Karen Parkhill earned her MBA from Chicago Booth in 1992 and joined JP Morgan and Company's mergers and acquisitions group, spending the next 13 years in investment banking with the firm. In 2006, she switched directions and became CFO of the commercial banking division at JP Morgan.
Parkhill took charge of one of the bank's six major lines of business with over $4 billion in revenue and more than 4,000 employees. In addition to her impressive banking career, Parkhill also made time to volunteer within the Chicago community. She helped launch and served as chairman of the Leader Council for Mercy Home for Boys and Girls. Under her guidance, membership for the Leader Council — a group of professional women focused on empowering Mercy youth through education — and fundraising for Mercy Home swelled to record numbers.