Born in Cuba, Mel Lagomasino is a pioneer in private wealth management and a mentor for entrepreneurs. A new Carnegie-commissioned comic series highlights Lagomasino’s story and the stories of other naturalized citizens who enrich American society and strengthen our democracy.
Born in Cuba, Mel Lagomasino serves as 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.
Lagomasino immigrated with her family to the United States from Cuba in 1960. They had lost everything after Fidel Castro’s ascent to power. “It was very difficult all around,” Lagomasino told InvestmentNews in 2018. “That’s why it was meaningful for me to have families never, ever go through something like that.”
Lagomasino began her career in banking at Citibank in 1977 and went on to serve as the chair and CEO of JP Morgan Private Bank. A recognized global leader in the wealth management industry, Lagomasino has a business philosophy that is deeply rooted in her immigrant experience: “What are the consequences of my financial decisions? How can I protect myself and others from losing everything?”
Every Fourth of July, Carnegie Corporation of New York celebrates the exemplary contributions of immigrants to American life, as part of its focus on reducing political polarization and strengthening democracy. To highlight their stories, the foundation has commissioned a new comic series that illustrates how naturalized citizens enrich American society.
Download Mel Lagomasino’s full comic here.
* Foreign-born women make up 6.4% of the finance industry in the U.S. (Source: A Snapshot of Immigrant Women in the United States, American Immigration Council, June 2023)
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