Mesirow Financial, a Chicago-based advisory firm that manages $29.7 billion, said Thursday it hired Melissa Bean to be the CEO and president of Mesirow Wealth Advisors.
Bean is currently chairman of the Midwest at JPMorgan Chase and oversees multiple lines of business in the region for the nation's largest bank. She will join Mesirow April 8 and replace Lee Gordon, the current CEO and president of the unit who has been with the independent registered investment advisory firm for 27 years. Gordon will transition to chairman of Mesirow Wealth Advisors, a new position.
Mesirow Financial President and CEO Dominick Mondi said in a statement that Bean is a respected business and civic leader and a key hire as the firm looks to grow. Bean will report directly to Mondi.
Before joining JPMorgan Chase, Bean served three terms in Congress after being elected to represent Illinois' 8th Congressional District in 2004. She led the task force that wrote key provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, co-authored the 2010 Small Business Lending Act and other legislation eventually signed into law.
Prior to her political career, Bean spent 20 years in executive roles at technology companies, including Arrow Electronics, Motorola and SynOptics.