Firas Barzinji, serves as General Counsel to Sterling Management Group, Inc. (SMG), a private equity management firm in Herndon, Virginia. Barzinji also has an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School. He was encouraged to pursue an MBA by Dr. Yaqub Mirza so he could blend his legal background and experience with business knowledge in order to provide a broad base of support to the company and its investors.

SMG is more than 25 years old and has diverse holdings in agriculture, technology, banking, and real estate.