Supporting Veterans at BlackRock

Supporting veterans

Supporting veterans

BlackRock recognizes the challenges transitioning veterans face and the importance of supporting their professional careers. We engage with, sponsor and support programs that honor and assist veterans and their families. One of the ways we support veterans in making the transition from military life to the civilian workforce is the BlackRock Veterans Transition Program. The Program gives participants the opportunity to work at the world’s largest asset manager for six months. On completion of the Program, successful participants will be offered permanent employment at BlackRock.

Over the course of the Program, participants will:

  • Have real-world responsibilities
  • Immerse themselves in the work of their teams
  • Gain an understanding of how BlackRock serves its clients
  • Be supported through training and mentorship
  • Get exposure to senior leaders
  • Participate in social and networking opportunities

This year’s internship program is closed to new applicants. Stay tuned for future updates.

Aaron Lehn: I grew up in a town with 500 people. I had 12 kids in my graduating class, and growing up, you wanted to do something more outside of the Midwest. And I knew that there was more to the world and that I wanted to be part of a team that had a strong reputation. And I wanted to be part of a team that would work under extreme conditions for a common purpose, something bigger than ourselves. And the Marine Corps was that for me.

Douglas Watson: I think the challenges you faced in the military mean you have an agile mind to allow yourself to make decisions sometimes with limited information, and ultimately, to weigh out the risks that you are potentially going to face and work out ways of mitigating those.

Terrance Anderson Junior: They really press discipline, they really force me to really develop and think outside of the box and be a strategic thinker; and holistically from that experience, I couldn’t ask for anything else.

Aaron Lehn: So my job in the military was to guide commanders across the battlefield, so I served in the field called Geospatial Intelligence, which is working with satellite imagery, mapping products, human intelligence, to help visualize the battlefield for not only the senior commanders but also the squad leaders and people who would be going into various combat environments.

Christine Cardona: I was a computer operator, so I started out with sensitive materials data transmissions, and then I started working with computer systems and networks.

Douglas Watson: So I served for 17 years as a regular infantry officer. I had the privilege of leading soldiers on operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and the United Kingdom.

Matt Silva: So I was a fuel artillery officer. My job was to be with maneuver unit and calling direct fire like satellite guided rockets or air strikes, that kind of thing.

Terrence Anderson Junior: The Marine Corps really prepares you to think strategically, really understand what you’re dealing with from a problem-solving perspective or a strategic, operational and tactical perspective.

Christine Cardona: The skills and the traits that we get in the military such as a passion to learn, loyalty, trust, all of those things make it very easy to work at BlackRock.

Terrence Anderson Junior: So the Veteran Network or Vet network is a network in which we choose to empower veterans internally and externally through the firm.

Aaron Lehn: So we work a lot with transitioning veterans, veterans that have made a commitment, they want to work in finance and try to help them make that transition whether or at other places.

Christine Cardona: It means a lot that BlackRock supports veterans because it’s important to have a community around you that has that same level of support and understanding of what a veteran goes through, and then lends that support that they need.

Matt Silva: And it also helps managers or people at BlackRock that don’t know vets get to know vets. I think it is nice to see a company that really appreciated that you weren’t—that you didn’t feel like you read by yourself and what you did is cool. I was proud of it, and it’s like BlackRock is proud of it too; they want you here.

Terrence Anderson Junior: my name is Terrence Anderson Junior and I was a captain in the United States Marine Corps.

Matt Silva: My name Matt Silva. I served in the Army for five years.

Douglas Watson: My name is Doug Watson, and I was a member of the Royal Scotland, part of the British Army.

Christine Cardona: I’m Christine Cardona. I was in the United States Airforce.

Aaron Lehn: My name is Aaron Lehn and I served four years in the United States Marine Corps.

Celebrating those who serve

We strive to have a diverse and inclusive firm to better meet our clients’ needs. Veterans bring a unique and valued perspective to BlackRock thanks to their extraordinary backgrounds and experiences.

Vests for Vets

Ellen Bockius: My husband has been deployed for several times over the course of our marriage and we faced a number of challenges when he came back.

Aaron Lehn: There’s no paradigm, there’s no model, there’s no guidebook when you leave the military and transition into the civilian workforce. So you kind of jump into it.

Jin Choi: I was in part of the Korean Air Force. Normally, in military you have a very clear objective in your mission, however, in the civilian workforce, you do not have that.

Nick Nefouse: So it takes a little bit of mentoring, a little bit molding to get them into the right place.

Lizi Nicol: I was in the Royal Artillery for nine years. Veterans have a unique way of solving problems, they bring diversity of thought to the team.

Ellen Bockius: That makes them incredible client stewards, it makes them incredible operators.

Nick Nefouse: The idea of Vests for Vets is we want to help veterans transitioning back into corporate America.

Lizi Nicol: It’s to show support for veterans and families going through the transition. It’s an opportunity for team members to show solidarity for the vets on their team and also an opportunity to show a mark of remembrance for those vets who may have lost people they served with.

Aaron Lehn: So the patch that I wear recognizes the First Marine Division which is the unit I served with in Iraq.

Nick Nefouse: This is the 5th Infantry Division, it’s my grandpa Billy’s Infantry Division. He served in World War II as my hero growing up.

Ellen Bockius: The military has its own culture, but that culture is incredibly strong. There are many pieces of that culture that I think transition really well into corporate life if it’s done right.

VestsForVets.

Vests for Vets

Created in 2019, Vests for Vets recognizes the significant transition veterans undertake while leaving the military and moving onto their next career chapter. Our goal is to support transitioning service members and their families, and recognize the unique skills, diverse backgrounds, and intangible characteristics veterans bring to organizations.

A portion of the proceeds of the vest will go to support American Corporate Partners and The Royal British Legion. The ordering period for Vests for Vets has closed. Stay tuned for future updates.
Vests for Vets

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Support and build the technology platform that powers our firm and the investment industry as a whole.

Vets build stronger teams

Mark Cox: The main thing that veterans bring to an organization is a unique background and experience about overcoming adversity, and as well as sort of an integral training in diverse teams. In the military, you’re going to work with all types of people from all types of life, and so you just become acclimated to dealing with different people from different backgrounds and working together as a team to accomplish goals. And I think that is critical for what we want to do at BlackRock.

Vets build stronger teams

Mark Cox, Executive Co-sponsor of BlackRock's Veteran Network, shares the unique skills that veterans bring to corporate organizations.

BlackRock partners with

American Corporate Partners