Mesirow Financial announced the appointment of Melissa Bean as CEO and President of Mesirow Wealth Advisors, effective April 8, 2019. Bean will lead Mesirow’s flagship wealth business, which has a long-standing reputation of client and community service built on strong relationships and independent advice. The business has been headquartered in Chicago for over 80 years.

Mesirow Wealth Advisors will leverage Bean’s leadership and management experience from private and public sectors, as well as non-profit organizations, including her deep relationships in the Midwest and Washington, D.C. markets. Bean joins Mesirow from JPMorgan Chase, where she served as Chairman of the Midwest. She succeeds Lee Gordon, who will transition to Chairman of Mesirow Wealth Advisors.

“Melissa’s management style and her record as a well-respected business and civic leader will provide the continued emphasis for innovation and collaboration that will be key to strategically growing our business over the next decade of private investing,” said Dominick Mondi, President and CEO of Mesirow Financial. "We are grateful to Lee for his accomplishments at Mesirow Wealth Advisors over the past 27 years, and we will continue to rely on his counsel and contributions.”

The team at Wealth Advisors is focused on delivering tailored solutions to meet the unique financial and legacy planning needs of clients, while investing to make a difference in the communities in which they operate.

“I’m excited to join Mesirow’s experienced wealth management team and look forward to building upon its strong reputation of providing dedicated service and unique client value,” said Melissa Bean. “Mesirow’s collaborative culture drives success, with an emphasis on optimizing the client experience with engaged, empowered and entrepreneurial teams.”

Bean will report into Mondi directly and will coordinate closely with Gordon to ensure a smooth transition of leadership at Wealth Advisors.

Most recently, Bean served as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Midwest of JPMorgan Chase. As senior market executive across all lines of business, she worked to strengthen client, partner, and government relationships, and chaired the Midwest Operating Committee. Before JPMorgan Chase, Bean was CEO of The Executives’ Club of Chicago, following her tenure in public service. Bean was elected in 2004, and served three terms in the U.S. Congress, (IL-08), where she was known by Congressional colleagues, the White House, and the business community, as a results-oriented, non-partisan leader. She led the task force that wrote key provisions of Dodd-Frank (to protect investors without stifling market growth), and co-authored the 2010 Small Business Lending Act, business tax credits in the GROW Act, and the SAFER NET Internet Child Safety Act; all were signed into law by Presidents Bush and Obama. Prior to Congress, Bean served 20 years in executive roles in the technology industry, namely, Arrow Electronics, Motorola, and SynOptics, and founder of SRI, where she developed successful sales and operations teams.

Bean received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, from Roosevelt University.

About Mesirow

Mesirow is an independent, employee-owned financial services firm founded in 1937. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices in 21 cities, we serve clients through a personal, custom approach to reaching financial goals and acting as a force for social good. With capabilities spanning Global Investment Management, Capital Markets & Investment Banking, and Advisory Services, we invest in what matters: our clients, our communities and our workplace culture.

Mesirow has been recently named best places to work in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business and the Chicago Tribune.

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