Title: Vice President, Investment Banking
Firm: Citi
Age: 31
While studying biomedical engineering at Northwestern University that would take her toward a career in medicine and research, Lori Schreckengost also took some financial and management courses and soon found herself headed in a new direction. She ultimately landed in public finance.
“My few classes in corporate finance and business management gave me an appreciation for the intersection of math and management. I found that public finance fit very well into this category and would allow me to continue working with numbers and also get a better understanding for management of large diverse public organizations,” Lori said.
Lori started at Citi in the Chicago office nine years ago as an analyst, working her way up to banking with a focus on the airport sector and the vice president title.
“Lori has had a very fast trajectory at Citi and her airport clients are impressed with her competence and industry knowledge,” said Courtney Shea, managing member of Columbia Capital Management.
Shea -- one of the founders of the Women in Public Finance organization -- also noted that Lori was the youngest national president of the organization, having been named to the board at 26 and voted as president by her peers at 28. Additionally she works with several charitable organizations in Chicago including Blessing in a Backpack and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Lori grew up in suburban Chicago. Her mom was a florist and dad a math teacher. “It was a great balance between math and art,” Lori said.
She spent much of her youth on the ice where she figure-skated competitively through junior high, with early morning and after-school practices. “I continued skating through high school, but less competitively,” she said. Lori and her husband are expecting a baby boy, due in December.
