Speaker: Marianne Markowitz

Marianne is President and Chief Executive Officer of First Women’s Bank (in organization). Marianne will provide strategic leadership for the Bank by working with the board of directors and the management team to establish long-range goals, strategies, plans and policies. She will be responsible for the overall direction and administration of programs, products, and services provided by the Bank, including the Bank’s financial performance, credit quality, business development, operations, regulatory compliance, and risk management. Marianne served as Acting Administrator for the Small Business Administration nationally and as Regional Administrator for SBA’s Midwest Region V. While at the SBA, Marianne served as an interim member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet and was appointed by former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve on the City of Chicago’s Small Business Advisory Council. Most recently, Marianne was a Managing Director at CIBC Bank USA (formerly The PrivateBank and Trust Company), where she implemented a national SBA and vertical industry strategy for the CIBC Small Business Banking business line. Before her time at the SBA, Marianne served as trustee on the Obama for America board of directors, Chief Financial Officer for the Obama for America campaign and financial operations consultant for the launch of the Obama Exploratory Committee. As Chief Financial Officer, she was responsible for overseeing, budgeting and deploying $1 billion. Marianne has over 17 years of experience in providing finance and risk management expertise to leading global institutions in the U.S., U.K., and Switzerland. Past accomplishments include leading the financing and implementation of the global treasury and risk management strategy, systems, and staffing for the start-up of Syngenta, a $13 billion organization. Marianne received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri and an MBA from DePaul University. She is a One Million Degrees Differencemaker Mentor and a member of the Chicago Economic Club.