Amalgamated Bank announced that Sam Brown has been selected to lead the bank’s business development team and will expand its outreach to core constituencies such as unions, progressives and the Democratic Party. Brown joins Amalgamated Bank after serving in various positions with President Obama over the past 8 years, most recently in the White House’s Office of Public Engagement, run by Valerie Jarrett. Before serving as Director of the White House Business Council, Brown was the founding Chief Financial Officer of Organizing for Action. From 2011 to 2012, Brown served as Finance Chief of Staff for the Obama-Biden 2012 campaign.
“We are a bank invested in serving working people, and Sam’s deep understanding of progressive organizations combined with his financial expertise makes him a perfect fit for us,” said Keith Mestrich, President and CEO of Amalgamated Bank. “Sam joins a strong team and will further grow our outreach to progressive communities, harnessing our reputation as the leader in progressive finance.”
At the White House, Brown served as the President’s liaison to the private sector. He worked closely on economic policies to help America’s working families and small businesses succeed, developing partnerships with American companies to increase opportunities for the long term unemployed, deploy a supply-chain finance initiative that supports small business access to capital, and better protect consumer financial data. At Amalgamated Bank, his role will be to lead a team with deep experience with unions and non-profit organizations, as well as seasoned political campaign staff, to provide the Bank’s core constituency with commercial banking, investment management and lending services.
“Amalgamated Bank has made a name for itself within Democratic circles, I’m thrilled to be a part of this team and support their mission to bring smart finance to those who share the bank’s values,” Brown said. “I look forward to joining the talented group at Amalgamated and continuing the conversation with progressive organizations and people around the country.”
Since its founding in 1923 by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated Bank has been committed to affordable and accessible banking for all. The bank is proud to continue to advance the rights of workers through shareholder activism, products and services designed to protect workers and advocacy. The bank’s corporate divisions include community banking, investment management and commercial lending. Amalgamated has 24 retail branches including 20 in New York City as well as branches in: Las Vegas, Nevada; Lyndhurst, New Jersey; Pasadena, California, and Washington, D.C.