Credit Union Forum 2021: Speaker bios

Andrew Busch, Former First Chief Market Intelligence Officer for the U.S. government and economist at AndrewBusch.com

For the CFTC, Mr. Busch was charged with improving and enhancing the government’s understanding of the markets and the economy. His job was to take all of the news, information and data on the economy and markets, and filter it into condensed, easily understood research.

Mr. Busch provided economic and market briefings to White House, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, the SEC, the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Treasury staff on a wide range of issues, including extreme market volatility; China’s influence on the global commodity markets and trade; and the impact of technology on market dynamics and the economy. He continues to act as an outside advisor to the White House.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Mr. Busch was CEO and founder of a boutique financial markets and policy research firm, Bering Productions, Inc (BPI). Before BPI, he was the Global Currency and Public Policy Strategist for Bank of Montreal (BMO) in Chicago. He was an outside advisor to the U.S. Treasury and White House under the Bush administration.

Anna Kooi, National Financial Services Industry Leader, Partner, Wipfli

Anna Kooi is a partner in Wipfli’s financial services practice with more than 20 years of experience in serving a variety of public and private clients in the financial services industry. She has advised clients ranging from startups to Fortune 50, bringing deep industry knowledge to the clients she services. In addition to core audit work, Anna has experience in attestation engagements including internal audit, agreed-upon procedures, and examination engagements. She has advised startups from proof of concept through exit strategies and is accomplished in buy-sell due diligence, IPOs, and strategy consulting.

Traci Hollister, Partner, Wipfli

Traci Hollister is a certified public accountant who has dedicated 100% of her talent, time, and effort to providing financial institutions excellent service by listening to and understanding what her clients need. Working with different-sized financial institutions, Traci has developed an understanding of how successful financial institutions operate and focuses on building relationships with multiple levels of executive management and staff. With her clients exclusively in one industry, Traci is able to focus her energies, professional education, and skills for the direct benefit of her clientele. Her expertise gives a value-added feature to become a “resource” beyond the accounting and tax compliance needs of her clients.

John Erwin, Senior Manager, Wipfli

John Erwin is a senior manager with 12 years of experience in audit and consulting services. He is experienced in both public and nonpublic financial statement audits, benefit plan audits and outsourced bank internal audits. John also has experience working with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 internal control documentation, testing and consulting services for both accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies. He works primarily in the financial institutions and insurance industries.

David Romero, Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Wipfli

David Romero, a Chicago native and U.S. Army veteran, is a human resources leader with a primary focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as talent, and organizational effectiveness. Prior to joining Wipfli, David led large scale diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and initiatives at major airlines. He holds his Professional in Human Resources Certification from HRCI as well as his Certification in Project Management from Northwestern University.

Barbara Low, Manager, Wipfli

Barbara Low is a manager on the organizational performance team with over 25 years of experience in human resources and organizational development. Clients appreciate her genuine interest and investment in their organizations. Barbara understands the dynamics of successful organizations and assists clients in being more effective and efficient.

Marcie Bomberg-Montoya, Principal, Wipfli

Marcie Bomberg-Montoya brings over 25 years of experience in executive leadership roles in both financial institutions and private enterprise to her engagements. She has developed a high level of proficiency, leading a myriad of complex enterprise-wide endeavors such as mergers and acquisitions, strategic analysis and plan implementation, growth and transformation strategies, as well as innovative product and service development. Marcie is highly sought after for her wide range of experience with advising traditional regulated financial institutions, bank holding companies, community development organizations and financial technology (fintech) companies.

Billy Collins, Senior Manager, Wipfli

Billy Collins has spent more than a decade consulting businesses of every size and in every industry as they strategize, design, develop, deploy, and grow customer and business-facing digital tools, products, and platforms. He joined the firm as part of Wipfli’s 2020 acquisition of Punchkick Interactive, an award-winning agency focused on digital solution development for the world’s best brands. Billy is passionate about helping clients apply design thinking principles and innovative technology to solve big problems for the brands he partners with, including those in insurance, healthcare, financial services, media, retail, and hospitality, among others.

Sara Circosta, Senior Business Developer, Wipfli

Sara Circosta is senior business developer with over 10 years of experience in technology and financial services. She is responsible for business development for our Wipfli Digital team, with a focus on financial services. She has worked with companies to transform their marketing, sales, and operations functions while focusing on the transformation from traditional to digital by leveraging technology and data. Sara specializes in understanding client needs to deliver services designed to achieve 100% user adoption and deliver measurable returns for clients.

Robert Zondag, Senior Manager, Wipfli

Robert H. Zondag brings to his clients 25+ years of leadership experience as an entrepreneur and executive in financial services, private enterprise and agriculture. His clients have included financial institutions, technology companies, corporations, municipalities and government entities. Robert is passionate about bringing clarity to his clients when they face complex business issues and regulatory matters and is the host of Wipfli’s podcast, Bank on Wipfli.