briefly spoke, offering a welcome to Mirador and thanking them for “choosing to bring their innovative and growing company and all of these excellent high paying jobs to our city.” She closed with a joke about how the meetings with Mirador were among the first she had after giving birth in January.
“I remember when you guys called me and said, ‘Get out of bed, no more maternity leave — you have to come meet this amazing business that’s coming,'” she said. “And we’re so grateful to have you here. Welcome to Stamford.”
Lamont began his remarks by quipping, “Caroline’s a proud mother, she has not one but two new babies. One’s a new son and the other is Mirador.”
Lamont also pitched the state to some of the younger Mirador employees in attendance at the press conference and called for a show of hands as to who currently lived in the state, admitting that the number could be better. He highlighted the ease of travel between Stamford and New York City, which he characterized as “a great place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.”
“You could do the analysis at Mirador and see how much tax savings you’d have compared to being on the Lower West Side,” Lamont added.
Photo: Gov. Ned Lamont announcing Mirador’s relocation to Stamford. Photo by Justin McGown.
