Conversation with Keeley Center Chairman of the Board, Bill Obenshain

Bill Obenshain, Chairman of the Board, Keeley Center for Financial Services

Bill Obenshain is the former Executive Director of the Keeley Center for Financial Services, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Executive Advisory Board and Wealth Management Advisory Board for the Keeley Center. Bill is originally from the east coast and attended Dartmouth, where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business. Bill grew up skiing and running, which have remained two of his favorite activities throughout his life.

Bill did not take the typical route to enter the financial services industry. After graduating from Dartmouth, he entered the Navy just as the Vietnam War began. Upon completion of military training in California, Bill served in the Navy for 5 years and credits his military experience for instilling discipline by holding soldiers to high standards to be in peak physical condition. This felt like a natural fit for Bill, as running and other forms of exercise were and still are a huge part of his life, helping him to stay healthy, relieve stress, and be ready to take on the day.

Out of the Navy Bill joined Continental Bank of Illinois, where he spent thirty plus years in the industry. His career at Continental led to Bill running private equity for Bank of America based in London with a focus on European businesses. During our conversation, he expressed how much he enjoyed traveling throughout Europe and recommends that students consider pursuing working abroad at some point in their career. His favorite place to visit in Europe is Sweden. The culture behind the Nordic Country is what he admires most, and he also enjoys the beautiful environment and the culture of hardworking people. Bill explained how he made many investments in Sweden, as well as many trips, and describes the Scandinavian nation as an industrial, capitalistic economy that allows for great opportunity for the people of Sweden and for investors. After a decade in private equity, Bill retired, only to take on the position of working to build the DePaul Center for Financial Services, now known as the John L. Keeley Jr. Center for Financial Services.

In addition to Bill’s role as Chairman of the Board for the Keeley Center, he is a Vice Chairman of the Naval War College Foundation in Rhode Island, and Chairman of the Board for Truth in Accounting. During our conversation, Bill also spoke about how important it is for people to get involved in non-profits. It is a great opportunity to help others and he finds it keeps him busy because he sure would not enjoy playing golf all the time. He loves giving back to things that have helped him, like the Naval War College, and advises that everyone should join some type of non-profit in order to give back and meet new people. One of the key takeaways from my conversation with Mr. Obenshain is that networking and meeting new people is a key to satisfaction in life. Bill went on to say, “It is necessary to meet new people, learn about them and learn how to connect with others. It is essential to learn about others in order to learn more about yourself. ”

Mr. Obenshain emphasized the importance of practicing networking and other social skills noting, bankers are essentially salespeople. “I think we are all salespeople. At the end of the day you are all selling yourself to get the promotion, to get the raise, or to get whatever you want in life. Become a good salesperson and the world is yours.”