Founder & CEO
Piermont Bank

Wendy Cai-Lee is the Founder and CEO of Piermont Bank, a fully chartered digital commercial bank, and the first multi-racial MDI (Minority Depository Institution) in the United States. The bank is the engine behind many successful fintechs as well as entrepreneur-led businesses in many leading industry sectors. With 30 years of banking and investment experience managing and leading Fortune 500 companies and startups, Wendy is a subject matter expert in fintech, international finance and banking.

Under Wendy’s leadership, Piermont Bank was the first multiracial Minority Depository Institution (MDI) in the United States and the only one with a female CEO, female Board Chair, and 78 percent female Board of Directors. Today, Piermont Bank is one of only four multiracial MDIs in the U.S. Additionally, more than 50 percent of Piermont Bank’s loans are extended to businesses located in low to mid-level-income communities and women and minority-owned businesses.

Prior to building Piermont Bank, she was an Executive Vice President at East West Bank, responsible for its Commercial and Consumer Businesses in the U.S. Prior to East West, Wendy was a Managing Director at Deloitte LLP, where she managed its U.S./China cross-border M&A business. She started her banking career with JP Morgan Chase and held various management positions at both Chase and Citi. Wendy is named to Inc.’s 2024 Female Founders 250 and was an honoree of The Most Powerful Women in Banking to Watch by American Banker in 2025, 2024 and 2023.

Wendy has been an active supporter of UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) since 2007, an Emeritus member of its US Board of Trustees, and served as its chair of the Board for seven years. UNFPA supports women in over 150 countries, especially those in conflict zones.  Wendy is a member of the Committee of 100 (C100). C100 is an invitation-only, prestigious Chinese American NGO that focuses on building bridges between American and Chinese heritage, advancing constructive dialogue between the Whitehouse and China’s standing governing committee.  Members include Yo Yo Ma, former Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, NASA Astronaut Leroy Chiao, and Dr. David Ho who pioneered antiretroviral therapy for HIV patients. She also served as a member of Rutgers University’s Board of Overseers and is currently serving on the Dean’s Advisory Board at Douglass College. She’s a member of the New York State Department of Financial Services’ CDFI/MDI Council. She also sits on the advisory board of several fintech startups.