Eclipsing Hardship in the Banking World
Age: 38
Compliance Advisory Manager
Organization: CIBC Bank USA & President Alpha Chicago
Francisco Juarez’s journey to the current point in his career took many turns but taught him valuable lessons that he continues to use today. Francisco was born and raised in Chicago to Guatemalan parents. He grew up on the north side of Chicago and is a product of the Chicago Public Schools system.
After graduating high school, he followed a passion in art and received his first degree in advertising, art and design and then spent some years as a freelance graphic designer while working as a personal trainer. He then moved into the real estate world a few years before the crash of 2008. After the crash, he went and got his insurance license and started working at an insurance agency to see whether or not he wanted to open his own agency. Instead, he went back to school and obtained his second bachelor’s in business from DePaul University where he was eventually recruited by the FDIC to work in their Chicago regional office.That led to the opportunity to shift into working in the field as a bank examiner, which was great preparation and an introduction to the banking world.
In his current role Francisco leads a team that works with various business lines to ensure their compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
Francisco currently leads other Latino professionals as the Chicago Chapter President of ALPFA. Their mission is to empower and develop Latino professionals as leaders of character for the nation and in every sector of the global economy.
In his free time, Francisco enjoys hanging out with friends and family, especially his 1.5-year-old nephew who’s a handful. When not doing that, you can find him training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu preparing for the next competition.
Words of wisdom: “Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success” – Denis Waitley