President and CEO, Charles Schwab Investment Management
With more than three decades in the financial services industry, Marie Chandoha has been around long enough to see significant progress toward management diversity. That's why she was surprised to read about a Morningstar study last year that found only 9% of U.S. open-end fund managers were women — a statistic that, she said, convinced her that she had to redouble her efforts to develop and advance women at her company.
Since joining Schwab in September 2010, Chandoha has made it one of her personal missions to foster an environment that promotes diversity. She established a Women's Leadership Program and is now working to develop mentoring and executive coaching programs within the company. Today, the two largest portfolio management teams measured by assets under management — exchange-traded funds and money funds — are led by women.
Chandoha's emphasis on cultural growth has been mirrored by asset growth; during her tenure, assets have grown $85 billion, to more than $284 billion. Last year Schwab posted the second-highest rate of growth among the top 10 providers of ETFs in the country. As of March, the company ranked as the nation's seventh-largest money fund manager and sixth-largest ETF provider.
"I believe that fostering an open, respectful work environment, and encouraging people to speak openly about what is working and not working has been a huge contributor to what has made us so successful," Chandoha said.
That philosophy, according to Brett Wander, the company's chief investment officer for fixed income, is directly attributable to Chandoha. Each year, Schwab conducts an engagement survey to assess employee satisfaction. Before Chandoha's arrival, the investment management division ranked last among the dozen divisions surveyed; last year, it ranked first. "Marie has inspired a culture that is the envy of the industry," Wander said.
