People in the news

Marisa Lago

Assistant Treasury Secretary for International Markets and Development (since February 2010)

(Courtesy Harvard Law School)

Why She Matters

Lago is one of the few members of the Treasury Department who will literally be working with a clean slate. Her position didn't even exist until 2007, when Congress created it as part of the Foreign Investment and National Security Act. That legislation, which passed with broad support in both chambers, strengthened the inter-agency process used to review foreign investments in the U.S.

Lago is the point person for Congress and Treasury on the security reviews performed by the Committee on Foreign Investments. That panel, which was created by an executive order during the Ford administration, is comprised of officials from all the leading government agencies. It is tasked with monitoring foreign investments in the U.S. that might pose a threat to national security.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Chief Executive Officer and President of Empire State Development, State of New York (2008-2009); Global Head of Compliance, Citi Markets & Banking (2001-2008); Director, Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of International Affairs, (1997-2001); Chief Economic Development Officer, City of Boston (1994-1997)
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Alma Mater: Harvard Law School, J.D., 1982; The Cooper Union, B.S. (physics), 1977
Spouse: Ron Finiw

Path to Power

Lago was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Louis and Maria Lago and grew up alongside three siblings in northwest New Jersey. Her family roots stretch across the Atlantic to Spain, the homeland of her mother and her father's parents. Her father served in the Navy during World War II and was employed for most of his life at the Department of Defense at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.

Lago considers herself a Hispanic American, and like many children of recent immigrants, she picked up an extra language from her parents. "I learned Spanish at home and English at school," Lago said.

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After high school Lago enrolled at New York's Cooper Union, graduating with a B.S. in physics in 1977. She set off for Brown University with the intention of continuing her training in science, but dropped out before finishing a semester. "I knew I was not going to be Albert Einstein," Lago said. "I was more interested in the outside world."

Seeking a new direction, Lago decided to try her hand in the legal profession. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 1982 and scored a prestigious clerkship with Judge Hugh Bownes on the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

In 1983 she took a job with the New York City Planning Commission, where she worked until joining the Boston law firm Nutter McClennen & Fish in 1986. She returned to the Big Apple in 1990, this time as general counsel of the city's Economic Development Corp. One of her achievements in that position was negotiating the deal that kept the U.S. Open tennis tournament from leaving the city.

Boston Government Tenure

Lago's career took a new turn in 1993 after she mailed her resume blindly to the transition team of Boston's Mayor-elect Thomas Menino. To her surprise, she heard back from the office and was eventually offered a job as chief economic development officer and director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). "I was a cynic; I figured the [hiring] process was wired," Lago said.

Lago was handed a sweeping portfolio of administrative responsibilities and put in charge of numerous city departments, boards and commissions, as well as the Boston Housing Authority. When she took office, another agency under her purview - the BRA - faced an $8 million fiscal shortfall.

The daunting work of leading and coordinating so many agencies, coupled with a pervasive real-estate downturn in Boston, put Lago in an extremely difficult position. Before long, rumors began to swirl that she was not an insider in the Menino administration, and some questioned whether she was really up to the job.

Lago's difficulties came to a head in late 1996 when Menino blindsided her with plans for a massive hotel development in Boston. Aides to Menino had apparently negotiated the development deal without Lago's knowledge, publicly undercutting her authority in the administration.

Lago resigned from Boston government at year's end. On her way out the door she staunchly defended her accomplishments, which included the elimination of the BRA deficit and numerous development projects. "Good management doesn't always make glamorous headlines," she said.

Move to SEC and Private Sector

As her tenure in Boston soured, Lago's former boss at the New York City Economic Development Corp., Arthur Levitt, recruited her to join the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lago accepted a position as director of the SEC's Office of International Affairs, a job she called "an absolute dream opportunity." The financial issues Lago dealt with at the SEC were so delicate she had to be given a top-secret security clearance to do the job.

Lago left the SEC in 2001 for the private sector, becoming global head of compliance at Citi Markets & Banking. She returned to government service in 2008 as chief executive officer and president of Empire State Development in New York, a position she held until the summer of 2009. One columnist attributed her abrupt resignation from that department to a rocky relationship with Empire State Chairman Robert G. Wilmers.

Lago is married to the notable Boston architect Ron Finiw, who designed the International Law Center at Georgetown Law School, among other structures.

The Issues

Congress created Lago's position after a company based in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai World, attempted to purchase six U.S. ports in 2006. That transaction was ultimately scuttled amid a public outcry, but the controversy highlighted the need for closer scrutiny of major foreign investments in American assets.

As assistant secretary for international markets and development, Lago's main task is to make sure the U.S. security interests are never compromised by the global marketplace.

The Network

Lago and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) were classmates at Harvard Law School. Reed is a member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees Lago's work at Treasury.

Lago will directly advises Deputy Treasury Secretary Neil Wolin on the creation and implementation of international economic policy.

Campaign Contributions

Lago donated $13,750 to political candidates from 2002 to 2006, according to CQ's MoneyLine database.

Additional Resources

Anand, Geeta, The Boston Globe, "BRA director resigns," December 12, 1996
Anand, Geeta, and Palmer Jr., Thomas C., The Boston Globe, "BRA chief said to be out of the loop," November 21, 1996
Cassidy, Tim, The Boston Globe, "Can the embattled development chief stimulate growth with no construction in sight?", March 19, 1995
Carroll, Matt, The Boston Globe, "New director Lago seeks to build better business climate," January 20, 1994
Healy, Jack, The New York Times, "Paterson's economic development chief announces resignation," June 7, 2009
Mishra, Upendra, Boston Business Journal, "Maris Lago: Leading the BRA," March 18, 1994
Testimony, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, November 5, 2009
Mishra, Upendra, Boston Business Journal, "Marisa Lago: Leading the BRA," March 18, 1994