In the News: Wiessmann ’75 Named to Pennsylvania Cabinet

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has named Robin Wiessmann ’75 secretary of Department of Banking and Securities. She was state treasurer from 2007 to 2009.

“We are at such an important crossroads in this state’s trajectory and financial history . . . we are thinking through and working toward actions that will re-engineer the way the government conducts its business,” says Wiessmann. “I view the state’s economy and finances strategically. Short-term solutions are just that, short term. Finding solutions for the longterm is the true challenge. We are considering all options and ideas, and whether they will create long-term economic health and stability.”

During the gubernatorial transition, she served on the budget deficit and fiscal stabilization task force with Mike Newsome ’75. John Fry ’82 led Wolf’s transition team.

A government and law graduate with a JD from Rutgers, Wiessmann was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and founding principal of Artemis Capital, the first women-owned firm on Wall Street. She currently serves on several corporate boards. Her leadership positions at Lafayette have included being a member of the Board of Trustees, vice chair of Lafayette Leadership Council, and chair of Women in Leadership at Lafayette (now Council of Lafayette Women). Her son is Alex Jarin ’15 and her father is the late Karl Wiessmann ’35.

“My Lafayette experience made an enormous difference in my life,” says Wiessmann. “Being a part of the second class of women laid the groundwork for my career. Classroom debates, dialogue, and intellectual inquiry have served me well.”

—Sharon Sanders