Comerica Bank has named Irvin Ashford, Jr., its new Chief Community Officer. Ashford, will be responsible for community reinvestment nationally and all associated activities, including development, lending, community investments, volunteerism and data analysis. Additionally, he will lead Comerica’s diversity business resource groups. Ashford previously served as Comerica’s National Director of Financial Education and External Affairs and will maintain these responsibilities in his new role. Ashford will report directly into the Office of the Chairman.
Ashford joined Comerica Bank in 2000 and has continued to strengthen relationships with the communities served by Comerica through various financial literacy and community development initiatives. Last year, Ashford and his team established the Comerica Money $ense program to address the critical need of teaching sound financial principles to a wide range of audiences from pre-K to senior citizens, as well as small businesses. The program has expanded to included Business, Education, Sports and Senior $ense.
Coupled with the Comerica Money $ense program, the bank has developed the Financial Education Brigade, a collection of employee volunteers dedicated to improving the community through financial empowerment.
“I’m looking forward to building deeper relationships with our community partners in the markets we serve,” Ashford said. “For 170 years, Comerica has placed an importance in serving its community. Our goal is to continue to help our communities thrive and through programs promoting financial education, community and business development and diversity, we can truly help individuals and our communities succeed.”
Ashford has remained a pillar in the community, aiding various civic and community groups that include serving on the board of directors for the Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation (TWEF), Dallas Theater Center, Kym’s Kids and Focus on Teens. He also serves of the Board of Trustees for the Webb School, in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, where Ashford was one of the school’s first African American graduates.
In 2019, Ashford was inducted into the University of Dallas’ Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business Hall of Fame for his contributions to community and economic development initiatives in diverse and underserved communities. Ashford is a Woodrow Wilson International Studies and Public Policy Fellow, an American Marshall Fellow and British American Project Fellow. A graduate of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, Ashford earned dual master’s degrees – public affairs from the University of Texas and business administration from the University of Dallas.
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Comerica, Twitter: @ComericaBank and Instagram: @comerica_bank.
