Ann Madea
Chief Information Officer - Simmons Bank
Transformational Technology Leader Financial Services – Driver of business growth and customer delight through development of high performing teams, focusing on swift delivery of innovative technologies, products and services.
As a passionate and forward-thinking technology executive, Ms. Ann Madea leads organizational and digital transformation programs on the path to success in the financial services industry.
With more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience at HSBC and Household International, Ann has spearheaded the implementation of multiple next-generation technology solutions and digital innovations to enable company growth and deliver high customer satisfaction.
As an accomplished change agent, Ann has been the strategist behind the rollout of several enterprise-scale organizational change programs, process reengineering, and automation initiatives, directing globally distributed staff and managing budgets up to $450 million. In addition, she has led the integration of multiple M&A’s, as well as IT divestitures.
Ann leverages strong business and technical acumen to transform IT into a value-driver and loyal partner with the business and is known as the executive to “get things done”. She accomplishes results with transparency and integrity with business, regulators, audit committees, and boards.
Motivated by a “people first” mindset, Ann was instrumental in positioning HBSC as an ‘employer of choice’ in the U.S., significantly improving IT employee satisfaction surveys and retention. She achieves these results by inspiring a positive culture within her organization, coaching and empowering teams to go above and beyond in customer service to the business.
Ann has been instrumental in molding an upskilled workforce able to deliver faster, with better quality, and at lower costs by leveraging DevSecOps and Agile methodologies. She has also orchestrated strategies and tactics to keep hundreds of enterprise systems stable and secure with extensive Cybersecurity measures.
Ann is a sought-after speaker on digital transformation, automation, and program delivery and has won numerous corporate, individual, and team awards for top performance, leadership, and successful delivery of complex programs and projects. She was named amongst the Top 27 Tech Executives Changing the Future of Chicago by the Chicago Innovation Roundtable in 2019 and received the CIO Award by the HSBC US CIO at the company’s 2013 Annual Leadership Conference.
As an advocate for diversity and inclusion in technology, she enjoys mentoring the next generation of women to facilitate their career advancement and leadership capabilities within the technology sector.
Ann graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research, MIS/Computer Science & Statistics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Ann is now ready for her next challenge delivering transformation, innovation, and executive leadership to a growth-oriented Financial Services organization.
