In September 2020 Jennifer MacPhee retired from Bank of America after 19 years of service to the company and to the Albany, N.Y. community. Now Jennifer dedicates her time and passion for giving back in both her hometown of Albany and her retirement home near Charlotte.
A memorable start to a fulfilling career
Jennifer joined FleetBoston’s Private Bank in Sept. 2001. During new-hire orientation in Boston, she and her cohort were evacuated from the office on 9/11. Together, they watched events unfold on the news, forming deep bonds over the impactful experience – an experience Jennifer often shared with young financial advisors to highlight the power of connections.
Through the years, and mergers, Jennifer moved up the Private Bank ranks where she became a senior leader in U.S. Trust Wealth Management. Then, in 2011, Jennifer was ready for a change and became one of the first Bank of America leaders to move to the Merrill side of the company.
She points out that, “one of the benefits of a large company is that you can make those leaps.” This move eventually led Jennifer to her final role where she was responsible for Merrill’s National Financial Advisor Development program, an award-winning program to train new financial advisors.
Family grows up volunteering with the bank
Jennifer is proud to have served as Albany market president for 15 of her 19 years with the company. She saw the program evolve from its early days in Fleet to the robust program that it is today.
“We started out in Fleet with approximately 50 or so market presidents,” Jennifer explained. “Over time the program expanded to reach smaller communities and gave us more autonomy in how we supported our markets — then business integration came into the mix to deliver our company at a very local level. Now we have Market Presidents in over 100 markets.”
For Jennifer, that evolution mirrors the growth of her children, Brendan and Jillian.
“My husband and I had two young children when I became a market president and my family truly grew up volunteering with Bank of America—throwing out the first pitch at a local game, participating in walks and many other volunteer activities over the years.”
Blessed to be giving back in a greater way
Jennifer sees her transition as a “Covid trifecta” with her retirement, first dog (Tuck), and a lake house in the Lake Norman area, north of Charlotte. And, although retiring was difficult for Jennifer, she and her husband, David, had long planned to retire in their early 50s.
“I feel really blessed to be able to retire at the age I did, and now I’m able to give back in an even greater way,” Jennifer shared. “But even my virtual retirement party was so overwhelming that I sobbed through the entire thing.”
Now Jennifer is a board member of Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region, a K-12 afterschool program in Albany that inspires girls to be smart, strong and bold. Among her other community activities, Jennifer serves on the gala planning committee for the American Cancer Society in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and mentors young professionals and students.
A company that cares during moments the matter
Reflecting on her years with the bank and her time as a market president, Jennifer believes the company is amazing. She sees that in how the company helps clients, teammates and communities thrive.
Jennifer also takes pride in how Bank of America steps up during impactful moments. “When you think about George Floyd and other events in 2020, the courageous conversations that followed were absolutely powerful and necessary dialogues.”
A natural extension for bank retirees
As soon as she heard about the Bank of Alumni Network, Jennifer reached out to become involved. She sees the network as a natural extension of what so many alumni already do by staying connected with each other and by referring people in the community to all we offer.
“I truly believe that, as alumni, we’re ambassadors, not just for the products and services we offer, but also when we volunteer in the community.”