Lauren Lawal

Lauren Lawal has a diverse work experience spanning multiple industries. Lauren has held various finance and operations positions throughout their career. Lauren'smost recent role is as VP of Finance and Operations/Chief Financial Officer at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. In this role, they oversee the organization's financial strategy, accounting, budgeting, and financial reporting.

Prior to their current position, Lawal worked as the Finance Director (U.S. Controller) at Edelman, the largest private global communications marketing firm. Lauren focused on balance sheet analysis, budgeting and forecasting, and project management.

Lawal also served as the Budget Director at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, where they improved financial planning and analysis processes and managed a $45 million budget.

Earlier in their career, Lawal was the Budget & Finance Manager at Northwestern University School of Law, where they managed and monitored financial performance and contributed to strategic planning.

Lawal gained valuable experience at JP Morgan-Chase (Treasury & Security Services) as a Sr. Financial Associate-Assistant Vice President, where they managed budgets and created annual plans and forecasts.

Lauren started their career at WellPoint Inc as a Sr. Financial Analyst, where they created annual plans and quarterly forecasts for cost centers and led monthly closes for the Consumer Services Group (CSG) book of business.

Lawal also worked as a Staff Accountant at L'Oréal USA (Soft Sheen-Carson Division), where they performed month-end close functions, prepared monthly profit and loss statements, and reviewed fixed assets.

Overall, Lauren Lawal has a strong background in financial management, budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning, with experience in both corporate and nonprofit sectors.

Lauren Lawal has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois Chicago. Additionally, they have pursued a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a focus on Business Analytics and Mergers & Acquisitions. No specific start or end years are provided for either of these degrees.