CHICAGO, IL – Cook County President Todd Stroger has announced his selection for Cook County Chief Financial Officer: banking professional Jaye Morgan Williams. Williams spent more than 25 years in financial services, with most of those years at JP Morgan Chase’s predecessors First Chicago and Bank One, where she was Senior Vice President.
“Jaye is widely experienced in financial services and strategic management. She’s worked through a range of business cycles and understands the challenges they present,” said President Stroger. “Her history of successful engagement with new initiatives, combined with her extensive experience in corporate finance, strategic management, and project management make her an outstanding selection for the position of Cook County’s Chief Financial Officer.”
Williams was senior banker to large energy companies in the earlier stages of her career. While in corporate banking, she was engaged in management roles in leveraged buyout advisory services, acquisition debt syndications, treasury management electronic banking, credit and portfolio management, product and project management, private investing and lending, and international banking. She took on the nationwide community development business activities of the bank and served as President of Bank One’s Community Development Corporation.
In her philanthropic endeavors, Williams has focused a on a wide range of projects and initiatives, including educational programs, community and economic development, and mentoring of young professionals. Among her current activities, Williams serves as Board Member to the educational project Facing History and Ourselves, as Board Member and Steering Committee Member of the University of Chicago Women’s Board, and as a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.
She has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and an MBA in finance and accounting from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
“Cook County is fortunate to be on good financial ground compared to literally hundreds of other state and local governments across the nation, and I’m committed to preserving and improving our financial stability,” said Williams. “I’m also committed to ensuring that County executives are provided with precise information – without bias – about the County’s fiscal bottom line, as well as strategies and best practices to improve financial performance, allowing them to make policy decisions that serve the best interests of the people of Cook County. It’s vitally important that we focus on the financial integrity and performance of the County, including financial accountability and fiscal integrity, while preserving, and where possible enhancing, our bond rating. The hallmarks of operating efficiency and service quality as critical drivers to the budget process are key, and I look forward to furthering the performance-based long term financial focus that President Stroger has brought to Cook County’s budget process. I’m thrilled at the opportunity to serve the public trust as Cook County’s Chief Financial Officer.”