The Blonde in the Back with the Pearls is the fascinating story of JoAnne Kennedy’s career as an investment banker on Wall Street from the mid-1980s into the twenty-first century and how, while dealing with the boys’ club cultures at all her firms, she remained true to the values of her Catholic upbringing and education. After being sexually harassed and fired by her first boss in New York, she moves to the fraternity-like environment of Salomon Brothers in the disco world of Wall Street in the 1980’s, winning the support and loyalty of her clients who stay with her after she is let go in a market downturn.

JoAnne goes on to lead the housing finance group at Credit Suisse First Boston and become the first worldwide managing director in public finance at that firm. She balances career and family while working at several smaller firms outside of New York until she returns to Wall Street at JP Morgan where she receives good reviews and good bonuses but is eventually let go by a hostile boss based on a fabricated employee review.

The Blonde in the Back with the Pearls is both a cautionary tale and an inspiring story of one woman’s perseverance and grit across the evolving world of public finance. .