Marsha Cruzan

Marsha Cruzan is a trusted Board Director adept with crafting public/private companies’ business growth strategies by:

Completing numerous M&A transactions, offering strategic counsel and forging key connections to spur business growth.
Leading comprehensive risk analysis, implementing robust mitigation strategies, and reducing organizational exposure to drive resilience and safeguard stakeholder value.

Advising executive teams on organic growth, capital allocation, and integrating acquired entities for sustainable, scalable impact.

Offering steady oversight during organization-wide transformations, with a focus on value creation and sustainable growth.

Drawing on deep expertise in corporate governance to ensure best-in-class board effectiveness, succession planning and ethical standards.

Utilizing her real-world banking, healthcare, insurance, oil and gas and utility expertise.

Marsha’s distinguished industry experience spans financial services, energy, healthcare, and insurance. Over the course of her career, she has developed a nuanced understanding of sector-specific dynamics, regulatory landscapes, and market evolutions. Her tenure in financial services is marked by executive leadership roles with top-tier banking institutions, while her board service and advisory positions have immersed her in the complexities of the healthcare and insurance industries. Additionally, Marsha’s involvement in the energy sector – through strategic oversight of risk, compliance, and capital projects-has equipped her with a broad perspective across regulated and innovative markets.
Marsha brings a pragmatic, analytical approach to leadership, with deep expertise in risk analysis, mitigation, and reduction. She’s known for building diverse, collaborative teams and adapting governance and risk management strategies to meet evolving needs, all while driving innovation and safeguarding stakeholder value.
Marsha’s current BOARD EXPERIENCE is with:
MEDICARE WIZARD, LLC, a U.S. health tech, as an Independent Corporate Board Director for the past 5 years. MEDICARE WIZARD is a B2B and B2B2C AI platform to enable financial advisors to deliver superior Medicare plan selection to their clients. The AI platform is purpose built to simplify and personalize the complex process of choosing the right Medicare plan.
GOODMAN THEATRE, Chicago’s oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization, where she serves on their Board of Trustees as Chair (2025 – present) and Executive Committee Member, plus is the former Co-Chair, Nominating Committee. In these roles for the last 9 years, she was instrumental in guiding the strategy for successful outcomes in reaction to Covid and other rapidly changing conditions and in advising the CFO and CEO on optimal capital structure to ensure long-term financial stability.
The Field Museum, a major natural history museum, where she serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Governance Committee. In these roles for the last 12 years, she has significantly grown the stature of board talent and offered strategic plan insights that enhanced The Field Museum’s renowned global status.
RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, a teaching hospital for the most medically complex, where for the last 5 years, she served on the Board of Trustees and is a Member, Audit and Investment Committees, assisting with method, priorities, and competing needs analysis that provides the best allocation of medical resources to achieve top outcomes.
THE CHICAGO NETWORK, Chair of the Governance Committee and Executive Committee Member for the last 10 years.

Marsha’s CORPORATE EXPERIENCE was with U.S. BANK N.A., the 5th largest U.S. commercial bank and a U.S. Bancorp (NYSE) subsidiary, where she was Regional President, Illinois, Indiana, & Michigan; Chair, U.S. Bank’s Chicago Advisory Board; and responsible for All FINRA licensed Commercial Bankers until she left to commence her board career.

As Regional President with full profit and loss responsibility, Marsha led a three-state Midwest region, including the analysis of risk for global middle market public and private companies.:

Over the last decade, doubled Chicago Commercial Banking income by growing existing and new clients:
For a packaging company, advised CEO and CFO on:
Risk Reduction (reduced export risk from international buyers by suggesting ways to minimize currency risk), Cost Cutting (streamlined supply chain, payments, payroll, and inventory processes), and Increased Market Share (improved services while expanding global production facilities).

For a beverage retailer, advised CEO and CFO on:
Risk Reduction (minimized both seasonality impacts and cybersecurity fraud risks), Cost Cutting (streamlined in-store payment systems processes), and Increased Market Share (maximized real estate footprint).
Over the last decade, Marsha doubled Chicago Commercial Banking income by growing existing and new clients. For a packaging company, she advised the CEO and CFO on risk reduction by suggesting ways to minimize currency risk and reduce export risk from international buyers. She also identified cost-cutting measures by streamlining supply chain, payments, payroll, and inventory processes, and contributed to increased market share by improving services while expanding global production facilities. For a beverage retailer, she advised the CEO and CFO on various strategic initiatives.

For a meat processing manufacturer, distributor and market leader, increased equipment and facility efficiency and expanded distribution network-production capacity doubled, lead times shortened, and profits increased significantly.

Previously, Marsha worked for JP MORGAN where she started as an International Treasury Management Consultant; followed by Electric and Gas Senior Banker; Head, Syndications, Private Placements and High Yield; Head, Regional Syndicated Leveraged Finance; responsible for all FINRA licensed Regional Syndicated Leveraged Finance bankers. Of note, she:

Strategized successful solutions with corporate Boards and C-suite clients during financial crises.

With diminishing headcount, increased revenue for JPM by 25% by growing clients’ companies, even in difficult markets.

Doubled asset-based lending investment banking revenues via offering effective solutions for companies.

She is a former Board of Trustees, Chair, Nominating Committee and Member, Executive Committee for LINCOLN PARK ZOO, where she helped lead the inclusion strategy that added outstanding community leaders, and an Executive Committee Member for THE LYRIC OPERA, dealing with a union strike and renegotiating new contracts.

She earned her MBA, Thunderbird School of Global Management and her BA, Political Science, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign