Staffing & Culture | 09.06.23
BISA's Executive Committee: A Conversation With Michael Miroballi and John Olerio
by: BISA Staff, Michael Miroballi and John Olerio
BISA's exceptional leadership is a testament to the individuals elected to roles serving the entire membership of our organization. We take great pride in being guided by two remarkable industry leaders, Michael Miroballi from Huntington Bank and John Olerio from Webster Investment Services. Continue reading to discover how their visionary leadership significantly contributes to BISA's overall success.
How would you describe the Executive Committee’s role in BISA’s mission, and why is this important?
MM: The Executive Committee plays an integral role in governing BISA operations and initiatives. The EC provides active feedback and recommendations on BISA activities to ensure that we are adhering to our mission of providing a forum for our industry to share best practices and thought leadership. The EC represents our Board of Directors to maintain regular and active oversight of BISA.
JO: The Executive Committee narrows down the viewpoint and feedback for the entire board to effectively guide strategy and policy for BISA. It is also a critical mechanism to guide and oversee the day actions and overall direction of the BISA Management Team.
Can you explain the interaction between the Executive Committee and BISA membership?
MM: The Executive Committee members maintain active dialogue with the board directors as well as the BISA membership. This happens through BISA events as well as other networking opportunities. It is critical for the EC members to act as a voice to the BISA general membership.
JO: The Executive Committee is responsible to be the voice of the BISA membership to ensure that overall BISA strategy, policy and programs are delivering all that is necessary to effectively represent BISA membership expectations and required support levels.
What are the Executive Committee’s biggest priorities for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024?
MM: The Executive Committee is focused on successful execution of the Regulatory & Compliance Summit in November as well as the planning of our Annual Convention in March 2024. Additionally, we will be launching a new Wealth Integration Committee this year to further our efforts to establish a forum for wealth leaders to discuss industry trends and challenges with integrating bank trust and brokerage and advisory investment programs.
JO: Membership growth is the top priority followed closely by continued progress in DE&I initiatives as well as bringing BISA research deliverables to a new and exciting level.
What 2023 BISA success or achievement are you most proud of?
MM: I am most proud of the expanded reach of BISA among financial institutions engaged with the association as well as the product and service providers. I am also excited by the continued progress we are making in delivering informative industry research.
JO: The 2023 Annual Convention and particularly its strong emphasis on DE&I initiatives is definitely a highlight for 2023. The latest BISA research whitepaper released in May in partnership with Cerulli (Recruitment and Retention Study ) is also a highlight for 2023.
How do you ensure multiple voices are heard as a leadership team?
MM: The Executive Committee members take an active role through networking efforts to solicit feedback and actively listen to board directors, leadership advisory board members and BISA members for opportunities to enhance BISA effectiveness and efforts to provide timely and relevant information.
JO: The EC works hard to explore all viewpoints and to develop positions, strategies and programs that represent a unified voice not only of the Board and EC members but more importantly for the overall BISA membership.
What is your favorite aspect of being a member of BISA’s Executive Committee?
MM: My favorite aspect of being on the BISA EC is the ability to work with incredibly talented and committed industry leaders in order to make our industry more effective in serving investors.
JO: It’s a great team of dedicated professionals who truly care about our industry and about the BISA organization. We know we have a responsibility to represent the entire BISA Board and the entire BISA membership and we take that responsibility seriously. It is also tremendous to work with the BISA full-time staff who are an amazing team of talented and dedicated experts in their field. The blend of the full-time staff and the volunteer Board and Executive Committees is a very dynamic and powerful combination.
About Mike Miroballi
As President of the Huntington Investment Company, Michael Miroballi is responsible for leading the strategic direction, overseeing regulatory governance and setting priorities for the business.
Michael joined Huntington in February of 2017 after spending nearly 16 years at BMO Financial Group. He has over 30 years of experience in financial services. Michael spent the early part of his career with Merrill Lynch and Citigroup as a financial advisor. He obtained his CFA designation in 2000 and transitioned to portfolio management and trust investment management with Harris Private Bank, now known as BMO Private Bank, where among his accomplishments he led creation of BMO’s open architecture outside manager and mutual fund platform. In 2007, Michael was appointed President of the bank’s retail broker dealer, BMO Harris Financial Advisors. As president of BMO Harris Financial Advisors, Mike led the transformation of the business to become a leader among peers in growth of investment advisory assets under management. Likewise, as president of Huntington Investment Company, he has led the transformation of the business to become a planning based advisory firm with advisory assets growing more than five-fold in just over 5 years.
Michael received his undergraduate degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University and a master’s in business administration from Northwestern University. He currently serves as Board of Directors President for the Bank Insurance and Securities Association (BISA) a non-profit industry group for bank and credit union affiliated broker dealers as well as financial product and service providers. Additionally, he is active in fundraising for Pelotonia, which benefits cancer research at the James Cancer Treatment and Research Center at Ohio State University, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through The St. Jude Nashville Rock N’ Roll Marathon/Half Marathon. Additionally, he serves as executive sponsor of Huntington’s Illinois/Wisconsin region African American Business Resource Group.
Michael is a resident of Chicago, Illinois. He is married (Jennifer) with two children (Jordan, 30 and Graham, 21).
About John Olerio
With over 30 years of industry experience, John has focused his career on being a Program Manager for Large Regional Banks with extensive experience with TPMs. He has been with Webster Investments since 1997 and has implemented short-term and long-term strategies to help set the directional course for the business line. John provides strategic strategies to the Community Bank and implements business plans that drive growth for the bank.
As the Director of Webster Investments, John oversees a team of Financial Consultants and Financial Associates that service the unique financial needs of our clients. He provides support to our advisors by helping them implement comprehensive analytical tools along with a wide array of investment and insurance products, which help them, develop customized strategies that align with each client’s personal and financial goals
John has be awarded as a one of the Top 25 Program Managers in Bank Investment Consultant (BIC) for 8 consecutive years.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from Boston College and he also earned a Master’s of Science in Financial Management from Carnegie Mellon University, The Heinz School.
As an active member of the community, John is a board member for the Bank Insurance and Securities Association (BISA) and he is on the board of directors for the Cranston Veterans Memorial Scholarship Committee in his hometown of Cranston, RI. Currently, he is also a member of the LPL Advisors Council as well as a member of the LPL PAC Advisory Board.
He holds his Series 7, 63, 65, and 24 license as well as Life & Health.