Financial Services Pipeline Initiative Appoints Two New CEO Leadership Council Co-chairs
Published: September 25, 2017
The Financial Services Pipeline (FSP) Initiative is ushering in two new co-chairs to help steer the direction of the program, carry out the organization’s mission and oversee overall strategy implementation. John W. Rogers, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Ariel Investments, and Matt Feldman, President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago will serve as the co-chairs and ambassadors for the CEO Leadership Council. They will join current co-chair Terry Mazany of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the founding member institutions of the FSP.
Rogers and Feldman will assume the co-chair roles previously held by CEO Leadership Council co-chairs, Frederick Waddell, The Northern Trust Company, and Monica Walker, Holland Capital Management, LLC.
In their roles as co-chairs, they will provide strategic oversight in connection with the initiative’s programming and fundraising. They will also work alongside industry leaders from a collective of approximately 19 financial institutions to manage the initiative and push forward the FSP’s goal of increasing the pipeline of African-American and Latino talent in Chicagoland’s financial services industry.
“The work of the FSP is critical,” said Matt Feldman, President and CEO, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. “The strategic imperative for diversity and inclusion is clear, particularly when viewed in light of the increasing diversity of the generation currently entering the workforce and those that will follow. An organization that does not recognize the reality of these changing demographics and adjust all of their business strategies to that reality will be left behind.”
“My goal for the FSP beyond just increasing minority representation in the [financial services] industry is to help create wealth-building opportunities within the African-American and Latino communities,” said John Rogers, CEO of Ariel Investments. “By focusing on retention and attrition, we can help to prepare the next generation of C-suite leaders and entrepreneurs who will go on to employ more people who look like them.”
Mr. Rogers is a well-known leader in the Chicago business community. Rogers spearheads Ariel Investments, LLC, a company known for managing key investment portfolios from around the country. Mr. Rogers strongly believes in giving back to Chicago, sitting on the corporate boards of Exelon, McDonald’s, and the Board of Directors for the Barack Obama Foundation. He also frequently speaks on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry. Mr. Rogers earned his bachelor’s in Economics from Princeton University where he also was awarded the University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award for his commitment to service leadership.
Mr. Feldman has been President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago since 2008 having served nearly 15 years with the Bank in a number of executive positions. Prior to his employment with the Bank, Mr. Feldman was co-founder and CEO of Learning Insights, Inc., an e-learning company where he conceived, established, financed and directed the operations of the company. Mr. Feldman holds degrees from Case Western Reserve University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Rogers and Feldman’s appointments will begin immediately as they prepare for the FSP’s 4th Annual Summit. The summit is an opportunity for all the FSP member organizations to address solutions to increase diversity in the financial industry due to recent stagnation in minority advancement. The private event will be held October 20, 2017 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.