Peter G. Fitzgerald serves as the Chairman of the Board for both the Company and the Bank, and his leadership has been a driving force behind the organization's growth and success. He brings a rich blend of experience in banking, law, and public service.
Having worked in the banking industry since his teenage years, Mr. Fitzgerald gained valuable knowledge from his family's long history in the field dating back to 1940. This legacy has informed his cautious banking strategy, which has enabled the Bank to expand its services while maintaining historically superior levels of liquidity, asset quality, and risk-based capital.
Mr. Fitzgerald began his legal career as a litigation associate at Chicago's Isham, Lincoln & Beale and then became a partner at Riordan, Larson, Bruckert & Moore, a banking law firm. He later served as in-house General Counsel for Suburban Bancorp, Inc., where he managed the legal affairs of thirteen banks and various subsidiaries. Following the merger of Suburban Bancorp, Inc. and the Bank of Montreal (BMO) in 1994, he continued in this role until the end of 1996. Between 1988 and 1998, he served on the boards of three nationally chartered commercial banks and one state-chartered commercial bank.
In 1998, at the age of 38, Mr. Fitzgerald was elected to the United States Senate, becoming its youngest member. He represented Illinois for twelve years as both a U.S. Senator (1999-2005) and State Senator (1993-1998), gaining a reputation for his principled and independent approach to policymaking.
Mr. Fitzgerald completed his preparatory studies at Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and earned his A.B. degree, cum laude and with "Highest Distinction" in Classics, from Dartmouth College, where he was a co-recipient of the Perkins Literature Prize. He then attended the University of Thessaloniki in Greece as a Rotary scholar before earning his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan School of Law.
As Chairman of the Board for the Company since 2006 and the Bank since 2007, Mr. Fitzgerald applies his extensive knowledge of the banking industry’s practical, financial, legal, legislative, and regulatory aspects to steer the organization. Under his leadership, rooted in a family tradition of sound banking, Chain Bridge has established a conservative banking culture critical to its growth and success.
