Marianne Markowitz President & CEO, First Women’s Bank, the only women-founded, owned, and led bank in the country focused on closing the gender lending gap nationallyPreviously, Markowitz served as the Acting Administrator and Regional Administrator for the Small Business Administration. Markowitz was appointed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve on the City of Chicago’s Small Business Advisory Council. Most recently, Marianne was Managing Director at CIBC, US where she successfully implemented a national SBA program. Before her time at the SBA, Markowitz served as trustee on the Obama for America Board of Directors, CFO for the Obama for America Campaign, and for the launch of the Obama Exploratory Committee. For 17 years Markowitz held leadership roles in finance and treasury at leading global institutions in the U.S., UK, and Switzerland. Markowitz received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri and an MBA from DePaul University. She is a member of the Chicago Economic Club, The Chicago Club, and a One Million Degrees mentor.