Gordon College Launches Finance & Faith Forum in Boston

It's 7 p.m. on a weeknight, and around 100 professionals from commercial and investment banks, brokerage and investment management firms, and other financial service companies are meeting in Boston..Arriving after work, the attendees have put their workday routines aside for a couple of hours, gathering for hors d'oeuvres, beverages, faith, and friendship. What is the common denominator? Their Christian faith..This is the Finance and Faith Forum. It's a new initiative by Gordon College to gather leaders and active participants from every corner of the financial services industry. The forum unites finance professionals who want to learn from each other and put their faith to work in helping to transform their workplace and the public square. A keynote speaker who is a leader in the financial community encourages the attendees to participate, share new ideas, and create lasting partnerships..Last week the group met for the third time. In quarterly gatherings, the forum is helping attendees explore the integration of work, faith, and economics. .The Faith and Finance Forum is the brainchild of Alexander Lowry. Following a successful career at J.P. Morgan, Lowry joined Gordon College in 2017 as a professor of finance and executive director of a new one-year Master of Science in Financial Analysis program. As a newcomer to Boston, he sought a group to help himself and others in finance put their faith to work at work. Sensing the strong desire within the Boston financial services community for this type of program, Lowry launched the forum with the support of a dozen Gordon College alumni..The first gathering in May was hosted at State Street Bank and featured Bob Doll, senior portfolio manager and chief equity strategist for Nuveen Asset Management. Building on his background in senior roles at multiple firms, including vice chairman and chief investment officer of Global Equities at Blackrock, Doll described how he seeks to bring his authentic self to the office. Doll shared his approach in openly sharing his faith in the workplace..The Faith and Finance Forum met again in July, when it featured Wai-Kwong Seck, chief executive officer of Asia Pacific for State Street Bank. Between his current role on State Street's Management Committee and his previous role as chief financial officer of the Singapore Exchange, Seck is well-placed to explain how living a life of Christian faith can lead to success in business, rather than the typical assumption that it might hold a person back. Mr. Seck explained the fascinating tale of his conversion to Christianity as a teen-ager and how his remarkable career unfolded not despite his faith, but because of his faith..The group met for the third time last week at LogMeIn, a technology company headquartered in the Seaport district of South Boston. Peter Greer, chief executive officer of HOPE International, a Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in many countries around the world, described how his organization is changing lives and winning hearts by focusing on the impact finance can have in powerful and positive ways. HOPE Interntional has raised tens of millions of dollars that have gone to micro-finance programs in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The repayment rate on these loans is over 98 percent. HOPE International's mission is to help the world's poor gain clean water, more food, good health, education, and income. .All are welcome at Gordon College's Faith and Finance Forum. For further information, contact Alexander Lowry at financeandfaith@gordon.edu..Robert H. Bradley is Chairman of Bradley, Foster & Sargent Inc., a $3.7 billion wealth management firm that has offices in Hartford, Connecticut and Wellesley, Massachusetts. Read other articles by him here.

Gordon College Launches Finance & Faith Forum in Boston

Related Stories