Jo Trahms is a vice president of corporate development at World Kinect Corporation, where she leads acquisitions and corporate venture investments related to sustainability and the energy transition.

Prior to World Fuel, Jo spent almost a decade in investment banking in Chicago, London, and New York, including most recently at William Blair where she led environmental services coverage and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts for investment banking. She started her career in operations at Target and at Lemhi Ventures, a healthcare venture capital fund in Minneapolis.

Jo holds a master of business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she graduated with concentrations in finance and entrepreneurship, and a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, where she majored in finance and minored in economics. She also spent a year at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown in Washington, DC, and a semester at Queen Mary, University of London in the UK.

Originally from a small town in Minnesota, Jo has been committed to entrepreneurship and community service throughout her lifetime. She is currently a board member for Friends of the Chicago River. Jo currently lives in Lincoln Park, along with her husband and tiny Bernedoodle, Hans. In her free time, she loves to explore the city of Chicago and is a voracious reader.