In this event, Jodi Glickman, the Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Great On The Job, a corporate training firm, led JEC members through the ins and outs of networking. After touching on why networking is important, she talked about how networking is about giving not getting, and showed examples of how high schoolers can provide value to a conversation. She emphasized that the goal of networking was to connect with someone rather than impress them. Finally, she demonstrated how JEC members could respectfully insert themselves into a conversation and gracefully end it. 

In this event, Anthony Carlton, CFP and Vice President at Farther informed JEC members on how to work with and retain clients, how to network effectively and grow your scope, and how the rise of financial technology has forwarded his career. He also discussed his experiences writing for the likes of Forbes and Business Insider and how he applied his writing skills to Financial Advisory. Finally, he emphasized the point of using LinkedIn to expand your audience and meet new people. He stated that this especially helped in a client-facing career like his. Anthony Carlton’s advice on an ever-changing area of financial services provided JEC members with a new perspective that will undoubtedly help them in pursuing careers in finance.

In this event, Robert Khoury, founder and CEO of Agile Rainmakers, enlightened JEC members on how to succeed while interning at a company and described notable misconceptions about interning. He also gave pointers on assisting managers and playing the right game to get the most out of an internship. Finally, Mr. Khoury mentioned some best practices when going into an internship, such as reading independently, being curious and assiduous, and considering intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Mr. Khoury’s insight broadened JEC members’ scope on how interns succeed, and this new knowledge will help them greatly moving forward.

In this event, six outstanding JEC alumni discussed their respective navigation of the college admissions process and provided invaluable advice for succeeding in high school and beyond. They particularly emphasized the importance of making lasting connections with peers and mentors while in high school to gain an edge when applying to college. In addition, they provided unique ideas on how to balance extracurriculars, applications, and academics. JEC members were also able to converse with each other and the panelists prior to the event, and reinforce their JEC network.

Thank you so much to the JEC Chicago members that attended our first in-person forum since winter 2020! Attendees were able to enhance their knowledge of economics, entrepreneurship, business, and finance, and also had the opportunity to discuss these topics with our amazing speakers and panelists.

We are very grateful to all of the amazing speakers at this event: Craig Slack is the Chief Investment Officer for the City of Chicago, who leads a team of professionals who oversee the city’s investment activity, develop and implement investment policies, and maintain investor relations. Joe Aguilar, Chief Investment Officer for the Illinois State Treasurer, who oversees all external programs managed by the Treasurer’s Office. Tere Regina, Financial Education Manager for Chicago Public Schools, who has immense financial industry experience across three major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, New York. Amy C. Shelly, Chief Financial Officer at Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), who oversees all Corporate Finance functions, including financial planning, capital management, liquidity planning, and more. Bret Blanton, Director of Foreign Exchange Trading at BMO Capital Markets, who has been in the financial services industry for over 30 years, working for Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered Bank, and the Bank of Montreal. Members had the opportunity to ask our panelists questions in a moderated Q&A.

Anand Goel, Managing Director at Ankura (an independent global expert services and advisory firm), shared his expertise on numerous financial topics including antitrust and valuation issues. He spoke about his work consulting businesses on financial management, and provided an overview of advanced econometrics methods. He also offered advice for those looking to follow a similar career path.

Members heard from the following panelists in this career-focused event:

• Justine Zhou, Founder of Zhou Agency

• Jacqueline Janczewski, Director at ORBA

• Erik Rowell, Senior Fund Accountant at Equity Group Investments

• Shanthi Ramnath, Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

This event was held in collaboration with Junior Achievement of Chicago, one of our long-term partners.

Associates from Magnetar Capital, our corporate sponsor, spoke on the following topics:

Email Writing Basics

• Professional subject lines, greetings, and signatures

• Clear and concise body paragraphs

• Articulating your ask

• Following up

The Linkedin Platform

• Why is LinkedIn important?

• Professional titles, profile pictures, and cover images

• Short and informative job descriptions

• Following/connecting with others

Networking Tips and Etiquette

• Reaching out to professionals

• Scheduling and preparing for meetings

• Writing thank you notes

In this event, Himal Agarwal, the Chief Financial Officer at Braviant Holdings (a leading provider of tech-enabled credit products and services for underbanked consumers), spoke about his experience at Braviant Holdings. He provided insight into the problem of non-prime clients having low credit access and how other lending companies might evolve over the next few years. He provided an overview of the use of technology in lending credit to consumers, and shared what a typical day at work looks like. 

JEC members were able to gain some amazing insight into the world of sports economics from Allen Sanderson, senior instructional professor in economics at the University of Chicago. He provided an overview of the economic principles used in sports, and discussed his research into sports economics. In addition, he described specific events and past scenarios in professional sports where economics are extremely useful.