Public finance careers require flexibility and relationship-building, and foundational skills are even more important than quantitative skillsets, according to speakers at a career event hosted by the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy.
Thursday's event, which catered to students interested in municipal finance, included a panel discussion featuring Jennie Bennett, the university's associate vice president for finance; Rhett Bomher, chief of staff to Chicago CFO Jill Jaworski; Jack Brofman, executive director of global treasury operations at the university; Steven Mahr, assistant commissioner and debt manager for the city of Chicago; and Tom McKone, CFO for the Chicago Transit Authority.
Moderated by Harris School research professor and Center for Municipal Finance director Justin Marlowe, the panel served as a prelude to a networking session with leaders in the public finance space.
Claire Xie, president of the Public Finance Association at Harris, said she learned not only how to move forward in her career, but what it means to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors.
"Coming from a private-sector investment background, I've often wondered how my skill set — rooted in financial markets and capital allocation — could meaningfully translate into the public sector," Xie added by email. "This event gave me clarity… I learned how municipal finance professionals leverage capital markets to build more resilient communities."
Ayodeji George, an MPP candidate at Harris graduating in June, said by email that the event offered useful insights on marketable skills in his chosen field.
"I found the panel really useful for learning more about the skills that leaders value as they progress in their careers," he said. "Many of us have come to grad school to improve our quantitative skillset, but I think this was an important reminder of the role of written communication and public speaking in the industry."
George said the opportunity to interact with major municipal finance employers was particularly valuable to students like him who are interested in staying in Chicago or the Midwest. "This is also an industry of relationships," he said. "Getting to know people early on in my career is an incredible value-add and I'm excited to build on the introductions made at the event."
Xie said Stifel's Omar Daghestani and other speakers helped her see how public finance can shape the social fabric of a city, and how financial innovation can support equitable local development.
"Listening to leaders describe how they navigate between governments, investors, and communities made me see public finance as a uniquely impactful field — one that allows finance professionals to create long-term social value while maintaining fiscal responsibility," she said, adding that the event reaffirmed her interest in a public finance career.
During the panel discussion, Bennett said relationships that outlast jobs are critically important, particularly in this industry. And she drew a baseball analogy. "You have to know all the different aspects of the game," she said. "Learn the things you're not good at. Lean into the things you are good at."
She also warned the students that the ability to use systems, and artificial intelligence in particular, will only become more important. She cited a recent phone call about Oracle product rollouts. "It's fast and furious," she said. "And by the time you all graduate, it will have changed again."
Mahr said foundational skills like reading, writing and public speaking are key. "The foundation is more important than quantitative skills or even relationship skills," he said.
He advised the students to practice public speaking, including by taking a video of themselves making an impromptu speech, and watching their own speech patterns and hand gestures.
Bomher said that while working for the city is the most rewarding job he's ever had, it's a "challenging environment." He told the students to build resilience, be able to take critique, and develop people who come up after them.
"Understand that when you come in, you're going to get knocked down," he said.
Brofman stressed the importance of a can-do attitude.
"The ability to take limited direction is important," he said, warning that employers don't want to be met with blank stares when they give new hires a task.
McCone dived into an example about how history drives strategy, detailing the Green Line rebuilding in the 1990s that required the CTA to shut the line down for two years because it didn't have enough money to complete the project in a shorter period of time. That history informed the planning for the Red Line south project, he said.
"We all live at the surface," McCone added. "The people who are successful are the ones with a deep understanding."
Among the organizations present were American Veterans Group, PBC; Baker Tilly; Cabrera Capital; the CTA; the city of Chicago; FHN Financial; Fitch Ratings; Hilltop Securities; Janney; KBRA; the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority; Oppenheimer & Co.; PNC; RBC; S&P Global Ratings and Siebert Williams Shank.
