From Tuesday, January 14th to Wednesday, January 15th, 33 students, highly passionate about pursuing a career in finance, joined the Ciocca Center for the annual Corporate Finance and Banking Workshop in Boston. On Tuesday morning, students ventured through a windy Boston to visit esteemed alumni at Bank of America, who walked through the financial reports and standings of three companies – Sherwin-Williams, American Tower, and Boeing – to compare and contrast what makes a multinational corporation excel and what causes their downfalls. Students were able to expand their understanding of how businesses raise capital, the differences between commercial and investment banking, and overall business life cycles and trends. Many thanks to Ted Lynch ‘84, Angelo Carbone ‘22, J.P. Cunningham ‘23, Erin Maloney ‘22, and all Holy Cross alumni who presented!
The group then walked through the South Station neighborhood to Fidelity Investments, where Jim Griffin ‘87 provided a detailed and thorough overview of the family history and foundational principles of Fidelity, the various sectors and roles within Investment Management. Students took a walking tour of the Chart Room and Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (FCAT) featuring the firm’s software and innovation technology hub. Mr. Griffin then facilitated a panel featuring Molly Murray ’22, Olivia Shamleffer ’22, Rea Nassif ’24, Andrea Pappey ’17, Madison Ward ’21, where students learned about the recent graduates’ various experiences and career trajectories at Fidelity, including their participation in the rotational Emerging Leaders and LEAD Programs.
Later that night, the Boston Finance Networking Reception, hosted by Bryan Sparkes ’04 and Roger Breslin ’93 at JLL, provided students with an invaluable opportunity to interact with a wide array of alumni from numerous financial firms in the city. Through these open and immersive conversations, students were able to build upon their networking skills and learn more in-depth about prospective careers from alumni who work within Asset and Wealth Management, Corporate Banking, Sales and Trading, Financial Analysis, and more.
On Wednesday morning, the Corporate Finance and Banking Workshop continued at J.P. Morgan, where Chris Stevens ‘06, Rick MacDonald ‘97, Ryan McGrath ‘99, and additional Holy Cross alumni provided an engaging explanation of the incredible products and services offered by the Corporate and Investment Bank, private equity and venture capital initiatives, how to manage a client’s portfolio within the Private Bank, and how to leverage a liberal arts education within the financial services industry.
Finally, the group bussed over to Back Bay to visit Natixis Investment Managers and learn more about the firm from Beatriz Pena Smith ‘87, Nick Elward ‘95, Heather Keaveny ‘92, John DelPrete ‘90, Kathleen Songco ‘17, Molly Gorman ‘05, and Tracy Fagan ‘84. Through an interactive quick quiz that tested students’ knowledge of investment management acronyms and concepts and a comprehensive firm overview, the Corporate Finance and Banking Workshop participants learned an incredible amount about investment management and had a great experience – especially seeing the stunning rooftop views of downtown Boston.
Thank you again to each and every alum for providing extremely helpful information and facilitating fantastic conversations.
Written by Lindsay Julia King ’27