With more than 300 members, the Emerging Leaders community is a dynamic cross-sector network of Chicago’s visionary, globally minded, locally committed leaders.
Prior to joining Thrivent Mutual Funds—a subsidiary of Thrivent Financial—Michael Hubbard was an analyst covering U.S. small cap financials and real estate at William Blair Investment Management. While in this role, he founded and led the company’s veteran business resource group and served as one of the founding board members of the Alliance Board.
Gabriella Kusz is CEO of the Global Digital Asset and Cryptocurrency Association, a global voluntary self-regulatory association. Previously, she served as the principal for strategic initiatives at the International Federation of Accountants. Kusz’s background has included working in the international financial sector and economic growth spanning 50 countries and five continents.
Ashish Lal is a vice president at BDT & Company, a Chicago-based merchant bank that combines a $3 billion investment fund with advisory services to address the strategic and financing needs of companies. He was involved in establishing BDT’s strategic joint venture with one of India’s most highly regarded conglomerates and continues to establish relationships with business owners outside of the US.
Adolfo Laurenti has extensive experience analyzing global financial markets and economic trends for a variety of industries and is a frequent speaker to diverse audiences in the United States and abroad. Before working at VISA, he was the global economist for a private bank in Zurich, Switzerland, and chief international economist and managing director for Mesirow Financial in Chicago.
Emilia Lopez is the former vice president in the strategy group at CapitalOne, based in the McLean office. She worked to support CapitalOne's lines of business in critical strategic efforts. Before joining CapitalOne, Lopez was a principal with The Boston Consulting Group in Chicago.
At US Bank, Joyce Merkel is responsible for driving the strategic growth of electronic platform trading for her company and mitigating the ever-changing risks present in the global currency market. She executes quotes for over 400 domestic and international corporate clients, collaborating with the sales team to trade twenty-four hours a day.
Josh Milberg is a recognized leader in sustainability, smart grid technology, and electric vehicle strategy. As former regional vice president for Midwest operations at Willdan Energy Solutions, he built the region’s energy efficiency and smart grid practice and advised key clients. His background spans strategy, finance, environmental policy, economics, and organizational development.
L. Heather Mitchell has over a decade of leadership experience in operations, investor relations, fundraising, asset management, and investment strategy. At Capri, she manages pension fund client relationships for US commercial real estate and leads marketing for the firm’s emerging market platform in Africa, India, and the Middle East.
Brent Neiman is the Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics at Chicago Booth. From 2022-2025, he served at the US Treasury as Counselor to the Secretary and as the Deputy Undersecretary for International Finance. He researches international macroeconomics, finance, and trade and is a co-founder and principal investigator of the Global Capital Allocation Project.
In her current role, Hinsley Njila helps develop strategy and mitigation solutions for Credit Customer Lifecycle Management. Citi Retail Services delivers consumer and commercial credit card products, both private label and co-brand, to retailers and their clients across North America.
