Marianne O’Brien Markowitz – MODERATOR

Marianne O’Brien Markowitz serves as regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Midwest Region, Region V, a position she has held since August 2009. She oversees the delivery of the agency’s financial assistance, technical assistance and government contracting activities throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

In 2014, Markowitz assumed the Acting Administrator role for the SBA at President Obama’s request. She led a team of more than 3,000 employees, managed more than $90 billion in loan guarantees and oversaw $100 billion in federal contracting opportunities. Under Markowitz’s leadership, more than one million entrepreneurs received counseling assistance.

Prior to the SBA, Markowitz served as the chief financial officer for Obama for America in 2008 and was a financial operations consultant for the Obama Exploratory Committee launch. She also served on the Obama for America Board from 2007 to 2009.

For nearly 20 years, Markowitz provided finance and risk management expertise to a host of leading global institutions including Switzerland-based Syngenta and Express Scripts, Inc.

Markowitz received a B.S. from the University of Missouri and an M.B.A. from DePaul University. She sits on the board of the Lycee Francais de Chicago and is a member of the Chicago Economic Club. She and her husband Jeffrey are the proud parents of Maura.