William E. Thonn

Bill Thonn advises on strategic initiatives in the banking industry. His career in financial services has spanned more than 30 years, including 15 years working directly with some of the country's wealthiest families and their advisors. Thonn's proven ability to devise and implement creative solutions in complex business situations and his track record of building profitable wealth management relationships with the affluent have made him an integral player in the development of the high-net-worth market.

Thonn is President and CEO of Whitnell & Company, a wealth management company serving the needs of ultra-affluent individuals and family offices. His focus is on the strategic development and implementation of financial strategies that provide holistic solutions for complex situations. Prior to joining Whitnell & Co. he was executive vice president with Harris Bank, where he headed the Private Bank and was responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction in the areas of banking, personal trust, investment management, financial planning and sales.

His accomplishments included designing and implementing a management organizational structure to integrate banking, trust, investment management, financial planning and brokerage into one cohesive unit, acquiring various financial service companies, forming a multi-family office company with over $3 billion in assets, and establishing a separate independent firm providing fee-based financial planning and investment management. Under his leadership, high-net-worth assets under management increased from $12 billion to $19 billion and loan volume tripled.

Prior to his work with Harris Bank, Thonn served as vice-president and head of private banking for Bankers Trust in Chicago, where he was responsible for developing relationships with new high-net-worth clients as well as for marketing wealth management services to existing clients. He also served as vice president for the western region of the National Bank of Canada and vice president for the Chicago branch of National Westminster Bank PLC.

Thonn holds an MBA in finance from Indiana University and a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Illinois.