Lara Warner speaks at spring commencement ceremony

Lara Warner, a 1988 Smeal College of Business graduate with a degree in finance and member of the Smeal Board of Visitors, served as the college’s spring 2022 commencement speaker.

Acknowledging the uniqueness of entering the world following unprecedented circumstances including the “great pandemic” and the “great resignation,” Warner challenged graduates to lead “the great reset” by focusing on growth as much as goals; engaging with people of diverse backgrounds, talents and perspectives; and building solutions to critical challenges.

Warner received the Penn State Alumni Association’s Alumni Fellow Award, the highest award given by the Alumni Association, in 2019. She is a former executive with Credit Suisse Group AG, having served in various roles, including group chief risk and compliance officer, chief compliance and regulatory affairs officer, chief financial officer for the Investment Banking Division and member of the IB Operating Committee, chief operating officer for the IB division, global head of fixed income and economic research, and head of U.S. equity research. She also served as a member of the executive boards of Credit Suisse Group AG and Credit Suisse AG, based in Zurich.

Warner is chair emeritus of the Women’s Leadership Board of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, a member of the Harvard Kennedy School Dean’s Executive Committee, and a board member of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program. –Andy Elder