King of Prussia (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- George Nichols III, President and CEO at The American College of Financial Services, announced today that Azish Filabi, JD, has been named Executive Director of the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services and Associate Professor of Ethics. In the position as Executive Director, Filabi will oversee the Center’s research and programs that promote ethical behavior and help executives and professionals to be more sensitive to ethical issues and think more critically about solutions.

“Azish brings a valuable skillset to the leadership team at The College and her background will help us as we continue to educate financial services professionals to advise in the best interests of their clients who entrust them with their financial security,” said Nichols. “The College’s commitment to ethics is woven into our DNA and I have full faith that Azish will continue to lead the Center for Ethics with the best interests of those we serve as our north star.”

As the only ethics center within an academic institution solely focused on the financial services profession, The Center’s mission is to raise the level of ethical behavior within the industry. Filabi will be responsible for leading the Center for Ethics which includes research, interactive continuing education courses, forums, and workshops that help practitioners think critically and behave ethically, even in the absence of clear direction.

“The American College’s focus on ‘pracademics’ is what attracted me to the Maguire Center for Ethics,” said Filabi. “The importance of ethical behavior in the financial services sector has become more prominent for this generation of practitioners because of several developments. The first is that the role of finance in our day-to-day personal and corporate affairs has increased. We see this with the democratization of access to financial management tools (e.g., online investing and increased use of index funds), as well as the financialization of corporate balance sheets, which brings financial decision-making to the forefront of business. The second is the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, which made clear the connection between “Wall Street” and “Main Street” and how systemic risk in financial services will influence the financial well-being of all. And now, we find ourselves amidst an emerging crisis that will expose the seams of inequality and economic strain on many communities—how the financial services industry responds to the COVID-19 crisis will be key to helping people and organizations recover from the pandemic.”

Filabi has spent her career helping manage, study, and regulate social and ethical business behaviors. She most recently worked at BlackRock as Vice President for Investment Stewardship where she was responsible for corporate governance practices and execution of industry-specific proxy voting and engagement on topics such as executive compensation, board quality, diversity and composition, and disclosure of environmental and social risks. Before joining BlackRock, Filabi was the Executive Director of Ethical Systems, an organization housed at NYU’s Stern School of Business where through research and collaboration with leading social and behavioral scientists, she helped businesses distill findings from academic research, and develop strategies to measure and promote ethical culture in their companies. She also served as an Adjunct Professor, teaching professional responsibility and business and society classes in both their MBA and undergraduate curriculum.

Previously, Filabi served as an Assistant Vice President, Ethics Officer and Counsel in the Legal Group of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, where she, among other initiatives, helped assemble the response to the 2008 financial crisis. She was also an Associate at the NYC-based law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, LLP. She is active in the NY State Bar Association as an Officer in the International Section and co-founded The Committee on Social Finance and Enterprise.

“The College has always instilled the importance of ethical conduct and integrity into their students and financial services professionals,” said James Mitchell, CLU®, ChFC®, Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services. “Azish’s diverse experience and accomplishments make her the perfect leader to guide the Center for Ethics in its cutting-edge research to help financial advisors, corporate executives, and regulators deal with emerging ethical issues.”

A published researcher, Filabi is frequently called to present on business ethics and culture at various forums, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, the Conference Board, the Good Work Institute, and the NY State Bar Association (International Section). She has a Bachelor of Arts degree as an Echols Interdisciplinary Scholar from the University of Virginia (UVA), a Juris Doctor degree from the UVA School of Law, and a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

The American College of Financial Services was founded in 1927 and is the nation’s largest nonprofit educational institution devoted to financial services. Holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has educated one in five financial advisors across the United States and offers two master’s degrees in management and financial services, along with prestigious financial planning designations such as the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®), Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®), Wealth Management Certified Professional® (WMCP®), Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®), Chartered Special Needs Consultant® (ChSNC®), Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®), and education leading to the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) certification. The College’s faculty represents some of the foremost thought leaders in the financial services profession. Visit TheAmericanCollege.edu and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.