Hobart and William Smith Colleges

12 April 2018 Students Meet with Alums on Wall Street

Nearly two dozen HWS students and three faculty members recently headed to New York Citys financial district to take part in the annual New York City Finance Experience trip, giving them an opportunity to visit 10 of the most prestigious firms in the country.

Selected through a competitive application process, the students were required to take a short course that Associate Professor of Economics Jo Beth Mertens refers to as Wall Street Boot Camp, which equipped the students with the basic concepts and terms they would hear while on the trip.

During the three days spent in the nations financial center, students were given the opportunity to meet and network with 32 alums, who work at high profile organizations such as JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Standard & Poors, HSBC Bank USA and AllianceBernstein.

Students were accompanied on the trip by Interim Provost and Professor of Economics Pat McGuire, who has led the trip since the late-1980s; Assistant Director of Career Services Stephanie Annear; Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions Robert Murphy; Mertens; and Pre-Business Adviser and Assistant Professor of Economics Warren Hamilton.

Starting bright and early on Monday morning, students headed to AllianceBernstein, a research-driven investment firm, where they met with Senior Vice President of Global Economic Research Joe Carson P13, P15 and Fixed Income Analyst John Colan 08. During their second stop, at J.P. Morgan Chase, students heard from Managing Director Chapin Bates 81, Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer John Hogan 88, Global Head of Research Tom Schmidt 88 and Managing Director Eric Stein 89. The students also got the opportunity to speak with Managing Director Steven Bardong 95, Investment Banking Analyst Michael Barlow 11, Associate of Institutional Equity Trading Will Brame 06, Analyst Dave Casey 10, Institutional Sales staff Colby Feane 06, Analyst Matt Gruppo 09, Regional Product Manager Jesse Leiter 09 and Sovereign Risk and Advisory Analyst Katie Michalek 10.

Heading next to Russell Investments, students spoke with Regional Director of U.S. Institutional Sales Carmon Lochhead 82 and CEO of G2 Partners Todd Morley 83 about corporate asset management. From there, students went to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a premier global wealth management firm, where they met with Family Wealth and Senior Portfolio Management Director Jeff Gerson 85, Senior Vice President and Wealth Management Portfolio Management Director Greg Meisel 87 and Client Service Associate Neal Brown 10.

Students started their second day at Deutsche Bank, where they spoke with Director of Publications Tony Conklin 90 about researchs role in financial careers. Students then headed to Standard & Poors, a leader in financial-market intelligence, where they learned about the rating agencys role from Senior Director Eric Hedman 94.

After lunch, President and COO Charles R. Johnson Jr. 77 and Sales staff Jimmie Banta 04 hosted students at DeWitt Stern Group, an insurance brokerage and risk management firm. Students then visited Credit Suisse, an international financial services group, where they learned about corporate finance from from Director of Wealth Management Gerry McGinley '85, Research Analyst Laura McGrath 06 and Vice Chair of Global Financial Institutions Group Craig Stine 81. Students also got the chance to talk with Trevor Pieri 08, private equity associate at Capital Z Partners.

On their final day, students met with Analyst Ramon Baez 00, Senior Vice President of Foreign Exchange Corporate Sales Dennis Bakos 91, Senior Vice President Mary Dickson 81, Vice President of Marketing Chris Martin 82, Analyst Jason Merritt 09, Vice President of Diversified Industries Group Patrick Mueller 99, Executive Vice President and Treasurer Greg Pierce 85, and Foreign Exchange Trading Broker John Tammaro 05 at HSBC Bank USA, where they learned about balance sheet management. On their final stop, students were educated about hedge funds from Brooke Parish 84, a partner at York Capital Management. Also in attendance at the session was Teddy Desloge 10, who is a second year analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group at Jefferies and Company, Inc.

With each visit, students were able to explore the vast nature of a career on Wall Street.For some, it was the opportunity to ask questions about the day-to-day life in a field of interest.For others, the alums presented career options that they had not considered.

In the past, meetings with alums have resulted in internships, mentorships, and even jobs.

In the photo above, Carmon Lochhead 82, regional director of U.S. Institutional Sales at Russell Investments, gives a presentation to HWS students.