| Mission Management & Trust Co. | |
| Categories: |
Trust Company/Trust by State/Arizona |
| URL: | http://www.missiontrust.com/ |
| Description: |
There is a story of challenge, struggle, and opportunity in Mission’s birth. Raised in poverty in her native Costa Rica, Mission’s Chairman & CEO, Carmen Bermúdez, has been a lifelong fighter for equal rights and opportunities for women and people of color. Carmen was brought up to survive and progress by her mother Anita, who, with the family, had been abandoned by her husband in a country in which a divorced mother had scant opportunity. Finding a teaching position in a jungle outpost with no roads, electricity or running water, Anita transplanted the family and worked hard to provide them with life’s essentials. In addition to survival lessons, she instilled in them a thirst for something better. Because of the need to work to support other family members, Carmen had limited formal education. However, international employment in Mexico and the United States, combined with an acquisitive mind and "street smarts" born of necessity, led her to increasingly responsible positions over the years. Carmen (far left) with her family. Older brother Ralph, her mother Anita. On her lap younger brother Tony, and older sister Virginia (far right) (1947). As Treasurer, and later Chairman, of Marathon Asset Management Co. in California, Carmen observed progress, although grudging at times, for women and people of color in investment management and related fields. Remarkably, however, she found not one nationally oriented trust company owned and operated by either women or minorities. There were in fact only a couple of women owned trust companies in the country, each with a strictly local orientation. Determined to remedy that lack of gender diversity, she researched and organized what has evolved as Mission Management & Trust Co., the first minority-woman-owned and operated trust company in the country. Because of the historical absence of women and people of color in firms from some segments of the financial industry, their pursuit of support from socially conscious clients is an even greater challenge. Fortunately, Mission accomplishes the desired social goals of such clients, while addressing their needs for experience. By bringing together talented and experienced people, Mission is opening doors to a new field for women and people of color, with a proven slate of quality personnel. Mission needs only a growing clientele to make a noticeable impression on the financial landscape. One of Mission’s first projects was the establishment of the Dr. Martha R. Seger Work/Study Scholarship. The first recipient was a young Hispanic woman who was attending the University of San Diego. She joined Mission in January ‘97. The second scholarship recipient is a Hispanic nun currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. The third and forth recipients are two women from Mission’s own team who intend to obtain the widely recognized Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation for investment management. The name "Mission" can certainly connote different things to different constituencies. The founding officers wanted to blend something local with something universal. Mission San Xavier is one of Tucson’s most noteworthy landmarks, and it is inextricably identified with the local Native American population. To its own personnel, the company wants the name to act as a reminder that their roles are not ends in themselves but part of an outreach to accomplish the objectives of the clients and the objectives of the company, which extend far beyond profitability. To clients, staff and the public at large the company wants "Mission" to be identified with the quest to accomplish simultaneously: financial objectives, social objectives, and an internal exercise of social responsibility. Mission is the fulfillment of a dream of company founders who want to make an impact in a field historically "off limits" to women and minorities MISSION MANAGEMENT & TRUST CO. 3567 East Sunrise Drive, Suite 235 Tucson, Arizona 85718 (520) 577-5559 Fax: (520) 577-6781 info@missiontrust.com |
| Title: | Mission Management & Trust Co. |
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| Link Added: | 12-25-2006 |
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