Michael Howley named the trading room director at the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business

The Department of Finance at Clemson's Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business recently welcomed Michael Howley as the trading director of the Melvin and Dollie Younts Trading Room. In this role, Howley will oversee the trading room's activities and help students gain practical experience in finance and trading in an environment designed to replicate real-world markets.

The Melvin and Dollie Younts Trading Room is a state-of-the-art learning lab located in Powers Hall. The trading room was designed to simulate the look and feel of Wall Street, with several Bloomberg terminals, a ticker screen and trading stations.

Angela Morgan, finance department chair, says having Howley will be a great asset to the trading room. "We are excited to have Michael join us as our trading room director. He will allow us to provide additional services to the students, including hands-on Bloomberg terminal training and increase the number of students who earn Bloomberg certifications. Michael is also working with our faculty to create new experiential learning opportunities in the classroom that combine the trading room resources as well as his experience as a trader," she explains. "All of this will make our students more competitive in the marketplace."

Originally from Long Island, New York, Howley graduated from the University of Maryland-College Park in 2003 and played 6 years of professional lacrosse after graduation. Howley comes to Clemson with over 17 years of experience in the financial world mostly in fixed income. He has spent most of his career as a credit trader focused on investment grade and high yield corporate bonds. Previously, Howley was a senior credit trader at Société Générale and head of the investment grade corporate trading desk at BNY Mellon.

Brandon Lockhart, associate department finance chair, says that Howley's expertise will play a large part in the success of the trading room. "Michael Howley excelled as a trader in no small part due to his competitive nature. Michael's success as a three-time NCAA All-American, Team USA gold medalist and professional Lacrosse player translated efficiently to the world of high-stakes trading and managing a team of traders. We are thrilled that he has joined our team here at Clemson to build a world-class trading room experience for our students. Michael is already hard at work on our game plan, and we are excited to announce some of our strategies later this academic year."

In this new career path, he is most excited to start sharing his knowledge with students. "I've always loved teaching, mentoring and training others. This role gives me a chance to bring what I've learned over the years into the classroom and to help students find a passion for the financial markets and become successful in their trading careers," Howley says. "There's nothing more rewarding than seeing someone gain confidence in a complex topic because they completely understand it and know how it applies. I'm excited to be part of that journey for Clemson business students."

Visit the Department of Finance webpage to learn more.