Sharon Lindstrom (BBA '87)
Sharon Lindstrom graduated from Sam Houston State University, with Summa Cum Laude honors, in 1987, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting. While attending Sam Houston, she was part of Alpha Lambda Delta, Golden Key National Honor Society and the Accounting Honor Society. She started at Arthur Andersen just after graduation and quickly became manager in the Houston office. She transferred in 1993 to the Chicago Arthur Andersen office where she had the opportunity to be part of the start up of their internal audit and risk consulting practice, becoming a partner in 1999. In 2002, she and 64 other partners started their own company, Protiviti, with approximately 650 employees in the United States. Lindstrom is a managing director in the Chicago office, also responsible for the global manufacturing industry. Protiviti is a risk consulting and internal audit firm specializing in solutions to clients in the areas of finance, operations, technology, litigation, governance, risk and, compliance. In eight years, Protiviti has grown to 2,500-plus employees in more than 60 offices in North and South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Lindstrom believes it is very important to leave a legacy, “something you are remembered for,” beyond work.
She serves on the board of Umoja Student Development, a not-for-profit formed in 1997 to link the educational efforts of Chicago Public School students to the broader community and to serve as an advocate for young people. As a result of this involvement with underserved high school students, Lindstrom also started a scholarship program at Protiviti to support college-bound inner city students with scholarships through their college graduation.
Lindstrom has two sisters who also attended SHSU. Teri "Lindstrom"Tracey,’85 Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from the College of Criminal Justice, currently resides near Dallas. Jeanne "Lindstrom" Stewart,’87 Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education, and currently resides in New Jersey. Lindstrom remembers her time fondly at SHSU, especially the faculty and her accounting classes in the College of Business Administration. She resides in Lincoln Park, a neighborhood near downtown Chicago.