Christine Lengvari, BSc 72, is president and CEO of Montreal-based Lengvari Financial Inc.
Lengvari was recently selected by trade magazine The Insurance and Investment Journal as one of the top 50 women of influence in the Canadian life insurance industry, based on her pioneering and precedent-setting work in the field.
Lengvari is president and CEO of Montreal-based Lengvari Financial Inc, an insurance brokerage founded by her parents, George and Trude Lengvari, that specializes in retirement and estate planning.
“I wouldn’t say that I ever had a straight career path,” Lengvari admits. After she earned a BSc at Loyola College in 1972, she completed her MBA and then became an accountant and business valuator. Lengvari spent six years in Durban, South Africa, setting up and running Operation Jumpstart, an innovative non-profit organization.
Lengvari eventually returned to Montreal and entered the family business. “Everything was a stepping stone to where I am today,” she says. “So the advice I can give to clients now is far richer and complete because I have this very varied background.”
Through the years Lengvari remained committed to her alma mater. Among a number of volunteer engagements, she served on Concordia’s Board of Governors from 1998 to 2007 and now sits on the Concordia University Foundation board.
While a governor, she was instrumental in setting up the university’s Planned Giving program. As one who practices what she preaches, she is a member of the Concordia Heritage Society, which recognizes those who have made a long-term commitment to the university through Planned Giving.
She is also chair of the Kenneth Woods Portfolio Management Program Client Committee at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business. The highly successful program gives students hands-on investment experience.
Lengvari’s long and winding path has brought her to a good place. “I love working with clients and using insurance as a tool for retirement planning,” she says.
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