SomerCor, a non-profit, Certified Development Company licensed by the Small Business Administration under the SBA 504 loan program, has appointed Margy Sweeney, founder and chief executive officer of Akrete, as the new chairman of its board of directors.
Thomas Huffman, executive vice president of Wintrust SBA Lending, will serve as vice chairman of the board.
Margy Sweeney is the founder and chief executive officer of Akrete, a WBE national public relations, content and marketing agency with expertise in both real estate and financial services, including ranking as the nation’s #5 real estate public relations firm. Sweeney has more than 25 years of experience in using creative storytelling to promote business growth and has served on the SomerCor board since 2016.
Thomas Huffman is the executive vice president of Wintrust SBA Lending and has more than 35 years of experience in commercial and SBA lending. He has served on the SomerCor board since 2018. Wintrust Community Banks was named the number-one SBA lender in Illinois in 2022.
Jon Winick (Chairman Emeritus) is the CEO of Clark Street Capital, a full-service bank advisory firm specializing in loan sales, loan due diligence and valuation, and specialty asset management. Jon has over 20 years of banking experience and has served on SomerCor’s Board for 15 years.
Other Board Members include Dean Avdalas (SVP, Commercial Lending – Byline Bank), Jeffrey Bronswick (CEO – Bronswick Benjamin P.C.), James Bruno (VP, Area Manager – JPMorgan Chase), Brian Burke (SVP, Commercial Banking – Old National Bank), Erica King (President – Greenwood Archer Capital), Santiago Martinez (Regional President – Belmont Bank & Trust), Michael Martino (Head of Chicago Emerging Middle Market Banking – Fifth Third Bank), Michael Plumb (Principal – Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC), William Towns (National Market President for Community Revitalization – Gorman & Company), Julie Winterbauer (SVP, Marketing and Member Relations – Illinois Bankers Association) and Simon Yohanan (SVP, Managing Director of Middle Market Banking – First Bank Chicago).
