Based in Chicago, Donald Chae assists clients with executive search as well as management appraisal and development. He is active in Egon Zehnder’s Financial Services and Financial Officer practices. Donald possesses broad expertise across financial services, especially in wealth management, asset management, retail banking, and investment markets. He is a leader in the firm’s CFO practice, working primarily in Financial Services and Consumer/Retail, for both private equity and publicly-traded companies.
I’m energized by helping my clients find ‘unicorn’ candidates and by working closely with individuals to help them navigate their career choices to find the most compelling opportunities.
Before joining Egon Zehnder, Donald was the Senior Vice President for Finance at Northern Trust, where he managed that company’s capital expenditures for IT, transformed its middle and back offices, and designed and led a major profit-improvement program. Before that, he was a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group, working in the Corporate Finance and Financial Services practices. Earlier, he was the Vice President for Strategic Planning of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Donald earned a BA from Southern Methodist University and a PhD in music history from the University of Chicago, in addition to studying in Paris as a Fulbright scholar. He currently serves on the Visiting Committee to the Division of the Humanities at the University of Chicago. When not otherwise engaged, he enjoys spending time with his family, classical music, traveling, and food and cooking.
