Muriel "Mickie" Siebert
Founder & CEO
Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc.

The daughter of a dentist, Muriel Siebert was raised in Cleveland, USA and attended Western Reserve University. Although she never graduated from college, she has received honorary doctorate degrees from eight colleges and has been a visiting professor or lecturer at numerous schools including Harvard Business School, Dartmouth College and New York University Graduate School of Business Administration. Just who is this "wonder woman"?

She is the person responsible for "Making the New York Stock Exchange co-ed on Dec. 28, 1967". Wall Street in the 60's was strictly a man's territory, so much so that there were no women's restrooms on the exchange floor! Before considering her for membership, the Stock Exchange imposed a new condition: she needed a letter from a bank saying they would lend her $300,000 of the near-record $445,000 seat price. But banks would not commit to lend her the money until the Stock Exchange would agree to admit her! It took many months to overcome this double-bind and find the needed bank loans and sponsors.

Finally, after being turned down 9 times despite her sterling qualifications, Muriel Siebert became the first woman to own a seat on the NYSE and the first to head one of its member firms, thus earning the title, "First Woman of Finance". She later went on to become, among many other things, the first woman Superintendent of Banking for the State of New York and was instrumental in keeping New York's banks from collapsing by using measures others had never dared before. She was also the first (not only the first woman but the first) to start a discount brokerage firm.

A favorite word of Muriel Siebert's is "risk." She has advised, "The men of the top of industry and government should be more willing to risk sharing leadership with women and minority members who are not merely clones of their white male buddies. In these fast-changing times we need the different viewpoints and experiences, we need the enlarged talent bank. The real risk lies in continuing to do things the way they've always been done."

When asked what her secret to success is, she said she is willing to "take stands, take risks, take responsibility -- and care deeply about how America's big institutions affect the lives of individual people." True to her principles, Siebert founded several philanthropic organisations and continues to donate her time and money to charities and universities today.

At TLE we believe in the same set of ethics and entrepreneurial outlook. We also believe in sharing and helping our youth see the many possibilities before them. Paramount in our mission is to inspire and dare our youth to push beyond today's limitations.