5 Questions for Greg Dowling
Lindner alum says co-op provided a professional 'head start'
Greg Dowling credits co-op experiences with Greater Cincinnati Water Works, Mercy Health and Associated Land Group with preparing him for a range of professional challenges.
Those opportunities, combined with his deep student involvement, sparked a network of connections at the University of Cincinnati that have opened doors throughout his career, including more than 20 years with FEG Investment Advisors.
In 2014, Dowling reinforced those ties by joining UC's Carl H. Lindner College of Business as an adjunct finance instructor — a role he said has strengthened his ability to engage effectively with internal and external FEG stakeholders.
Get to Know Greg Dowling
- Job Title: CIO, Head of Reseach, FEG Investment Advisors
- Graduation Year: 1997
- Majors: Finance, Real Estate
- Lindner/UC Accolades & Activities
- Professional involvement: Adjunct finance instructor (2019 Outstanding Finance Adjunct of the Year), Private Capital Accelerator
- Student involvement: Student Alumni Council, Student Ambassador, Delta Tau Delta (President), Men of Metro, Order of Omega, Finance Club, Real Estate Club
1. What experiences from your time studying business do you still carry with you today?
Co-op is great because it taught you how to be a professional. You come right out of school and know what corporate culture is about. It gives you a head start. That was really foundational for me. All of the problem solving you get to do really sharpens you.
2. As an adjunct professor, what’s something you really try to emphasize to your students?
Making connections. They have a special ability to access professionals. Most people are willing to have a cup of coffee or a Zoom call with a student from their former university to tell them about their career, and to give them advice, coaching and mentoring.
Everything that I have achieved, there is an element of UC in it.
Greg Dowling, Bus '97 CIO, Head of Research, FEG Investment Advisors
3. What keeps you challenged or inspired in your position?
The investment industry is constantly evolving. It could be trying to figure out what subprime mortgages are in 2008, or today it might be how to invest in AI and how to avoid industries or companies that are being disrupted by AI. There’s always a new challenge.
4. What skills or mindsets do you think matter most for students entering your industry?
You have to be intellectually curious. You’ve got to be about continuous learning. And you have to love the industry, because there’s always a market open. People in this industry tend to be very passionate about it, so you better love it and enjoy what you do. If you don’t, you will get outworked and outhustled.
Dowling (second row, fourth from left) with his fellow UC Student Ambassadors during his undergraduate days.
5. What’s one piece of advice you wished you had heard when you were a student?
Life is stressful when you’re in college or just right out of college. Stop and smell the flowers occasionally. You need to have a little stress to keep you motivated and moving, but I see young people putting stress on themselves, saying I have to be at this level when I’m 25 or I need to be here when I’m 30. Things don’t always happen on the timeline you expect, but if you work hard, they generally happen for you.
Featured image: Greg Dowling in the Lindner Hall atrium. Photos/Grant Freking.
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Through one of the nation’s most robust co-op programs, UC students don’t just learn about their future — they live it, alternating classroom study with real, career-shaping experience in industries around the world.
Students: Earn while you learn at UC.
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