Crain's Chicago Business by crainschicago

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • July 19, 2021 19

2021

MINORITIES INcover COMMERCIAL BANKING These 27 professionals the spectrum of commercial bankDOROTHY ABREU ing, from real estate lending to treasury management. The pandemic turned their world upside-down last year, and they quickly adapted by serving and guiding clients remotely. Many were able to extend credit that enabled organizations to remain liquid. And they assisted in the processing of thousands of SBA PPP loans. Following the murder of George Floyd and heightened awareness of systemic inequality, many joined resource groups and diversity and inclusion initiatives. They led online discussions on topics ranging from the broader challenge of discrimination to more granular issues of hiring and advancement. Some have taken on the tasks of designing mentorship and leadership development programs for minority colleagues. Outside the office, they are engaged in professional associations and nonprofit initiatives in health care, the arts, education and neighborhood development. Their efforts should provide a smoother path for the next generation of minority bankers. By Judith Crown and Lisa Bertagnoli METHODOLOGY: The individuals featured did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from the nomination materials submitted. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by editors. To qualify for the list, individuals must self-identify as part of a racial or ethnic minority and have at least 10 years of experience in commercial banking. They serve as role models, promote inclusive practices and assume leadership positions outside their organizations.

Senior vice president, PNC relationship manager public finance PNC Financial Services Group

Dorothy Abreu is a senior leader in PNC’s Public Finance Group and helps lead the provision of capital solutions and tailored financial services to public sector and notfor-profit entities, including the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago and its sister agencies, among other organizations. She also collaborates with community partners in various Midwest markets identified as “catalyst developments” in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Previously, she was the regional sales leader for PNC’s Community Development Banking team, guiding one of the largest and most impactful production units in the division. Her work with Community Development Financial Institutions intermediaries and community organizations helped fund projects valued in millions of dollars to enhance the quality of life and create economic empowerment for communities across the Chicago area, particularly underserved neighborhoods in the South and West sides.

MOHAMMED ABUNADA Senior vice president First Midwest Bank

Mohammed Abunada services private practices including physicians, dentists, veterinarians, surgery centers and hospitals. He is responsible for business development/ portfolio management, managing the Midwest market and specializes in practice expansion, new construction, practice acquisitions, start-up financing, practice buy-in and buyout, equipment financing and working capital lines of credit. The Professional Services team added nearly $100 million in loan commitments to the portfolio and last year originated more than 83 loans, far exceeding goals. In 2019, Abunada was appointed to the Governing Council at Advocate Christ Medical Center, and he has been named a President’s Circle Member at First Midwest. He is chairman of the Orland Park Prayer Center scholarship committee and is a member of Medglobal, an international medical nonprofit providing health services to people in need.

JAMEL ALIKHAN

JAVONNA S. BURTON

RAMÓN CEPEDA

PRAVEEN CHATHAPPURAM

Managing director, Illinois commercial banking CIBC Bank

Vice president First Midwest Bank

Senior managing director, commercial real estate banking & professional services groups Northern Trust

Senior vice president, division head, commercial banking Byline Bank

Jamel Alikhan is a group head responsible for growing CIBC Bank’s professional service-focused client base (lawyers, accountants, etc.) as well as helping to expand its middle market commercial banking business. In the last 12 months he brought in five new clients to the bank with more than $50 million in commitments. Alikhan recently took on the role as reverse mentor at CIBC; joined the board of Family Focus, which works to strengthen families in Chicago and northeast Indiana; and has become a board member of the Nora Project, which promotes disability inclusion by empowering educators and engaging students and communities. Prior to joining CIBC, he was an executive director and senior vice president at JPMorgan Chase and a vice president at National City.

Javonna S. Burton provides team leadership, develops new account relationships and manages a portfolio of corporate/municipal clients. Her responsibilities include selling treasury management products to established corporate customers and prospects alongside the commercial lending staff. She is a member of the Association for Financial Professionals; the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, most recently chairing its Global Impact Day; and a past board member for Growing Home, a nonprofit providing farm-based training for people with employment barriers. Over the years she’s held positions of increasing responsibility, starting at American National Bank in the loan operations department and being accepted into the Credit Analyst Program. Burton received her Certified Treasury Professional designation and has held positions at PNC Bank, Charter One/RBS Citizens and American National Bank.

Ramón Cepeda leads two commercial teams: Professional Services, which provides commercial corporate lines of credit, partner loan programs, treasury management and wealth management to legal, accounting and consulting firms, regionally and throughout the Northern Trust footprint, and Commercial Real Estate, which focuses on new and existing high net worth clients. On a combined basis, balance sheet growth for both teams was 15 percent. In 2020, the teams closed on $296 million in new business. At Northern Trust, Cepeda is also a senior lender and chairs the regional credit committee. He was recently reappointed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for six more years to the Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois System. Other civic involvements include: LISC-Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art and the Latino Leadership Council.

Praveen Chathappuram is responsible for $225 million in commitments and $115 million in average deposits to owner-managed/ owner-operated middle-market companies. He has been the top producer at Byline Bank for the last four years in a row, managing the largest portfolio on the commercial banking team. During the pandemic year, he grew his loan portfolio by $30 million and his deposit portfolio by $45 million by helping clients with the PPP and navigating the crisis caused by the pandemic. Chathappuram has been a CFA Charterholder since 2011. He was on the board of DuPage PADS for six years; the treasurer and board member for Apna Ghar, a domestic violence shelter; the treasurer and board member for the US-India Chamber of Commerce; and is an active member of the CFA Society of Chicago.

20 July 19, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

MARIA CHAVEZ

MICHAEL CHIN

ERIC CHUNG

RON COLEMAN

Treasury services head, Midwest and Northeast region JPMorgan Chase

Senior vice president First Midwest Bank

Managing director, product and pricing for North American Commercial Bank BMO Harris Bank

Market president, Vernon Hills Bank & Trust Wintrust Bank

Maria Chavez, who leads the Midwest and Northeast Treasury Services teams for Corporate Client Banking and Specialized Industries, is responsible for delivering working-capital and cash-management solutions to corporate clients. She was a pioneer in building a center of excellence around the onboarding client experience as well as an intensive training program focused on specific skill sets. Chavez, who ascended at the firm with only a high school degree, now actively coaches and mentors more than 60 individuals annually. Prior to her current role, she oversaw the buildout of the Corporate Actions and Treasury Consulting teams. She is active across several committees within JPMorgan Chase as well as the Chicago Inclusion Action Committee, the Adelante business-resource group, the Hispanic Executive Forum and Women on the Move.

Michael Chin manages a $60 million portfolio for clients ranging from nonprofit organizations to wholesale distributors. He was part of the core First Midwest team that assisted 6,000 small businesses in accessing $1.2 billion to through the PPP, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Chin works with the Chicago Minority Supplier Diversity Council, is board president of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association and is a board member of the Loan Committee for the Wessex 504 Corporation. He is currently on the FBI’s Multi-Cultural Advisory Council, which tackles hate crimes. Before joining First Midwest Bank, he was vice president at BMO Harris Bank, where he organized the first Asian-affinity employee resource group, and senior vice president at TCF Bank.

Eric Chung leads the product, pricing and data-quality functions for the North American Commercial Bank, or NACB, a $100 billion segment of BMO. NACB did not have a formal pricing organization until Chung joined in the summer of 2018; since then, he built rigor into the function by focusing on analytics, banker performance feedback and targeted-pricing guidance. He also led key initiatives such as LIBOR cessation. Chung leads a diverse team where almost half identify as nonwhite minorities and two-thirds are women. He is on the leadership team for ACE, BMO’s Asian Coalition of Employees, and is a sponsor for BMO’s Summer Experience Internship, which targets minority candidates in their freshmen/sophomore years. Prior to joining BMO, Chung held various positions with GE Capital.

CIBC proudly congratulates Lily Tow

Treasury Management Implementation Manager

Jamel Alikhan

Managing Director Illinois Commercial Banking

and all of the 2021 Notable Minorities in Commercial Banking.

COMMERCIAL BANKING | CAPITAL MARKETS | PRIVATE WEALTH

Ron Coleman develops commercial opportunities throughout the Chicago area, with an emphasis on community growth utilizing the SBA. He has focused on commercial loans that finance 15 to 20 projects a year, including new schools and multifamily housing units. Coleman was also on the PPP Quality Control team, helping to process more than 500 applications through the Libertyville charter, which resulted in $62 million in funding for local clients. He previously worked as a commercial sales team manager at Associated Bank. He’s worked with the Big Brother Big Sisters program and set a donation record as the executive account manager for United Way’s “Grow Up Great” program. He was a mentor for high school students on the West Side of Chicago and was on the CAN Executive Advisory Board.

Honoring diversity and inclusion.

Congratulations to Crain’s Notable Minority Leaders in Commercial Banking

Eric Chung

Juanita Hardin

Kimberly Merchant

Brett Sanchez

Managing Director Commercial Product & Pricing

Head, Risk and Compliance Treasury & Payment Solutions

Managing Director Commercial Middle Market

Managing Director Sponsor Fund Lending

We’re proud to recognize this year’s honorees for their tremendous contributions to help tackle barriers to inclusion. And, thank you to last year’s honorees Eric Smith, Carl Jenkins, Oscar Johnson, Guadalupe Marquez and Patricia Tyree for their ongoing efforts. Named by Forbes as one of the Best Employers for Diversity 2021 for the third year in a row, BMO is committed to fostering diversity beyond our organization as we promote equality in our communities. Through our BMO EMpower LQLWLDWLYH ZH DUH GHGLFDWLQJ ELOOLRQ RYHU ˂ YH \HDUV WR DGGUHVV NH\ EDUULHUV faced by minority businesses, communities and families in the United States. Together, we can create lasting change. Learn more at bmo.com/empower

®Registered trademark of Bank of Montreal. Banking products are subject to approval and are provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC.

tab doc.indd 1

21cb0301.pdf

RunDate 7/19/21

FULL PAGE

Color: 4/C

7/13/21 1:58 PM

22 July 19, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

ZENA DIGGS

JUANITA HARDIN

MICHAEL HARRIS

FARHAAN HASSAN

Midwest market executive, commercial real estate banking global commercial banking Bank of America

Head, risk & compliance–Treasury & Payment Solutions BMO Harris Bank

Senior vice president Wintrust Bank

Senior vice president/team leader Fifth Third Bank

Zena Diggs leads a team of senior relationship managers, manages an $11 billion loan portfolio and serves real estate clients in the Midwest. Working remotely since March 2020, she’s also focused on issuing PPP loans. She led the recast of a private-equity investor’s maturing term loan that was oversubscribed with $729 million in commitments, sparking a return to normalcy in the local bank debt market. She is also a commercial banking advisor to the inaugural class of Yield Cohort, a program created by the Urban Land Institute and LISC Chicago. It supports diverse developers on projects with the potential to spur wealth creation in Black and Brown communities. Prior to joining Bank of America, she was with Citigroup and Deloitte & Touche.

Juanita Hardin oversees a risk management practice for BMO’s North American Treasury Management business, which comprises more than 600 employees and seven lines of business. She advises management on detective and preventive controls over key business processes. She was integral in establishing a TPS pandemic business continuity disclosure statement for clients along with instituting a pandemic register. She also led the business through multiple payments, financial statement and corporate card exams for regulatory agencies in the US and Canada. Hardin was recently re-elected as a Village of Matteson board trustee, chairs BMO’s Veterans Advisory Council, and is a member of the Third Party Payment Processing Association, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, and the Red Cross Heroes Nomination Committee.

Michael Harris oversees a $200 million construction, engineering and architecture portfolio, providing strategic financial solutions in the form of working capital, equipment, real estate and ownership transition. In 2020-21, he established relationships with two national contractors totaling $50 million in new credit facilities for the bank; was nominated as an external director for Alfred Benesch, a professional services firm; joined the bank’s diversity and inclusion efforts; and joined the board of the Black Contractors Owners & Executives organization. Harris is a member of the Construction Financial Management Association’s Chicago chapter, a former board member of the Illinois Road & Transportation Builders Association and an active member of Surety Association of Illinois and the Chicago Building Congress. He is also on the Youth Guidance Becoming A Man Advisory Council, the HFS Scholars Board and the Flossmoor Community Relations Commission.

Farhaan Hassan leads a team of bankers that manages a portfolio with $750 million in commitments and $250 million in deposits; his team earned trusted advisor status with six names in the middle of the pandemic. Hassan works to earn trusted advisor status with clients in order to enhance the bank’s presence in the Chicago area. During the last challenging 15 months, he made sure that the bank communicated frequently and proactively to address client and employee concerns. Prior to Fifth Third Bank, Hassan was a senior relationship executive for JPMorgan Chase and has worked in the United States and the United Kingdom for various top-tier firms. Over the last decade he has focused on giving back professionally by counseling high school students on career paths at After School Matters, providing consulting services via Taproot Foundation to Chicago-area nonprofits adapting to the pandemic and also volunteering with the Citizen’s Foundation and New Horizon Tutor Mentor Connections.

Congratulations Crain’s 2021 Notable Minorities in Commercial Banking Zena Diggs, Midwest Market Executive, Commercial Real Estate Banking

Amy Jo, International Treasury Officer, Global Transaction Services

Bank of America believes in the power of diversity and our leaders reflecting the communities where we live and work. Congratulations Zena Diggs and Amy Jo on being named to Crain’s Chicago Business’s 2021 Notable Minorities in Commercial Banking List. We are so proud of you. Visit us at bankofamerica.com/chicago.

MAP3670638 | AD-07-21-0161

When you mean business, it makes a difference.

Daniel Short Vice President Senior Portfolio Manager

Farhaan Hassan Senior Vice President Team Leader

Congratulations to two of Chicago’s most influential minorities in commercial banking. Your leadership and involvement make a difference throughout commercial banking and our community. Fifth Third Means Business™

53.com/CommercialBank Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.

tab doc.indd 1

21cb0310.pdf

RunDate 7/19/21

FULL PAGE

Color: 4/C

7/14/21 3:02 PM

24 July 19, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

AMY JO

NADINE JOHNSON

JANET LEONG

JERRY LUMPKINS

International treasury officer Bank of America

Senior vice president, treasury management officer—public funds First Midwest Bank

Industry executive, managing director, commercial banking JPMorgan Chase

Chicago commercial real estate lead Bank Leumi USA

Nadine Johnson is responsible for a portfolio of government and municipal clients in the Chicago area. In the past 18 months, she increased deposits, fee revenue and profitability of the $1.5 billion public funds portfolio. She is part of the bank’s treasury management liquidity task force consisting of senior treasury management officers. Last year, she assisted clients in the closing of 6,700 PPP loans, a total of $1.2 billion, and guided clients in navigating the pandemic. Johnson was appointed chair of Illinois Government Finance Officers Association’s new DEI taskforce and also helped the bank enhance its diversity and inclusion strategy. She is on the board of Community Partners for Affordable Housing and a member of the finance committee of the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County.

At JPMorgan Chase, Janet Leong is the industry executive for health care, higher education and nonprofits. During the pandemic, Leong’s team provided credit that enabled medical facilities to remain liquid. She is an executive sponsor for AsPire Illinois, the bank’s business resource group for employees of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage with 1,000 members. Leong also is co-chair of the JPMorgan Chase Illinois Market Leadership Team. She’s active in Ascend, the nonprofit PanAsian organization for business professionals in North America. For four years, Leong led the bank’s First Scholars Program, a selective training program in which participants worked for two and a half years rotating through a variety of jobs while pursuing their MBAs. The program reimbursed tuition at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.

At Bank of America, Amy Jo delivers products in treasury, trade, foreign exchange and liquidity to middle-market clients in the Midwest. Jo has led best practice presentations in global treasury processes and led initiatives to break down silos between treasury functions. She created a global credit tool that enables associates to quickly assess credit requirements, expedite underwriting and correctly manage counterparty risks. During the pandemic, she assisted global clients with business continuity processes and ensured they could operate in countries impacted by lockdown where staff couldn’t access banking systems. She’s part of the leadership team for the Asian Leadership Network Chicago employee network. Before being named to her current role in 2017, Jo was based in the bank’s London office and most recently was an EMEA liquidity specialist.

Jerry Lumpkins specializes in multifamily, retail, office and industrial properties throughout the Midwest. He joined Bank Leumi last year from BMO Harris, where he was a director, also specializing in commercial real estate. Last year, Leumi’s Chicago office originated more than $115 million of commercial real estate loans. Over the past five years, Lumpkins closed near $400 million in loans. Before joining Bank Leumi he funded an apartment project in Englewood, enabling the borrower to purchase and renovate the property. He recently was re-elected board president of the nonprofit Bickerdike Redevelopment, which provides affordable housing in the Northwest Side. Lumpkins has become active in Leumi’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, which includes a commitment to better reach underserved client communities and engage more vendors of diverse backgrounds.

Congratulations and Thank You Praveen Chathappuram

SVP, Division Head, Commercial Banking Bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to support business growth, Praveen leads by example. We’re proud of your recognition and thank you!

bylinebank.com

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • July 19, 2021 25

‘I’m a real estate geek’ Rockford native and veteran banker Jerry Lumpkins joined Israeli-owned Bank Leumi USA last year. He spends 85 percent of his time on market rate loans and the remainder on community development projects, mostly on the South and West sides. His 25-year career has included stints at BMO Harris, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo/Wachovia and US Bank. CRAIN’S: Why real estate? LUMPKINS: My dad invested in apartments. Real estate always was in my family. I love the commercial part because I can go see it. I can walk and drive it, learn the intricacies of the neighborhood, the history of the buildings. I’m a real estate geek. What kinds of projects do you typically handle? I do a lot of market-rate apartments. These are low-rise garden style buildings with 100 to 200 units. They’re called workforce housing because they’re rented to regular working folks such as mail carriers, teachers and firefighters. After the murder of George Floyd, you

got involved in the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. What kind of initiatives are under way? We’re looking at minority owned businesses—can we offer credit or deposit services to that company or can it be a vendor? We want to fund nonprofits that can provide financial literacy and wellness training. We also can provide volunteer hours and serve on boards. Give the disinvestment and economic disadvantages experienced by Black and Brown folks; it’s not going to take a month to fix.

don’t we see more of these? These deals can take 10 years. You have to plan it, get approvals, finance it and get community input. In some cases, there are 10 financing components. They all have to close on the same day. I call it lasagna financing. When you have that amount of time and energy required to put a deal together, a lot of market-rate guys pass. They can get five or six deals done in that same period of time. What drives you to do these kinds of loans? I have family in Englewood, family that gets housing assistance, so it’s personal

Are banks loosening credit, requiring less equity? Perhaps but not that much less. We don’t want to get to SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH. a situation where PEOPLE IN BANKING HATE THE WORD FAITH. we’re financing 75 to 80 percent of the for me. Sometimes you have to take a project cost. If the market turns, then leap of faith. People in banking hate all of a sudden we have a 120 percent to 125 percent loan to value deal. That’s the word faith. For them, it’s all about facts and the merits. But you have not good for anyone. You now have an to know your borrower. You have to impaired loan on your books. believe in the vision. You have to have a passion for it. It can’t be 100 percent Developer Leon Walker has been sucprofit-driven. cessful in South Side projects. Why

PATRICK MCGEE Vice president, relationship manager for commercial banking PNC Financial Services Group

As vice president for commercial banking, Patrick McGee works with local and midsize companies with revenues of $5 to $50 million. Since 2016, he’s originated an average of five to seven major commercial loans annually. In addition, he supported PNC’s PPP loan program in which the bank registered 118,000 loans with the SBA, totaling nearly $18 billion. As a member of the PNC Chicagoland Diversity and Inclusion Council and African American Employee Business Resource Group, he helped facilitate mentoring for minority employees and helped advance initiatives on race and equity. McGee has led lending for companies with up to $10 million in revenue in low and moderate-income neighborhoods and Community Reinvestment Act-eligible businesses. McGee is on the board of the DuSable Museum of African American History.

OUR TEAM PROUDLY INCLUDES CHICAGO’S VERY BEST We know our best asset is our people. And, we wouldn’t be the company we are today without them. We’d like to thank Michael, Umar, and Ron for their expertise in the industry, dedication to serving our communities, and leadership set by example. We’re proud to call you part of the Wintrust family.

Congratulations to some of Wintrust’s most notable in Commercial Banking! MICHAEL HARRIS

UMAR RIAZ

RON COLEMAN

Senior Vice President Wheaton Bank & Trust

Vice President Old Plank Trail Community Bank

Market President Vernon Hills Bank & Trust

Banking products provided by Wintrust Financial Corp. banks. Vernon Hills Bank & Trust is a branch of Libertyville Bank & Trust Company, N.A.

26 July 19, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

KIMBERLY MERCHANT

SHERWIN PATIDAR

MARCO V. QUINTANA

UMAR RIAZ

Managing director, portfolio leader BMO Harris Bank

Vice president, SBA lending Merchants Bank of Indiana

C&I lead Bank Leumi USA

Vice president, Old Plank Trail Community Bank Wintrust Bank

At BMO Harris, Kimberly Merchant leads portfolio management for the commercial middle-market team in Illinois. She manages 20 portfolio managers and analysts and handles recruiting, training and talent development. Merchant and her team are responsible for originating more than 100 new client relationships annually. She developed a survey to enhance the transparency of the year-end performance review process. During the height of the pandemic, she authored training materials on cash flow and liquidity, which was rolled across BMO’s platform in North America. Merchant is active in the bank’s Asian American diversity efforts. She joined BMO Capital Markets in 2007 from Citigroup’s Corporate Investment Bank and was named to her current position in 2017. She’s an incoming board member for the nonprofit Prevent Child Abuse America.

During the past 18 months, Sherwin Patidar has been integral in helping Merchants Bank build a nationwide SBA program. Last year, the bank funded more than $100 million in SBA loans including PPP loans. He’s assisting the bank in building an originating, underwriting, closing and servicing platform for SBA and Department of Agriculture programs. Patidar joined Merchants Bank in 2019 from First Colorado National Bank, where he was a senior vice president based in the Schaumburg office, which processed about $50 million in SBA loans annually. Last year, Patidar also helped facilitate PPP loans, dispersing funds to businesses hardest hit by COVID. Patidar is on the bank’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee and has been active in helping facilitate new diversity initiatives.

At Bank Leumi, Marco V. Quintana is responsible for growing Leumi’s middle-market commercial and industrial practice in the Chicago area. Last year, Quintana led Bank Leumi Chicago’s PPP initiative—the Chicago office was the second-largest provider of PPP loans across Bank Leumi USA. Quintana joined Bank Leumi in early 2020 from BMO Harris, where he was senior vice president, managing director. At BMO Harris, Quintana’s team consistently grew its portfolio of $550 million in the core lower-middle market by 8 to 10 percent. He helped increase revenue per relationship manager to $2.5 million from $1.3 million. Quintana is treasurer of the LEARN Network of Charter Schools and led the rating process to earn an investment grade designation from S&P Global Ratings.

Congratulations to Marco Quintana and Jerry Lumpkins for their selection to the 2021 Crain’s Chicago Business Most Notable Minorities in Commercial Banking.We are proud of our diverse culture at Leumi, which inspires us to be bold, speak openly, and empowers us to connect, grow, and try new things.

Umar Riaz is a commercial real estate lender at Old Plank Trail Community Bank, a Wintrust bank in Mokena. In the past 18 months, Riaz closed nearly $30 million in new commercial real estate commitments and manages a portfolio of more than $100 million. Riaz participated in Wintrust’s PPP lending program as part of the quality control team for the initial program, most recently as part of the underwriting team. Riaz has been in a lending role for nearly five years at Wintrust, averaging $15 million to $20 million in loans annually. Recent loan growth has come from northwest Indiana as well as South Side suburbs. He joined Wintrust in 2014 as a commercial underwriter from United Central Bank, where he was a special assets officer.

Marco V. Quintana, Chicago, C&I Lead

THROUGH THE HIGHS AND LOWS, WE ARE HERE FOR THE LONG TERM, BANK LEUMI.

Bank Leumi USA ® is an FDIC insured, New York State chartered bank. Leumi and Bank Leumi are marketing brands operated by Bank Leumi USA. Bank Leumi USA is a subsidiary of Bank Leumi le-Israel, B.M. and part of the Leumi Group.

Jerry Lumpkins, Chicago Commercial Real Estate Lead

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • July 19, 2021 27

BRETT SANCHEZ

DANIEL SHORT

ABDULLAH Y. TADROS

LILY TOW

Managing director BMO Harris Bank

Vice president, senior portfolio manager Fifth Third Bank Chicago

Vice president, commercial banking First Midwest Bank

Treasury management implementation manager CIBC Bank

At BMO Harris, Brett Sanchez leads a team of bankers originating, executing and managing a portfolio of loans to private-equity funds and portfolio companies owned by private-equity sponsors. Over the past five years, Sanchez contributed to the growth of BMO’s fund-lending business, adding new names and expanding relationships. He was directly involved in approximately 40 percent of the new loan growth and advised on other transactions. As a member of Commercial Bank Talent Committee, he recently was charged with designing and co-leading a program to develop employees from diverse backgrounds for leadership roles. He is also on BMO’s undergraduate recruiting team for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a member of BMO Latino Alliance. He is on the executive board of the literacy nonprofit SitStayRead.

A team lead in the Middle Market Commercial Lending Group, Daniel Short supports commercial and industrial companies with revenue between $20 million and $500 million. Short’s team manages more than 50 relationships with total credit commitments of $600 million. During the pandemic, Short was on the bank’s leadership team for the PPP and provided support to a lending group that processed more than 250 first-round applications. Last year, Short’s team originated more than $25 million in loans. He joined predecessor bank MB Financial in 2005 as a credit analyst and transitioned to sales and portfolio management. He is on the bank’s leadership council for the Chicago African American business resource group and is charged with establishing a mentorship program scheduled to start next year.

At First Midwest, Abdullah Y. Tadros manages a $355 million portfolio composed of 23 relationships. In the past 12 months, he underwrote and recommended approval for $98.6 million in new lending commitments. He also serves in a player-coach capacity for 12 underwriters. He worked with colleagues to process SBA PPP loans, funding $1.2 billion to local companies. Tadros developed a monthly commercial underwriting lunch and learn series and invited companies to discuss COVID’s impact on asset valuations and related issues. He also led a mock loan committee for recent hires. Tadros joined First Midwest in 2014 through the bank’s acquisition of Banco Popular’s Illinois division, where he was a vice president for commercial banking. He then helped integrate First Midwest’s integration of Standard Bank in 2017.

Lily Tow manages a team of specialists in commercial treasury implementation. Last year under Tow’s leadership, treasury management fees grew 11.3 percent. She was part of the advisory group to roll out a new commercial online banking platform. When the bank moved to remote work last year, Tow transitioned her team, which quickly adapted to client requests for more digital products and processes. By using more online training tools, the team grew the number of implementations by 9 percent. Also last year, Tow joined the steering committee for the CIBC Asian Employee Network to promote diversity and inclusion. She joined CIBC in 2009 following a long career at JPMorgan Chase. She’s held positions as receivables product sales specialist, small business product manager and treasury management client services manager.

BUILDING COMMERCIAL BANKING MOMENTUM Congratulations to our 5 commercial bankers who were named to Crain’s 2021 Notable Minorities in Commercial Banking list. Thank you for serving our clients and communities exceptionally well.

Mohammed Abunada

Javonna Burton

Michael Chin

Nadine Johnson

Abdullah Tadros