A Great Learning Experience in NYC? Bank on It!

As a parent to both a recent graduate and current student, Rob Lynn P ’22, ’23 was more than happy to host Canterbury Business Association (CBA) members at Jefferies Investment Bank in New York City. And our 15 visiting Saints—including his daughter Olivia ’23—were more than happy to oblige! 

Rob, who oversees 165 salespeople worldwide as Global Head of Fixed Income Distribution for Jefferies, spoke about the process of obtaining an internship there, shared details about day-to-day operations, and explained the differences between an investment bank and a commercial bank. He also advised students to “love what you do so you can be great at it.” 

They took that advice to heart. “I have always pictured myself being in this kind of environment and working on Wall Street,” said Xinyi “Lisa” Weng ’23, who will be a business major at Emory University this fall. “I have a passion for business; I do a lot of studying about it outside of classes. After hearing Mr. Lynn talk about industry-specific subjects and understanding much of what he was saying, I knew my extra work had paid off.”

The group was also joined by two Saints graduates who work at Jefferies—Thomas Egan ’99, Managing Director of Equity Sales, and Jason Fogelson ’97, Managing Director of Fixed Income Trading—and offered their perspectives on the business.

CBA Faculty Lead Zachary Lord was grateful to their hosts for speaking with students on-site at Jefferies. “I was impressed with how Rob educated our students on what his role entails and what Jefferies does as an investment bank,” Zach said. “He, Jason, and Tom all had fantastic advice for them. My favorite part was seeing the camaraderie on the trading floor as Rob toured us around. Everyone seemed casual and easygoing. It definitely was not one of those Wolf of Wall Street scenes!”

And that was just fine with Richard Gosman ’23. “What I liked about Jefferies was the work culture there. It is not as stiff as some other companies,” he said. “When we walked through the trading floor, I saw someone twirling a lacrosse stick, and there was a skateboard on the ground. It is a lot more relaxed and laid back, which I like. It was exciting to see all the monitors and Bloomberg Terminals, the orders being placed, and the phone calls happening.”

The visit also began to steer Richie in a particular direction. “Investment banking is working on a lot of spreadsheets and PowerPoints,” he explained. “But with fixed income, you work on projects with people in sales and different parts of the bank. It is more interactive and hands-on. I think I would love the fixed income side more.” It certainly gives him something to think about as he moves on to major in finance at Southern Methodist University after graduation.

A particular piece of advice from all three hosts stuck with Richie: “They told us that utilizing the Canterbury alumni base was very important to them and something we should look to do as well.” And Rob is connected to that base in more ways than one—in addition to being a Canterbury parent, he is married to Trustee Mary Coleman Lynn ’90, P ’22, ’23.

Thank you, Rob, Tom, and Jason, for giving our students a valuable firsthand look at the investment banking world. Just another example of Saints showing up for Saints!