Maria Elena (Mel) Lagomasino is the CEO and managing partner of WE Family Offices, which helps financially successful families organize and manage their wealth. She has advised presidential administrations on disaster aid and diplomacy and serves on the board of the Cuba Emprende Foundation, a nonprofit that teaches financial literacy to Cuban entrepreneurs.
Born in Cuba, Lagomasino left the country with her family in 1960 following Castro’s ascent to power. They had lost everything. “It was very difficult all around. That’s why it was meaningful for me to have families never, ever go through something like that,” she told InvestmentNews in 2018.
Prior to founding WE, Lagomasino served as CEO of GenSpring Family Offices, a wealth-management firm, after having served as chair and CEO of JP Morgan Private Bank. Lagomasino began her career in banking at Citibank in 1977. Joining Chase Manhattan Private Bank in 1983, she was named head of Chase’s worldwide private banking business in 1997 ahead of the JP Morgan-Chase merger.
In 2012, the National Association of Corporate Directors named Lagomasino to its Directorship 100, while American Banker recognized her as one of the year’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance. In August 2015, Private Asset Management magazine named her one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Private Wealth. Lagomasino’s business philosophy has deep roots in her immigrant experience: “What are the consequences of my financial decisions? How can I protect myself and others from losing everything?”
Lagomasino serves on the boards of Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Coca-Cola Company, and the Walt Disney Company. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Updated: July 2024
