IIT Stuart Names 2009 Illinois Executive of the Year

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Stuart School of Business recently awarded Ellen Costello, President and CEO of Harris Financial Corp., with its second annual Illinois Executive of the Year Award at the Power Construction Power Lunch, held Friday, September 11, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. The annual award honors one outstanding executive who embodies the constructs of strategic competitiveness that IIT Stuart represents: creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, incisive decision-making, leadership, and sustainability and who, through their leadership and competitive excellence, has made a contribution to Illinois and beyond, serving as an outstanding role model for future leaders.

Widely experienced in leading change initiatives, Costello addressed the luncheon attendees, stressing the importance of clear and consistent communication with both customers and employees to help support them through the uncertainty and change that they face in the current economy.

"Customers and employees look for the confidence that you know where you are going and are not distracted from your goals," said Costello. "[However,] it is also important to look for and act on the opportunities that emerge in times of change."

Costello concluded, "I am very optimistic about the future. I believe the economic outlook will continue to improve. I expect that we will emerge from this stronger and better. We will have challenges in our path forward, but with the talent and determination I see in this room, I am confident that we will find solutions."

Part of the Toronto-based $415 billion CAD asset BMO Financial Group, one of North America’s leading financial service providers, Harris is a large regional retail, business, and wealth bank serving more than 1.2 million personal and business customers in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin through its network of more than 280 branches. As the President and CEO of Harris Financial Corp., Costello is BMO Financials U.S. Senior Executive and has direct responsibility for the U.S. personal and commercial business. Her mandate is to enhance customer experience and drive profitable business growth organically and through acquisition. A native of Boston, Mass., she has over 31 years of banking experience, the majority with BMO Financial group since 1983. During her tenure at BMO, Costello held a broad range of leadership positions across corporate banking and capital markets in the U.S., Canada, and Asia.

Currently, Costello serves on the boards of directors for United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, the Chicago Community Trust, the Chicago Public Education Fund, the Economic Club of Chicago, and the Executives Club of Chicago. She is a member of the Bankers Club of Chicago, the Chicago Network, Chicago 2016, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the Financial Services Roundtable. Costello earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from St. Francis Xavier University and holds an MBA from Dalhousie University - both in Canada.

For more information about IIT Stuart School of Business, please visit stuart.iit.edu.

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 7,300 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment. Visit www.iit.edu.