Podcast: Maryann Bruce

Maryann Bruce is an experienced corporate director and former Fortune 100 Division President & CEO. She has expertise in strategy, sales, new business development and relationship management, marketing and brand management, product development and rationalization, and client service across multiple distribution channels. The breadth and depth of her experience come from having served in executive and board leadership positions for start-ups and firms of various sizes and organizational structures. Over the past decade, she has served on a dozen public, private, mutual fund, advisory, and nonprofit boards in different industries. This has enhanced her ability to quickly identify key issues and ask thought-provoking questions. Maryann currently serves on the Audit and Enterprise Risk Oversight Committees of the Board Directors of Amalgamated Bank (Nasdaq: AMAL) which completed a successful IPO.

Prior Board and Committee Experience

Formerly, Maryann was an independent director of MBIA (NYSE: MBI) and Atlanta Life Financial Group as well as a Trustee of both the Allianz Global Investors and PNC Funds. She has first-hand experience working with private equity firms having served on two public company boards with private equity board representation. Maryann’s experience as a corporate director and leader of a large complex global business will add tremendous value to a company that is in a growth stage or going through a major transformation or turnaround. Her deep understanding of starting, building, and scaling high-growth businesses coupled with her keen perspective in the financial markets brings a wealth of practical knowledge and a unique and valued point-of-view as a trusted advisor and board member. Maryann has extensive corporate governance experience having served as a Chair of the compensation, finance, investment, and nominating committees, and as a strong contributor to the common board standing committees.

Executive Experience

Maryann has more than 30 years of success as a dynamic and collaborative leader with full P&L responsibility in the financial services industry. Throughout her career, she built award-winning teams, developed and implemented market-leading strategic plans, and drove executional excellence. As the former President of Evergreen Investments Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Wachovia, Maryann was responsible for the retail and high net worth lines of business generating $317 million in annual revenue. She was also responsible for overall marketing for Evergreen Investments including supporting the firm’s institutional and global businesses. In this capacity, she and her team created comprehensive marketing programs and multimedia and digital advertising campaigns that increased brand awareness, enhanced the company’s reputation, and strengthened client engagement. Maryann orchestrated the launch of the Evergreen Asset Allocation Fund that grew to $10 billion in assets under management in five years as well as five unique closed-end funds that attracted a combined $3.25 billion in assets. During her tenure, Maryann increased employee diversity from less than 5% to almost 40%. As a member of Evergreen’s Executive, Operating, Strategic Development, Product Steering, Compliance and Risk Committees, Maryann helped develop the firm’s overall business strategy and was influential in completing and successfully integrating several joint ventures and M&A transactions.

Known for her client-centric approach, sound business judgment, and strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills, Maryann excels at creating trust by cultivating long-term relationships while mitigating business and compliance risk. She is adept at managing crises, ranging from corporate and compliance infractions to reputational and operational risks, as well as life-threatening disasters, including being a passenger on the Miracle on the Hudson. She was lauded by the SEC for her work disallowing improper trading – a recognition of a career-long belief that strong compliance leads to low litigation and an untarnished brand.

Leadership Honors and Awards

In acknowledgment of her leadership and expertise, Maryann was honored by Directors & Boards as one of 20 accomplished female board members in Directors to Watch 2017: Governance Insights and Ideas from Top Women Directors. US Banker magazine also named Maryann one of “The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking” for her business vision, personal excellence, and professional integrity.

Certifications and Education

Maryann earned the CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight from NACD and the Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute demonstrating her commitment to continuous learning and advanced understanding of the role of the board and management in cyber-risk oversight. Maryann graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She continued her education by participating in executive leadership programs at the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

Advisory Boards

• RealBlocks, a Fintech company disrupting the alternative investment industry (2020-Present)

Nonprofit Boards

• Wrestle Like A Girl, Chair of the Board (2020-Present)

• Duke University Libraries Advisory Board Member (2011-Present)

• C200 Foundation Board Member, Treasurer and Investment Committee Chair and Former Governing Board Member (2011-2019)

• National Association of Corporate Director’s Carolinas Chapter Founder, Executive Committee Member, Treasurer, and Chair of the Finance and Nominating Committees (2013-2019)

Professional Associations

• C200

• International Women’s Forum (IWF)

• National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)

• Paradigm for Parity (P4P)

• WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD)

Maryann is passionate about cultivating women leaders and helping them achieve success in their careers and life. She Chairs the Board of Wrestle Like A Girl, a nonprofit dedicated to using the sport of wrestling to empower girls and women to become leaders in life. She is a member of C200, a global invitation-only membership organization driven by a mission to encourage and facilitate the sharing of members’ expertise, experience, networks, and leadership to educate, inspire, support, and advance current and future women entrepreneurs and corporate business leaders. She is a member of IWF, an association with a purpose of advancing women’s leadership and championing equality worldwide. Maryann is also a founding member of P4P, a coalition comprised of business leaders, board members, and academics committed to addressing the corporate leadership gap with a goal of achieving full gender parity by 2030. And she is a member of WCD, an organization whose mission is to foster a trusted community of influential women corporate directors as well as increase the representation of women on boards and the pipeline of aspiring and qualified female board candidates.

Personal

Maryann enjoys sports, travel, fitness, and health and wellness. Maryann is married with two adult children and resides in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.