DiMenco, Emilia

Emilia DiMenco was named president and chief executive officer of the Women's Business Development Center ('WBDC') on August 1, 2013, a transition from co-founders, Hedy Ratner and Carol Dougal. Emilia joined the WBDC as chief operating officer in July 2010 after completing a 30-year career as an executive vice president of BMO Harris N.A. Emilia had P&L responsibility for 80% of her career and managed budgets in excess of $200 million with revenues multiples greater. Her responsibility included leadership and management for 600 commercial banking employees. Emilia served on the board of the WBDC for several years prior to accepting a position as acting chief operating office in July 2010, a position that became permanent in 2012. In that position, she was responsible for all aspects of non-profit leadership including program management, fundraising, succession planning, and strategic planning. Among her accomplishments, she launched two WBDC microloan programs with a pool of over $1.5 million in loans. Her initiative to automate all economic impact monitoring and reporting has lead to a significant increase in financial contributions. Emilia is well-known for her contributions to leading civic and professional organizations. She currently serves on the City of Chicago's Small Business Advisory Council, State of Illinois Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund Board, Enterprising Women Magazine's Advisory Board, among others. Emilia has also advised the Chicago Area Chapter of NAWBO on strategy and has served as an advisor to participants in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in Chicago. Nationally, she is a leader in Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), helping the organization develop policies for access to capital for women-owned businesses. Emilia holds B.S. and M.B.A. degrees, both in finance, from DePaul University. She also studied international finance at Loyola University's Rome Center.