Finance: Jobs Landed

I serve on the investment committee for a local money manager. Our firm invests about $300 million for about 200 clients. Half our client base comes from Michigan, with the other half peppered across the country. Our main focus is domestic growth equities. We also have a growing business in municipal bonds. I mainly follow companies in the retail and technology sectors.
 
There's more money in Southeast Michigan than people often assume. The auto industry made a lot of people rich over the years, and a good amount of that money is still here. The investment finance industry isn't nearly as developed here as, say, Chicago, but I'd bet that it's on the way up.

Walsh’s reputation is second to none and employers are seeking finance professionals.  Starting a new career is challenging enough and a degree from Walsh definitely helps to separate one form the competition. The Walsh College Career Services helped me to find my current position at TD Automotive Financial.

Prior to obtaining the job at Rehmann, I worked for a small CPA firm that performed basic accounting, consulting and tax functions.  My desires to focus solely on tax lead me to Rehmann where I work in the tax consulting group. The majority of my time is spent assisting companies of all sizes and industries calculate and document the Research and Development Tax Credit incentive.  Other specialties that I am involved with are Energy tax incentives and general Federal tax compliance for individuals and businesses.  I work directly with Owners, CFO's, Controllers, Tax Directors and Employees to learn about their business and understand the new and improved products that are currently under development.  
 
I came to Rehmann for many reasons including, better opportunities to flourish as a CPA, a great work-life balance so I can spend time with my wife and four kids, but most of all Rehmann is a Michigan company.  It was founded in Saginaw, MI in 1941 and has grown all throughout Michigan the "right way," meaning, bigger is not always better.  Additionally, as I am finding out the people who work for Rehmann are great all the way from the professional support staff to the Principals.   
 
I chose to focus on taxation because I feel that my consulting can add value to Rehmann's clients by managing their tax attributes and that gives me the satisfaction that I helped the client instead of merely inputting numbers into a form or producing a financial statement.  Being an advisor to clients and focusing on client relationships is key to the success of any business.

I was lucky enough to move back to Michigan in 2011 as part of the Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program, a network of professionals working to build capacity, foster collaboration, and accelerate progress across organizations engaged in revitalizing Detroit. As part of this program, I am employed by the Community Investment Support Fund (CISF), a non-profit subsidiary of Larson Realty Group. CISF is an emerging Community Development Financial Institution, providing below-market-rate loans as well as technical assistance to non-profit organizations that serve low-income communities.

My job is incredibly rewarding, allowing me to work with institutions that enhance the livability of our community and develop creative capital structures that ensures their sustainability. A major component of my position involves actively fundraising to capitalize the fund that allows CISF to make these investments into community projects. In my day to day work, I also draw from skills developed during my two years with a management consulting firm in Washington, DC, which have become useful in finding solutions for CISF's clients and to develop our organizational capacity.

I spent two years working in economic development in Pittsburgh, a city often described as being a model for Detroit, but always intended to bring lessons learned there back to Michigan as I build my career. I couldn't ask to be in Detroit at a better time or to be exposed to a more inspiring network of individuals working to make a difference in our community.

I build, acquire, and manage a collection of financial websites centered around investing and the stock market. I also do internet consulting with a specialization in financial web 2.0 communities, biz development, and SEO (search engine optimization).

I currently manage one of the only on campus branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank in the entire country directly on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. I have been in Banking for 5 years, primarily due to my strong desire to help better the lives of my customers through properly financial education. I am in charge of staffing, recruiting, and the overall profitability of the branch. I chose to work and live in the Ann Arbor area because of the incredible atmosphere and the endless job growth potential in my field.

During my time at Western I was a member of the Lee Honors College where I researched monetary unions in developing countries.  I also gained some excellent experience as an intern with another fee only wealth management firm in the Kalamazoo area.  

I have completed the coursework toward the Certified Financial Planner designation and will take the board exam soon. Coursework covers the financial planning process, risk management, investments, tax planning, retirement, employee benefits and estate planning.

I work with Ally's $12 billion global diversified investment securities portfolio. I am engaged in the accounting, reporting, and analysis activities for the portfolio. I maintain our ledger and produce reports for the SEC, Federal Reserve, and other regulatory agencies. Additionally, I provide reports and analytics to management and traders on our investments to better inform our decision makers.

I have recently written the level III CFA examination, and I am able to put to work on a daily basis many of the skills that I have developed through the process. My career has me working with individuals from locales ranging from NYC and Charlotte to Mexico and the UK, with roles ranging from auditor and regulator to trader and director. I am very happy with my role at Ally Financial. It is an exciting time of change at Ally and this has created an environment that challenges and enlivens me daily.

My position is geared at delivering best practices and maintaining a high-standard level of client services. I was brought in to help customize and implement complex CRM applications to manage our clients’ data. I essentially provide a strategic marketing input and provide analysis of client interaction to help my firm better assess and act on the needs and future needs of our clients.  This is the perfect position for me. I have an affinity for Marketing and IS both. This position is my happy medium. I can exercise my knowledge of information systems, while still keeping my career marketing based.

The position was forwarded to me by my mother. I was not actively searching for employment. I was however exploring opportunities that were more career-focused. I choose Rehmann, because I felt that it was the place for me to be. The firm has locations through-out the state of Michigan, Ohio and Florida. This gives me flexibility in my day-to-day location. Though I am based out of our Troy office, my company has an awesome policy on work-life balance, so I have the option to work from our Farmington Hills office. I stay near my hometown of Detroit to be close to my family and friends.

I started as a Social Media Intern and soon thereafter became a Social Media Analyst/Content Manager. This means I manage the social media and web content across various North American Bancard (NAB) websites, from the usual suspects of Facebook and Twitter to the company's blog. On a daily basis I create content to post and monitor what people are saying about our brand. The best part of my position is that it is a fun and challenging mix of content management, marketing and PR, and customer service (I get to do a little of everything and I get to work with various departments and outside vendors).  Just as the social media space is advancing and ever-changing, NAB has been growing and moving fast, especially in regards to the mobile payments movement. So despite my title, I'm not limited to just social media - I've been involved in the launch of Pay Anywhere, a mobile payments solution (PayAnywhere.com). It's been really exciting to be a part of new product, from initial market research production to the assisting in the coordination of PR efforts. My job and NAB definitely keeps me on my toes!

In January of 2006, a left the field of engineering (where I was previously working as a transmission engineer) and took a job working with my father at his tax and financial planning firm. I soon realized that this was an excellent fit for my personality and talents.
 
Since then, I have become an advisory licensed financial advisor, as well as an Enrolled Agent with the IRS. I recently completed my Certified Financial Planning (CFP) designation, and I now provide full service financial planning and tax preparation for a growing base of customers. While many of my clients are local, I also provide planning for several that have moved to other areas, as well as those that spend their winters elsewhere.
 
Capstone Tax & Financial is now jointly owned by me and my father, and we employ several staff members to provide for our clients in the best way possible. As the complexity of tax rules and regulations increase, it becomes mandatory to work with a financial advisor who intimately understands the impact of any financial decision. We continue to expand and focus our energies on deliberate and strategic growth.

I'm the team lead for DFCU Financial's Lotus Notes and Application Delivery Group.  My job is to engineer and maintain mail messaging, Package and Deploy Applications, and lead a team of IT professionals in all areas of email and application delivery.

Previously, I was employed with HP Enterprise Services (formerly EDS) when this position appeared in my Simply Hired email aggregate.  It just so happened that the combination of skills they needed I had.   The job required Lotus Notes Server experience, which my first job for EDS was as a Lotus Notes Administrator.  Also,  they required a person that had application packaging experience (creating MSI's and deliver them with SCCM).  In my last position with HP Enterprise Services, I led application delivery for GMAC International Operations.  My function was to package, test, and deploy applications, patches, and updates.

After 3 interviews with DFCU Financial, we both decided the position in question was a good fit, so I took the job, and here I am several months later happily employed.  All this in a very bad Michigan Economy.

I am proud to be part of such an amazing team here at GreenPath. GreenPath is a non- profit consumer credit counseling organization. We provide free counseling services for consumers with a variety of financial concerns. We help our clients with overwhelming credit card bills, homes in foreclosure, filing for bankruptcy, and clients just seeking help with refining their budgeting skills.

It is great working in such a positive environment with such a diverse group of people. Everyday presents new learning and growing opportunities. I feel so lucky to have  a job that I wake up looking forward to go to. I love that I am part of something that is an  asset to today’s economy.

I work in the Corporate Insurance department of the Enterprise Risk Management division, which is responsible for the purchase of all corporate insurance programs that protect the organization, worldwide. I specialize in the placement and servicing of primary and excess casualty insurance; special risk coverages; and claims management functions. I like my job because it is essential and challenging. Every day is different and I am able to build expertise in the demanding insurance industry.

I must admit, after graduating from a grueling four years of college, my first priority was to leave Michigan in search for the perfect job. Like many other young skeptics of the job market here, I was weary of sticking around the area, waiting for something that would never come. So, then I decided to put all my efforts into searching for a position in the Detroit area. Since I majored in communications and focused on public relations, I knew I could find something.

So, here I am, interning for Quicken Loans working on web marketing and social media. I've been here almost three months and I love my job. Aside from the amazing people and atmosphere I get to come to everyday; I've learned so much in the world of free business. I'm currently working on growing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) affiliate community for link building, content syndication and blogger relations. I get to research and build relationships with bloggers to exchange content and engage in social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I also work on reputation management by helping to manage our online client reviews.

I love the fact that I'm able to dip my feet in every aspect of social media here, because it keeps everything new and interesting. This company encourages idea sharing and trying new things, which I think is really unique. I'm also a contributor to our Diff Blog and am working on Quicken Loans online TV doing some reporting. We also have the opportunity to get involved with the community on local events that we help with.

This constantly changing, fast paced atmosphere is something I thrive on and perform my best under. With the recent move to the Compuware Building downtown, there is much more excitement to come and I cannot wait!