Joan Rockey is Chief Financial Officer and a Partner in the Cerity Partners Chicago office. She oversees the firm’s accounting and finance activities and is a member of the Operating Committee. Joan has more than twenty-six years of experience in the financial services industry.
Joan began her career as a Management Consultant in the Reorganization & Restructuring Financial Advisory Group at Ernst & Young LLP. After Ernst &Young, she served as the CFO, COO and Event-Driven Portfolio Manager for Option Opportunities Co., a Chicago area broker-dealer/proprietary trading firm. Joan was also the Founder and CEO of Hadelrock Capital Management LLC, a Chicago area Hedge Fund specializing in event-driven and special situations strategies, and the CFO and Principal at CastleArk Management LLC, a Chicago area RIA/Family Office.
She received her Bachelor of Accounting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Master of Finance and Master of Taxation from DePaul University in Chicago. Joan is actively involved in numerous university and civic organizations, including The Chicago Club and The Economic Club of Chicago. She participates on the boards for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Gies Business Alumni Association, Chicago Finance Exchange, and the DePaul University Department of Finance Arditti Center for Risk Management. Joan is the Executive Advisor for the Metropolitan Planning Council and serves on the Investment Committee for The Cradle Foundation. She is a past Chairman of the CFA Society of Chicago and a past President of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, Chicago Chapter.
Joan was recognized as one of Crain’s Chicago Business 2019 Notable Women in Finance and was a finalist for the Financial Executives International 2015 Chicago Chapter CFO of the Year Award. Joan speaks regularly at nationwide AICPA conferences on topics such as data visualization, innovation culture and financial transformation, along with numerous Chicago area speaking engagements, including a fireside chat with Chicago Mayor Lightfoot.
Joan was a contributing author for Encyclopedia of Alternative Investments, published in 2008. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations.
