At first glance, Jeremy Clark, BSc'98, looks to have led a charmed life. The recipient of a degree in Neuroscience from McGill, he’s now President and CEO of a financial services firm he once interned for.
But he's quick to set the record straight: he struggled in university, was ineligible for graduate school, and when he initially began his finance career, “I had no idea what I was doing.”
Yet he credits McGill for shaping his success. “McGill taught me how to learn,” says Clark. “I now understand finance at a molecular level, and I feel that depth of knowledge only comes from a good education. I have a duty to give back.”
His multidisciplinary experience inspired him to establish a McGill initiative that has become his passion. The Clark Science Executive Leadership Fund (Clark SELF) finances Faculty of Science researchers to participate in the Desautels Faculty of Management's Executive Development Course, part of its highly regarded Mini-MBA program. Testimonials from the McGill faculty, postdoctoral fellows and senior PhD students who have participated indicate that it’s a resounding success. “Someone who went through the program came up to me with tears in his eyes saying, ‘this has totally changed my life.’ He’s a principal investigator who took his 15-person lab and made it a much more motivating business-orientated department. The results are unbelievable, and I’m very proud of that.”
The Clark SELF is only one example of how he’s made a positive impact on his alma mater. In addition to being a Campaign Cabinet member for Made by McGill, Clark volunteers on the Faculty of Science Advisory Board, founded the Clark Science Undergraduate Research Awards (SURA), and generously supports student scholarships and bursaries.
He has also left a bequest to McGill. “As a parent of two young daughters, I think it’s never too early to think about estate planning. My legacy gift will continue to shape future-ready students with the skills and knowledge to make the world a better place, and I encourage others to do the same.”
He hopes his enthusiasm inspires his fellow alumni to get involved. “McGill University has been part of me for 25 years, and I hope I’m involved with it for the rest of my life,” he says. “That is not something I imagined myself saying when I graduated.”
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