Former Chicago CFO Jennie Bennett lands at University of Chicago

Former Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett has landed at the University of Chicago.

Bennett joins the university as associate vice president of finance. She served as Chicago’s CFO under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot from 2019 to earlier this year when Lightfoot lost her re-election bid.

Bennett will be reporting to Ivan Samstein, who currently serves as the CFO of both the University of Chicago and University of Chicago Medicine. Samstein served as Cook County’s CFO from 2012 to 2017.

Bennett and Samstein declined to comment.

At the university, Bennett joins former Chicago deputy CFO Jack Brofman, who is the executive director for global treasury operations. Brofman was at the city for seven years, most recently under Bennett as deputy CFO from 2019 to 2023, and before that as debt manager and senior fiscal policy analyst.

Also in the department is Karin Luu, who is director of financial planning and analysis and debt capital markets, according to her LinkedIn profile. Luu, formerly of Loop Capital Markets, has been at the university for nearly five years, and was promoted to her current position in January from assistant director of treasury operations.

Bennett, a member of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, served as CFO at Chicago Public Schools for more than six years before joining the Lightfoot administration. From 2000 to 2012, she was an executive director at Morgan Stanley.

Bennett was honored Thursday by the City Club of Chicago, which named her a “transformative financial principal” at an inaugural event paying tribute to civic leaders. Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was also honored as an “iconic visionary.”