Chris Reilly is president of CIT Small Business Lending Corporation, a division of CIT Group Inc. She oversees an organization that has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading Small Business Administration lenders as well as the top lender to women, veteran and minority entrepreneurs.

A native New Yorker, Reilly is also a founding member of CIT’s Women’s Leadership Council and currently serves as its co-chiarman.

Reilly’s Irish roots come through her paternal grandparents.  She can trace her lineage to counties Cork, Sligo and Cavan, and she’s visited Ireland several times.

Reilly earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of Mount St. Vincent, and a master’s in business administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She is also a certified public accountant.

A mother of three, Reilly’s Irishness has instilled in her a love of all things family, she says. “The Reillys have always been a fiercely loyal and loving clan,” she says. “I grew up in a household where my father regularly shared with us his love for Irish music, literature, philosophy and politics, but most of all storytelling!

“I have never forgotten the many stories told around party and dinner tables while I was growing up, and I’ve passed them on to my children as well, who I hope will continue the tradition for many years to come.”

 

 

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