Rhoda Israelov

Rhoda Israelov recently joined the College of Business Administration’s (CBA) executive-in-residence program. Now in its 14th year, the program brings business people, usually retired, to teach and mentor CBA students. In 2005, Israelov retired from Smith Barney, a subsidiary of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. She had been with the company since March of 1981, most recently holding the position of first vice president of investments. Prior to that, she spent two years as a life and disability insurance agent for Connecticut Mutual Life. But Israelov didn’t begin her professional career in financial services; she was a Hebrew language teacher for 18 years. As a single mom with three boys she knew the financial services industry would provide her with more opportunities to support her family. “A friend of mine was a headhunter and set me up on nine interviews,” she says. Since Israelov had no business background she played up her liberal arts education and organizational skills, successfully landing a job with the first company with which she interviewed. Finance became her career for the next 25 years, but success didn’t come easy. “I worked very hard, and studied very hard. I had to learn the business very quickly,” she says. And, she excelled at it. For 23 of her 25 year career in finance, she published a weekly planning column that appeared in both the Indianapolis Business Journal and Indianapolis Star. She also wrote a monthly column for the Columbian Magazine as well as produced two radio shows, “The Fifth Third Planning Show,” and “A Moment for Your Money.” She has also made numerous television appearances, and led over 100 seminars on retirement planning for Indiana teachers and administrators. She is mentioned in, “Who’s Who in Finance and Industry,” “Who’s Who in Banking and Financial Services,” and “International Women of the World.” In 2001 she established the Rhoda Israelov Scholarship Fund at Butler to encourage more females to go into the field of financial planning. “Through this association I started talking to Dean Dick Fetter about opportunities to get involved with the college,” she says. When a position opened in the executive-in-residence program it seemed like a perfect fit. Her primary responsibility will be to mentor 20 freshman students and track them throughout their career at Butler. “I have 25 years of business lessons I can share with them,” she says. “These are the things you learn only in the business world.” Israelov will also use her many business connections to create new internship opportunities for juniors and seniors. As a special project, she will work with Associate Professor Ben Liu on the CBA’s International Trade Institute.