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Chief Operations Officer
ELM Resources, Inc.
September 2006
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Tell us about your background.
Born in Mexico I grew up in El Paso, Texas. I got a Bachelors in Business at the University of Texas, El Paso, which took about eight years. Then I went to New York for a Masters degree at Columbia University. A summer job in 1987 at Chase Manhattan Bank began a 17-year career there and a 20-year career in the finance industry. |
Wasn't an employer involved in your undergraduate years?
Very much so. In El Paso, The Popular Department Stores - a family-owned business - was my employer as I worked full-time during my undergraduate years. Edi Schwartz, the executive of merchandising and eventual president, was my mentor. During those eight years she continually encouraged me to stick with my schooling, even threatening to fire me if I stopped going to school. |
Meanwhile, what was your family's involvement?
My family was very traditional in the Mexican sense. Support for K-12 education made sense to them. But once I had a job, why should I continue school? Why not get married and have children? They had little understanding of my intense interest in pursuing a business career. Now that they've seen my success, they understand. |
Why and how did you come to ELM Resources?
Chase included me in a wide variety of its businesses. I was regional treasurer for five non-New York banks. I was a private bank asset manager for 23 wealthy Latin families. I was involved in a global re-engineering of the bank's trust business. Then in 2000 I became the head of Client Experience and Operations of Chase Education Finance. I soon realized I wanted to be involved in student loans permanently. I worked closely with ELM for several years, and arrived here in 2005. |
What would you like to accomplish at ELM this year?
I like to be an agent of change for the better. ELM is the right environment for positive change. I want to adapt this rather small company's infrastructure to handle the growth that's coming. And to insure ELM is associated with excellence in service delivery, just as Volvo is associated with safety. |
What one change would you like to see in the student loan industry?
Continued simplification is essential — in particular for students and parents. |
TOPICS: Executive Briefing, Finance
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