By Jessica Titlebaum (Chicago)
We were having lunch somewhere in the 50’s in Midtown Manhattan. I had just gotten off the plane from Chicago and hailed a cab. I was meeting Mary Chung, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Marketing at ELX Futures, an electronic futures exchange launched in July 2009 and backed by a consortium of investment banks including Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs; among others. She had recommended we meet at a Thai place down the street from her office.
The first thing one would notice about Chung is her size. She is petite and svelte at 40 years old and in shape. At the Futures Industry Association’s annual conference in Boca Raton in March this year, she placed first in the women’s 5K run and won an iPad.
“I’ve always enjoyed pushing my body to the limit,” she said. “You are never too old to be in shape,” she said.
However because of her petite frame and youthful appearance, Chung said she felt she had to prove that she was tough enough to handle the derivatives industry.
“I probably overcompensated in the beginning because of my appearance,” she said. “I dressed in Brooks Brothers suits, rarely wore make up and tried to bury my femininity because I thought I needed to do that to be taken more seriously. I’m confident in myself now and in my experience and ability that I don’t feel the need to wear boxy pants- suits and sensible shoes to prove my professional presence,” she said with a chuckle glancing down at her Jimmy Choos.