[New York, NY] (February 7, 2017) – Cate Luzio, Executive Vice President and Global Head of International Subsidiary Banking at HSBC has joined the Board of Directors of Girls Inc., the national organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

At HSBC, Cate is responsible for teams globally in developing and strengthening HSBCs subsidiary coverage of multinationals (MNCs) for all their banking needs. Prior to joining HSBC in 2014, Cate spent over six years in London with J.P. Morgan and was most recently a Managing Director and the Head of Multinational Corporate Banking across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.

“We are thrilled to welcome Cate to our National Board as an accomplished leader in finance and banking and passionate advocate for girls,” said Judy Vredenburgh, Girls Inc. President and CEO. “We will learn and benefit tremendously from her expertise, as we position the organization to serve even more girls and dramatically reduce barriers to their success.”

In 2015, HSBC made a 3-year, $1 million grant to Girls Inc. to help increase educational opportunities it provides to young women, particularly those from under-resourced communities. HSBC has also engaged their employees, women’s networks and senior executives including Luzio in mentoring and volunteerism.

Girls Inc. is on an accelerated path to double the number of girls served by 2020 and strengthen its public policy efforts to be the leading advocate in advancing rights and opportunities for all girls. In 2106 Girls Inc. launched a five-year, $20 million capital fund for growth investment.

Luzio was named Top 25 Women to Watch in American Banker in 2015 and 2016. In addition to her leadership at Girls Inc., she is a National Board member for the US-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and is actively involved in Water Aid globally.

About Girls Inc.

Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through direct service and advocacy. Our comprehensive approach to whole girl development equips girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers and grow up healthy, educated, and independent. These positive outcomes are achieved through three core elements: people – trained staff and volunteers who build lasting, mentoring relationships; environment – girls-only, physically and emotionally safe, where there is a sisterhood of support, high expectations, and mutual respect; and programming – research-based, hands-on and minds-on, age-appropriate, meeting the needs of today’s girls. Informed by girls and their families, we also advocate for legislation and policies to increase opportunities for all girls. Join us at www.girlsinc.org.