First Women’s Bank announces new Mission Partners Airbnb, BCG, Principal®, Salesforce and Envestnet have joined the Bank to help close the gender gap in access to capital

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 1, 2022--

First Women’s Bank (FWB) announced that Airbnb, BCG, Principal Financial Group ®, Salesforce and Envestnet are the Bank’s newest Mission Partners. The companies join a growing list of FWB Mission Partners that includes Aon, Comcast Corp., Microsoft, United Airlines, Wendy’s, William Blair and the Western Golf Association, as well as other supporters, including investor and Strategic Advisor Billie Jean King and Strategic Advisors Sophia Bush and Nia Batts. Earlier today, FWB also announced that Allyson Felix, the most decorated track and field Olympian in history, Founder and President of Saysh, and advocate for women’s equity, has joined FWB as a Strategic Advisor.

“Closing the gender lending gap is a critical step toward achieving gender equality, and First Women’s Bank is the bank to do it,” said Marianne Markowitz, president and CEO, First Women’s Bank. “First Women’s Bank will help bridge that gap and promote more inclusive economic growth with the support of our Mission Partners and the trailblazing women that have joined FWB as Strategic Advisors.”

The support of FWB’s Mission Partners helps to expand economic opportunity for all small businesses with a strategic focus on the women’s economy. FWB’s innovative strategy combines national Small Business Administration lending with deposits from these mission-aligned corporations to create accessible financing for small businesses.

“Women have always been and continue to be a driving force of the Airbnb community,” said Ellie Mertz, Vice President of Finance of Airbnb, Inc. “We are proud to be a First Women’s Bank Mission Partner, and to invest in women and women-led businesses to bridge the gender lending gap.”

“First Women's Bank's mission to grow the economy while advancing the role of women is one that resonates with me deeply,” said Sharon Marcil, North America Chair of BCG. “BCG research shows that diversely managed companies better withstand unanticipated changes, and FWB supports this idea by amplifying the power of the women’s economy through education and funding. To that end, BCG is proud to come together with FWB as a Mission Partner.”

“Principal ® is committed to putting financial security within reach of more people, with a history of focusing on small to midsized businesses,” said Dan Houston, chairman, president, and CEO of Principal ®. “Vibrant and prosperous businesses support economically vibrant communities, and we’re honored to work with First Women’s Bank who shares our vision for a more financially inclusive and sustainable world.”

“Equality is a core value at Salesforce, and we recognize the importance of ensuring female founders, as well as women-led and women-oriented businesses have equal access to capital,” said Amber Chi, SVP and Assistant Treasurer, Salesforce. “We are proud to be one of First Women’s Bank’s Mission Partners and will continue to support their mission to expand economic opportunities for women.”

“At Envestnet, we’re focused on empowering consumers, small business owners and everyone to achieve an Intelligent Financial Life™ through our ecosystem of technology, data intelligence and solutions. By partnering with like-minded organizations that share in this mission, we are better able to deliver on this promise,” said Mary Ellen Dugan, Chief Marketing Officer for Envestnet . “Together with First Women’s Bank, we are proud to help women-owned businesses who depend on lending and credit to maintain and grow their operations, better connect, grow and manage the financial wellness of their business.”

“Our clients come to us with dreams of owning, growing and building their businesses,” said Markowitz. “With the support of our Mission Partners, shareholders, advisors and our deeply committed team, First Women’s Bank is providing the capital, resources and community to help our clients and their businesses grow and thrive.”

About First Women’s Bank

First Women’s Bank is the only women-founded, women-owned and women-led commercial bank in the country on a mission to grow the economy and elevate the role of women within it. The Bank serves a national lending and deposit market from its flagship location in Chicago.

FWBank is a Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.

For more information, visit www.FirstWomens.Bank.

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

About BCG

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders—empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

About Principal Financial Group ®

Principal Financial Group ® (Nasdaq: PFG) is a global financial company with 19,000 employees 1 passionate about improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses. In business for more than 140 years, we’re helping more than 55 million customers 1 plan, protect, invest, and retire, while working to support the communities where we do business, and build a diverse, inclusive workforce. Principal ® is proud to be recognized as one of America’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies 2, a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and a Top 10 “Best Places to Work in Money Management 3.” Learn more about Principal and our commitment to building a better future at principal.com.

1 As of September 30, 2022
2 Barron’s, 2022
3 Pensions & Investments, 2021

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to digitally transform and create a 360° view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

About Envestnet

Envestnet, Inc. (NYSE: ENV) is transforming the way financial advice and wellness are delivered. Our mission is to empower advisors and financial service providers with innovative technology, solutions and intelligence to make financial wellness a reality for everyone. Nearly 106,000 advisors and approximately 6,900 companies including: 16 of the 20 largest U.S. banks, 47 of the 50 largest wealth management and brokerage firms, over 500 of the largest RIAs and hundreds of FinTech companies, leverage Envestnet technology and services that help drive better outcomes for enterprises, advisors and their clients.

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CONTACT: For more information, press only:

First Women’s Bank Media Relations, Colleen Ryan,cryan@FirstWomens.Bank

(312)-213-8316Principal Financial Group Media Relations, Ashley Miller,miller.ashley@principal.com

KEYWORD: ILLINOIS UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: FINANCE BANKING WOMEN CONSUMER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

SOURCE: First Women’s Bank

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