Pushing Forward and Giving Back
Randal Lukac ’17 attended Valparaiso University to experience education at a smaller school, but the skills he learned have led to some big things in his career. He’s worked as an investment banking analyst for JP Morgan in New York City, a debt and equity advisory analyst in Chicago, and is now the Vice President of Acquisitions and member of the General Partnership at Westminster Capital. Today, Randal has found ways to give back to and lead his alma mater as a member of the President’s Council of Advisors.
When he first arrived at Valpo on a Presidential Scholarship, Randal was facing some important choices about his future.
“I was not entirely sure if I was going to take over the large family farm I grew up on, or go into finance,” he recalls. “Valpo was a well-regarded school, and it was relatively close to my family farm.”
During his time as a student, Randal went all-in on chasing his ambitions in finance, majoring in the subject while becoming a member of the Financial Management Association. He also took on opportunities that would shape his career. While earning his undergraduate degree, he participated in five internships, including positions with 1st Source Bank his freshman year, then with PNC Bank as a sophomore, and with investment bankers at JP Morgan in New York City during the summer of his junior year — the opportunity that led to his first job with the organization.
Where his Valpo experience really shone, however, was in the connections he made with his peers and professors.
“My favorite thing about being a Valpo student was the close-knit friendships,” Randal says. ”I developed many long-lasting relationships with my professors, and Valpo alumni are almost always willing to help however they can.”
Deborah Singer, assistant dean at the College of Business, was Randal’s academic advisor, and was instrumental at the start of his career by helping him discover his future in investment banking.
“It was immediately clear that he was sincere, motivated, coachable and a lifelong learner,” Singer says. “I enjoyed helping him gain the soft skills needed for success. Randal still remembers the generous support Valpo faculty, staff and alumni provided over the years and is paying it forward, networking with current students and being an active member of Project LIGHT (Leadership Initiative for Grooming High-performing Talent) — a Valpo organization that helps students learn critical career skills and build connections. Like others in the Valpo family, he continues to lead and serve our community.”
The lessons Randal learned from Valpo extended well beyond the confines of business. While leading and thriving in one’s field are core ideals (as defined in Uplift Valpo: Our Beacon for the Journey Forward), instilling a passion for service is equally important. Both the University and the College of Business also emphasize the importance of making ethical choices, which Randal believes has been a contributor to his success.
“I think Valpo installs a great sense of ethics, and a sense of doing what’s right throughout the rest of your life, professionally and personally,” Randal says. “Taking several of Professor Matthew Becker’s theology classes throughout my four years comes to mind.”
In many schools, taking four years of theology classes as a business major would seem odd, or not even possible, but the opportunity to take such courses is something unique to a Valpo education and has an amazing impact on the development of a student’s life.
“Getting some classes away from corporate finance and investing was a great experience, and helped instill some great values in the long-term,” Randal says.
Matthew Becker, Ph.D., professor of theology, was one of Randal’s favorite professors while at Valpo, a relationship that extended beyond the classroom as Professor Becker served as officiant at Randal’s wedding.
Randal, his wife, and their daughter currently live in the North Chicago suburbs, where he works for Westminster Capital managing new deal sourcing and execution for closed-ended private fund vehicles. He’s also involved with the firm’s capital raising and investor relations. Westminster Capital has invested over $4 billion in assets since the 2000s.
“I’ve always enjoyed putting deals together and making investments,” Randal says. “I’ve also always enjoyed real estate, being exposed to so much land investing on the farm back home.”
In addition to his impressive resume, Randal has found time to give back to his alma mater. He is a routine speaker at several College of Business classes as well as serving as a member of the President’s Council of Advisors.
“The last two years I’ve been pursuing my MBA at Duke,” Randal says. “Going back to school made me want to get more involved with Valpo.”
Even as a graduate, Randal is still making connections through Valparaiso University. John Steele, lecturer in finance at the College of Business, has helped Randal cultivate a continuing relationship with current dean of the college Niclas Erhardt, while his appointment to the President’s Council of Advisors came after establishing a connection with President José D. Padilla.
“President Padilla really is the best,” Randal says. “This further motivated me to get involved, and help out however I can.”
For students today that are looking to follow a similar career path, Randal stresses the importance of keeping an initial wide range of options in mind and narrowing down your interests and possibilities from there, finding great mentors in the spaces where you want to thrive, and, possibly most importantly, have patience and don’t expect to have success overnight.
“I think the best advice I can give is that careers in the high finance industry are generally very long-term in nature — think of it as a marathon, not a sprint,” Randal says.