Marianne (Schlichte) Smith ’90 Named First Female President, Cape Ann Savings Bank

Marianne Smith ’90 joined the Cape Ann Savings Bank as vice president and treasurer in 2013. Eight years later, she has been named the 15th and first female president of the institution. Unanimously elected by the bank’s Board of Directors, the Gloucester native succeeded Robert J. Gillis Jr. who retired on August 2. 

"Obviously it's major to be the first woman, and I'm honored, flattered. But truth be told, I don't think gender played a role in the decision. There are so many impressive women in Gloucester, too many to mention. And I was fortunate enough to grow up in a house with three brothers and four sisters where expectations were equal. It's what was expected," she said. 

In the 1980s, Smith worked as a part-time teller at Cape Ann Savings Bank during school vacations. Then in the 1990s, she worked as a bank examiner with the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks. She worked at various community banks for fifteen years before returning to Cape Ann Savings Bank in 2013.  

In 2014, she was elected as a corporator of the bank before being named to the Board of Trustees in 2016. She was named executive vice president and chief financial officer in 2020. 

Smith also serves as board president of the Cape Ann YMCA, the Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Bankers Association Women in Banking, and as a board member of the Department of Developmental Services Citizens North Shore Advisory Board.  

She earned her bachelor's in business management from Westfield State University and her master's in business administration in finance from Salem State University. 

Read more here.