Wall Street Warfighters

Message from Lawrence Doll, Chairman & CEO of Drexel Hamilton

When I founded Drexel Hamilton with my partners and fellow military veterans Harry Gobora and Brooks Hulitt, we wanted to not only provide first-class financial services to our clients but also to give back to our community. As a service-disabled veteran myself, I wanted to help those with similar experiences. To this end, we created the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation to recruit and train disabled warfighters for careers in the financial services industry.

The mission of the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation (WSWF) is to provide vocational assessment, training support and job placement services for disabled veterans seeking new professional skills. Its flagship program helps service-disabled veterans start new careers in the financial services industry.

Disabled veterans face special challenges adapting to the civilian working world. While many transition resources exist, most are bureaucratized and generic. Shared cultural affinities make Wall Street a welcoming environment for military vets. Employers want to reach out and hire veterans, so WSWF will present fully-prepared candidates to corporate partners which reserve jobs for program graduates.

The initial emphasis is on securities trading. This builds on Drexel Hamilton’s identity as a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and expertise in the industry to funnel exceptional disabled veterans into good financial jobs. The program’s goals:

• Provide assessment and career guidance.
• Coordinate industry specific training and internship programs.
• Facilitate job placement with corporate partners.
• Assemble corporate participants who can earmark jobs for graduates and help provide training.

The training and education program will be conducted biannually. The program will be divided in to two semesters beginning in January and July. Once selected, veterans will have the opportunity to complete six months of financial industry immersion training. Drexel Hamilton associates will mentor trainees to ensure success in the program and testing. In addition, veterans will be expected to complete rigorous assignments and weekly after action reviews.

The broker-dealer Drexel Hamilton, LLC, serves as lab school. Drexel Hamilton has commitments from several initial training partners, including Goldman Sachs, the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ OMX Group, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Training will be tailored to individual trainee’s needs through a menu of services. Graduates will then receive outplacement services to help them get jobs with corporate partners.

We encourage eligible veterans and interested industry leaders to contact us and learn about the program.

Sincerely,

Lawrence K. Doll
Chairman & CEO