Gail Segal Elmore, University System of Maryland Foundation trustee and former University of Maryland College Park Foundation (UMCPF) trustee, credits a UM professor for what turned out to be a long career in emerging markets. She received her BA in French and Spanish in 1975, and a BS in Business Administration in 1978. A Montreal native, Gail’s interest in international business then led her to Thunderbird’s School of Global Management for a Master of International Management.
Recently, Gail has devoted her time to combining her passion for finance with her passion for advancing women. She and a former colleague co-founded wexYa llc, a company focused on helping educate women navigate finance. Prior to this, she spent more than 20 years on Wall Street, mostly as Managing Director for Bank of America’s emerging markets sales, trading and research, and then another 10 years as EVP for a Latin investment firm.
Gail’s banking career began at Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago (CINB). In 1982, she was sent to Mexico as a troubleshooter and in 1984, she transferred to Boston to join her then boyfriend, current UMCP trustee, ex pro athlete, UM alumnus and Harvard Law School student, to focus on middle market clients and debt restructurings. In 1987, Gail returned to NY to help build the emerging markets debt trading business. Under her leadership, CINB, renamed Bank of America in 1994 following a merger, became a major dealer, trading in assets across Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.
Gail feels fortunate to have been able to refocus her career when her sons were 7 and 10. Although neither of them have followed in her footsteps, they both navigate between ESPN and CNBC with ease and appreciate that women are business equals and are vital to the management of family funds. Gail is passionate about women taking control of their financial future; she wants to help them feel comfortable using their voices (and pocketbooks) to make change. She is Treasurer and board member of the National Basketball Wives Association and as wexYa co-founder, recently aligned with Blank Financial Group, a New York-based investment advisory firm.
Gail Segal Elmore
