Consultant helps wounded vets transition to Wall Street.

• Author: Shortlidge, Chandler
• Position: SMALL BUSINESS

LIDA CITROEN OF LIDA 360 has been in the business of helping companies, executives and business individuals stand out in a crowded market for more than 24 years. Now she has turned her attention to helping disabled veterans stand out for their achievements to major Wall Street firms.

Citroen is in the business of reputation management, more commonly known as branding. For the past year, Citroen has been shutting down her business for one week twice a year and traveling to Philadelphia to volunteer for the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation.

The Foundation helps wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans learn the many skills they will need in order to transition from not only life in the military, but also the abrupt, violent, and often unwanted end of their military careers.

"Almost all of these guys would have spent their lives serving in the military," Citroen said. "Now they have to make the extremely difficult and oftentimes uncomfortable transition to the corporate world, and I am honored to be able to help."

Jeffrey Knott, a former Marine who was injured by a roadside bomb while helping to evacuate an injured comrade, is currently in the program and focusing on private equity and wealth management.

"They're approaching it like we already are leaders. Now we just need to transfer our leadership skills into a new industry." Knott said.

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This is where Citroen steps in.

"It's not enough to teach a veteran how-to write a resume," she said. "They need so many more skills to be able to translate what they did and were responsible for into a corporate environment.

"I help teach them how to dress, how to network, to come up with an elevator pitch and a sound bite that makes them sound special and what makes them different," Citroen said.

The stoic and team-oriented nature of the military can also stymie veterans headed into the corporate world, according to Citroen.

"They're not used to...