Alumni Career Connections

Gwen M. Greene ‘65

Major: French
Company: J.P. Morgan Securities, LLP
Title: Vice President
Education/Career Path:
Entering the field with a Bachelor of Arts in French Literature, I found a job as a credit reporter during a time in which women weren’t typically in business. I changed my career many times, working in politics, news and business, before realizing my talent for sales.
• Credit reporter at Dun & Bradstreet, analyzing upholstered furniture industry
• Research/arbitrage at DLJ on Wall Street
• New York City Director of Tourism for Mayor John Lindsay’s administration
• Television news reporter & producer
• I returned to Wall Street and J.P. Morgan via a return to Dun & Bradstreet, a subsequent move to Smith Barney Harris Upham, Citigroup and finally a move to Bear Stearns & Co., the predecessor to J. P. Morgan Securities, LLP.
What are your daily responsibilities?
My role involves constructing cashflow and credit analysis models for the portfolio managers. I spend a lot of time working with accounts and making adjustments based upon different accounting standards which can be pretty tedious. The next element is to look at which stocks look good value i.e. are cheap relative to what the models says they should be. This will involve comparing a particular company with its peers and other sectors. For example, if a company launches a major expansion project you need to assess how successful that project is likely to be and whether the company’s earnings projections are realistic.
What undergraduate experiences would you recommend for a student hoping to break into your field?
I highly recommend networking, of course, but also to remain persistent. The persistent will get jobs. I have never seen a student not get a job who really, really wants one. You may have to go through a back door, and you may have to go to a firm that’s not your first choice. You may have to go to a small city in another part of the country, but you will succeed if they have the drive. That’s what Wall Street wants, they want students who want it desperately.

Prior to contacting this alumnus, please prepare a networking note and resume and email it to this address.