Our Diversity Matters feature this week highlights DePaul alum, Damian Wille. Damian is a 2017 graduate of the business school, who is from a small town outside of Appleton, Wisconsin. Damian chose DePaul because of the hands-on experience the business school offers students along with the proximity and access to Chicago’s financial district. Majoring in Finance and minoring in Accounting, Damian was able to gain a good understanding of the finance industry and the importance of having strong accounting and financial modeling skills. During his time at DePaul, he was very involved in cocurricular activities, with leadership roles in the DePaul Investment Group, Student Government Association, and even as a production manager for theatre companies in Chicago–all while juggling school and internships!
Damian had a few different internships during his time at DePaul, all helping him acquire technical and professional skills that he still uses today. In one of his internships, Damian was able to pitch stocks directly to the portfolio manager which allowed for him to network and give concrete examples of how he was involved in his company. After graduating, Damian started at Jefferies as an Equity Research Associate. After a few years at Jefferies, his entire team was lifted out to Barclays, where he is now an Assistant Vice President in Equity Research. In his role, Damian helps institutional investors select stocks to invest in within the Payments and Fintech sectors. His day-to-day work consists of writing research reports, creating financial models, interacting with investment professionals, and deducing complex data. Another part of his work is helping private companies go public and organizing the Barclays Fintech Conference, which comes with organizing many meetings. Along with his busy work schedule, Damian also is on the Advisory Board for the Driehaus Center for Behavioral Finance at DePaul and also recently was a guest discussion leader for an LGBTQ+ event hosted by th
e DePaul Department of Finance and Real Estate.
During Damian’s experiences in financial services, Damian has learned that the key to success is being authentic. As a part of the LGBTQ+ community, Damian has realized that being your true self is the best way to connect with people and start conversations. During his time at Jefferies, Damian was able to work with a senior executive at the company and help start the LGBTQ+ employee resource group at the firm. Damian’s advice for students is to get involved in clubs that interest you and start early with professional networking! LinkedIn is just one example of taking advantage of useful resources since it is easy to find DePaul alumni who are more than willing to have conversations and provide mentorship.
Thank you, Damian, for sharing your story with us!