It’s a bit different than the farming career in Piper City, IL that he envisioned, but John Penicook is doing “OK” for himself.
In 1976, John enrolled at the University of Illinois for two reasons: first, Illinois has a premier agriculture school, and second, Champaign-Urbana was close to his family. In the fall of 1977, John was recruited by the Alpha Alpha Chapter brothers, whom he met in his residence hall and playing pick-up basketball at the IMPE (the recreation facility).
Upon graduating from Illinois in 1981 with degrees in Ag Economics & Psychology, John enrolled in the Krannert Business School at Purdue University. He earned his MBA in 1982 and worked briefly for Central Soya Company in Indianapolis, IN before joining First National Bank of Chicago in 1983. It was there he worked in the trust department managing real estate assets. He soon moved from the real estate management group to the fixed income group where municipal bonds are invested. After a few years, First National Bank of Chicago created First Chicago Investment Advisors, an institutional pension fund manager. Through mergers and acquisitions (including Paine Webber), John has moved up the ranks with what is now known as UBS, where he is Managing Director, Fixed Income. In his role, John is the Global Head of Fixed Income for UBS Global Asset Management. He is the leader of 150 employees in ten global cities, and responsible for managing and investing 200 billion dollars with his team.
Thinking about his undergraduate experience, he states, “Delta Sig helped me grow up as a young man. This was the place where I had the opportunity to interact with a diverse group of people to reach a common objective.” He admits that the Fraternity prepared him for life after college.
Recalling his most fond memory of college, John states, “it would have to be 81 guys living in our chapter house at 110 E. Armory. Having 81 18 to 24 year old guys living in the house was quite interesting.” He noted that the chapter was very successful because of the ACB members and other volunteers. Without their guidance, he was sure the chapter would have struggled.
John expressed that his parents have been most influential in his life. They taught him the work habits and value system that he has today.
When asked what advice John has for Delta Sig undergraduates he said, “ask for help if you need it; people are always willing to help if you want to improve, and if you want a better job, you first have to do well in your current job.”
John resides in LaGrange, IL with his wife Mary Ellen and four children (Katie, Charlie, Robby, Tommy).
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