On Saturday, February 13th, 2021 Mr. David Jacobson spoke to the Junior Economic Club of Chicago, highlighting the themes of finding success and taking advantage of opportunities. Mr. Jacobson has been the Vice Chair of BMO Financial Group since 2013, also serving on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Montreal (China) Co. Ltd., and as the Chair of BMO’s Political Action Committee. He formerly served as the US Ambassador to Canada.

Mr. Jacobson grew up in Chicago, and after earning degrees in economics and political science at Johns Hopkins, he worked as a corporate lawyer in Chicago for 30 years while engaging in various political affairs. After an introduction to former President Barack Obama, he worked on the Obama presidential campaign and eventually as Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel. Mr. Jacobson remarked that they had 4,000 political appointments to make and 500,000 applicants, and while Obama “was responsible for appointments, [he] was responsible for disappointments.” He soon assumed the role of Ambassador to Canada, which he held from 2009 to 2013. The main purpose of the job was to understand what was going on in Canada and communicate that to Washington, and vice versa.

Mr. Jacobson encouraged attendees to remember his advice of acting on luck. “In whatever you pursue, just please keep in mind that you’re gonna have good luck and you’re gonna have bad luck, and when good luck comes along, take advantage of it. Just do your best and things will work out just fine.”

View the full event summary here.