Shundrawn Thomas, president of Northern Trust Asset Management, is leaving the company on June 1 to pursue an outside entrepreneurial opportunity, the company announced today.
According to the announcement, Thomas, 48, decided to leave Northern Trust to co-found a new, diverse-owned and led business that will provide debt and equity solutions to privately held U.S. companies. A key focus will be identifying untapped market opportunities and partnering with women and ethnically diverse business operators.
No further details were provided about where the popular executive is heading next, and the company didn't immediately respond to a request for an interview.
Thomas joined Northern Trust in 2004 and served in several executive roles over his tenure, including as a member of the asset management executive team since 2008 and as a member of the management group since 2017.
When Thomas was named president of the $1.2 trillion asset management division in 2017, he became the first person of color elevated to the top tier of management at Northern Trust Corp.
Last year, Thomas was recognized by InvestmentNews as the 2021 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
As part of that profile, Thomas was recognized for the letter to corporate America that he wrote in 2020 reflecting on the state of race relations in this country.
The essay, which was published in InvestmentNews, launches into the topic of race relations with the example of a 29-year-old Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was shot seven times by police after appearing to ignore their orders. In his classic style, the essay offers a direct message and call to action through masterful writing that is personal and informative, and simultaneously deadly serious and nonthreatening.
“Race, racism and racist ideas have impacted me in tangible ways through my life and career,” Thomas wrote. “What is remarkable, however, is the current shift in the dialogue about race and the increased acknowledgement of the unique experience and experiences of Black people in America.”
Michael O’Grady, chairman and chief executive of Northern Trust Corp., thanked Thomas for his “exceptional contributions throughout his 18 years” at the company.
“Shundrawn led with clarity, empathy and purpose and served as an example to us all,” O’Grady said in a prepared statement. “He not only embodied our enduring principles of service, expertise and integrity; he also courageously challenged and guided us to evolve how we live our principles in more inclusive and equitable ways.”
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