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Trevor BurgessAmerican investment banker and CEO of C1 Financial bank
Country:
 USA |
Content:
- Trevor Burgess: Breaking Barriers in the Financial World
- Investment Banking Career
- Private Equity and Founding C1 Financial
- Personal Life and Activism
- Challenges Facing LGBTQ+ Professionals
- Breaking Barriers and Fostering Inclusivity
Trevor Burgess: Breaking Barriers in the Financial World
Early Life and EducationTrevor Burgess, an American investment banker and CEO of C1 Financial, has been open about his gay identity since his teenage years. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1994.
Investment Banking Career
Burgess served as a management consultant at Monitor Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded by Michael Porter. For ten years, he worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in New York, Los Angeles, and London. He led transactions worth over $50 billion for major clients, including Chipotle, which he helped take public in 2006. As Managing Director of Global Capital Markets, Burgess oversaw more than 100 investment banking transactions, including Chipotle's initial public offering.
Private Equity and Founding C1 Financial
Burgess later became a partner at private equity firm Artesia Capital Management, which invested in Brazil and the United States. In 2014, he co-founded C1 Financial, based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The bank has offered securities for sale worth $44.7 million to a broad range of investors.
Personal Life and Activism
Burgess is the first openly gay CEO of a New York Stock Exchange-listed bank. His marriage to Gary Hess, which began in the 1990s, is a public symbol of his commitment to LGBTQ+ rights. Together, they live in St. Petersburg with their four-year-old daughter. Burgess won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2013.
Challenges Facing LGBTQ+ Professionals
Despite Burgess's groundbreaking career, the HRC noted in 2012 that LGBTQ+ people still face challenges in the workplace. No company with an openly gay CEO was yet included in the Fortune 1000. Additionally, 29 states in the US still have laws allowing the firing of employees for being gay.
Breaking Barriers and Fostering Inclusivity
"The homophobic corporate culture and the boards of directors cause people to stay in the closet," said John Browne, former CEO of BP. Todd Sears, founder of an annual LGBT Leadership Summit, observed that executives often only come out posthumously. The Wall Street Journal also reported in March 2014 that LGBTQ+ professionals often continue to conceal their identities.
